East Coast vs West Coast: or: how to dive away from home

    Okay this thread is not about which is better or even the things we love about each.


    The idea behind this thread is to identify the individual challenges we face in each place and the hings we do inn order to overcome them.


    I am only really talking about FL since the north east is a totally different beast.


    So some things that occurred to me were the Viz/Clarity of the water, the temperature of the water, the type of structures and the type of fish.


    temperature:
    In miami the temps are generally in the 70's and will get to the upper sixties for a little while on bad winters. The hottest summer months will bring 80's water temps and you will die in a 3mm suit. as such we use rash guards and a lot less weight. I use 7.5 lbs with my 3mm suit and as little as 5 when wearing a rash guard.


    I know you all deal with cold ass waters and as a result much thicker suits and way more weight. how much are you all wearing and how do you deal with it? anyone wear neckweights or vests or harnesses?



    Carity/viz
    we have generally 30 ft of viz with many days a lot better. I'd say that usually you can see the bottom in 30 fsw...pretty rough estimate...i have seen 100+ viz in the keys
    I use a 120 cm gun for most of my diving simply because I like the extra range. the viz also requires I have more range for a lot of fish. What is the average length you are using? i guess in or out of kelp?



    Rather than continue I'll just ask a few questions I have about west side diving so I hope you all answer and ask back any you might have.


    -what is the average bottom like? rock sand mud?
    -how fast does it get deep?
    -is it as disorienting as it looks to dive in kelp with a swell on?
    -how awesome is kelp?
    -how does you face not get really cold?

    I have lots more but this is a start

    i like to spear fish

    Boats are a big problem in the Miami area. You always have to be listening for motors. If you hear a motor no matter how faint, stop what you're doing and see if you can mark the boat and which direction it's going. When diving from a boat it's a good idea to always have someone driving and playing blocker with approaching boats. This is a big PITA and really cuts into the enjoyment of diving, and sometimes bottom time as it's difficult to relax. I wonder if it's anything like this in CA.


    mmm

    Awesome. Glad there is interest in this topic


    To touch on Dan's comment about boats. I always hav a dive flag that I am towing. Even off a boat. Always. Not only is it the law but there are asshats a plenty here. I use a lifeguard can or my banks board



    Another thing that occurred to me that might be different is hunting techniques. Here due to the viz and the wary ness of many fish it is pretty necessary to use aspettos when reef hunting to get some fish to give you a chance

    i like to spear fish

    Edited once, last by LunkerBuster ().

    Quote from Dan

    Boats are a big problem in the Miami area. You always have to be listening for motors. If you hear a motor no matter how faint, stop what you're doing and see if you can mark the boat and which direction it's going. When diving from a boat it's a good idea to always have someone driving and playing blocker with approaching boats. This is a big PITA and really cuts into the enjoyment of diving, and sometimes bottom time as it's difficult to relax. I wonder if it's anything like this in CA.


    Kelp beds are death traps for spearfishermen in Southern California. I've had more close calls than I can count.


    Spearfishermen can't bring dive flags into the kelp beds, because they would instantly tangle in the kelp. So it's very hard for boaters to notice you. Of course even if we could use a flag, most boaters are clueless when it comes to dive flags.


    The worst thing is that.... Boaters out here are always on perimeter of the kelp bed fishing. So even if you watched them it wouldn't make a difference. Most of the time they are anchored up. So you just have to ignore them and dive. But while you're underwater, holding your breath, one of those boats may chose to move and decide the best course to the next spot is straight over your head :@


    I've come up from a dive with boats zipping past me, just a spear's throw away from my face.


    That sounds hairy. Do you secure a flag to the outside of the kelp or just do your best to stay frosty and alert?

    i like to spear fish

    Quote from LunkerBuster

    That sounds hairy. Do you secure a flag to the outside of the kelp or just do your best to stay frosty and alert?


    I just stay alert.


