-=> Quoting Paul Davis to All <=-
 PD> My wife and I just got our OW certificates  and log our first dive by
 PD> ourselves.  It was not a fun dive at all. :(  When we got suited up
 PD> My question for all that have dove on the West Coast, Is there
 PD> anyway  to prodict the visiblity?  And what is better to start a dive
It is not possible to COMPLETLY predict the visibility, but here are
some suggestions: If it has been raining within the last week or two,
vis is likely to be bad, because of runoff carrying silt from the land
into the ocean.
The less wave action at your dive site, the better the possibility
of good