    A dive flag could not help me stay safe because I spend hours inside the kelp, swimming up to half a mile away from my starting point.



    But I should have mentioned earlier that the near shore kelp beds are very safe. Most boaters don't boat through those. It's the kelp beds that are out in the deeper water that you really have to watch out for.

    I wear a 7mm suit year round here. I could use my 5mm during the warmer parts of the year, but I love diving SoCal and not feeling the water at all.


    In NorCal a 7mm is necessary, as the water temperatures are quite nipply (especially in the spring when upwelling occurs). Depending on where you are diving in California and what time of year, water temps range from the low 40's to somewhere above 65. I say somewhere above 65 because I have never dived in the southern part of the state when the water is warmer than 65.


    I grew up in SoCal, but only started diving when I moved to Humboldt for school. Temperatures and visibility are considerably less desirable here than in the south. For me, the cold and poor vis are nothing to complain about. I actually love it. In the beginning, the exposed skin of my face would hurt, and my lips wouldn't work properly after a dive. After a year of diving here, I became acclimated and now I don't even notice the cold on my face. I can even talk normally after 4-6 hours in 50 degree water! The limiting factors to how long I can remain in the water now are my fingers and toes. If they stop working, I need to get out because they are a very important part of safely navigating through the dynamic shore exits and cliff hikes we frequently encounter.


    As far as the weight issue, I wear about 18lbs of lead on my waist to offset the buoyancy of the suit (all of which is lead I have found while diving and remade into a bunch of 2-4lb weights :thumbsup2:). This amount of weight makes me neutral at about 23ft. If I know I'll be doing a significant amount of deeper dives, I take off 2-4lbs for safety and ease of ascent. This weight reduction makes me neutral at about 40ft. I have seen some people who wear harnesses while spearing, but I feel that harnesses provide that much more material to get snagged on kelp and potentially cause problems.


    Diving in kelp is awesome. You can use it to conceal your approach, you can pick some to accompany your dinner, you can just plain marvel at it. When you are in kelp and the water is clear, the sunlight has a magnificent golden hue.


    Back to visibility. In Humboldt and Del Norte counties, it's usually bad. A good day is 8ft vis. It's typically 3-5ft. This is due to many factors: the amount of fine sediment coating the reefs, the number of rivers and streams discharging into the ocean, and the exposed coast that gets a good amount of energy sent down from Alaska and Canada. When it's greater than 8ft, the diving is absolutely breathtaking here.

    Great topic.


    I typically dive with a 5mm suit year round (although I will be investing in a 7mm this winter). I typically have 14 lbs. on my belt but with a new suit I take it up to 16 lbs.


    The viz in san diego is typically 10-15 ft. with rare days of 30-40. Out at the channel islands it is always much better with viz that is typically 20-30 and days of 100+. The islands are absolutely beautiful and completely amazing. The amount of life is truly epic. Big calicos everywhere and lobster/sheephead etc..... Larger fish cruise in if you are lucky.


    The kelp is awesome. when you have low viz and you are in deeper water, it is nice to have the reference of a good kelp stalk. You can also play hide and seek with fish in the kelp and it can mask your approach on good viz days.


    I use a 90cm gun for inshore work and a 55" wong hybrid for the deeper kelp.


    The terrain is incredibly varied. There is reef with sand in between. The deeper rock areas grow kelp. At the islands, there can be huge boulders all over the place and you can find kelp as well. The erie thing in kelp is when a shark cruises you that you didn't even see. The exciting thing is that there could be a seabass in any kelp "room" that you swim through. The danger is getting caught in the kelp so you have to get used to moving through it and it is best to keep everything on your body streamlined. It can get so thick that you can barely move and then it is a game to figure out which path through the kelp is best. I like to plan my dives between two "holes" in the kelp because I prefer not to push my head and snorkel through a thick matt of kelp.


    I don't find the kelp disorienting but instead find it comforting as it is a frame of reference when you can't see the bottom. I use the kelp to spot fish and focus on the areas between kelp stalks when hunting for larger game. I also know that fish hide "under" and behind kelp so I move slowly when swimming around large stalks and try to get a view on the other side before barging through.


    I do find the eel grass disorienting as it waves back and forth close to shore it can make me feel sick.


    There is more sand in socal than rock and kelp. The kelp only grows on a rocky bottom so almost all my diving is in those areas.


    I should mention that shore diving can frequently be a challenge. Between enviro-nuts, over zealous wardens, the adoring public (can I take your picture) and the cliffs/waves etc.... shore diving can be a bear. On the other hand, boat diving costs more.


    Water temps range between low 50's and high 60's typically with a serious thermocline most of the year. It can truly make you numb and it can really ruin your breath hold if you are freezing.


    I imagine you get deeper/longer dives in Florida.

    I really love diving with limited amounts of gear (probably why I'm so drawn to freediving as opposed to scuba). If it wasn't for my love of diving I don't think I'd bother putting a wetsuit on to dive the winters here. That being said, I dove in the keys last winter for lobsters in 56 degree water in a 5mm suit. Hats off to you Cali guys because I couldn't do it. I suffered through 4 hours of it and got 2 bugs. I was totally frozen/blue/numb by the time I got out and don't ever want to do it again. My ears hands and feet were the worst(no hood). Not to rub it in but its really nice to dive water in the 80s with 60+ feet of visibility(in the keys) with nothing more than a bathing suit and maybe 4lbs. I guess I'm spoiled.



    I'd say I'm a mediocre diver here in south Florida, if we can dive deeper and longer here then I'd flat out suck out there.


    Avg bottom: Rock and sand where the rock ends. Norcal and Socal are very different animals in themselves.
    It gets deep pretty fast. Some places you may have a quarter mile, if that of reachable bottom.
    Kelp is beautifull and erie when murky. It does bive you a sense of security when diving in it. Some people have tangled and died in it. It is a food source for giant snails called abalone. In some places it is so thick that you have to swim under it.



    wetsuits are 6.5-7mm. Hooded vests are a must. Coolers filled with plastic milk jugs filled with supper hot water are great for warm ups between and after diving. Winters are cold as hell and we dive all year round given a break in the cold fronts long enough to settle the silt down and improve visibility.


    I remember days when your face , in between the mask and hood, would burn like it was on fire from the cold. To the point where it made you scream under water when you first entered.


    West coast has a lot of different underwater environments. Northern merine animals mix in with the southern ones. As you travel north or south, you loose some species and gain others.


    I equated the type of diving we did there to a mission. The only real pleasure came at the end of the dive when you were safely on shore. White sharks and poor vis have a way of making on feel very vulnerable. Of course there was a natural beauty in the undersea but the sea is not welcoming like S Florida.




    :toast:

    Kelp beds are similar to forests on land. At the base of the stalks, there is usually space between them. Sometimes there are thicker beds than others, but usually you can navigate through them fairly easily. The tops are just like the canopy in the forest as well. It can get so thick it will block out all light. You can drive a boat through it, but you will get your prop wrapped up pretty good. I normally dive off of kayaks and small boats, so dealing with the kelp is simple. You can actually tie off your kayak to the kelp, and it serves as a great anchor. In smaller boats, you can just pull up the motor and unwrap it if it gets bad. Also, you must make sure you clear the prop of any kelp before you get underway, or it can cause some serious engine damage.


    On spearing out here, I live on Catalina Island, which provides a different type of underwater terrain. There are spots here that drop to 200' just a few yards off shore. There are some flat, sandy spots here, but mostly drop-offs and the such. There are a few pinnacles and rocks located a bit outside, and they can be productive if you learn how to work them. The currents get pretty strong out here as well. Vis is usually better than the mainland, sometimes up to 100'+, but average 20-25'. Vis can change dramatically as well. It can turn over and green up within a day or so.

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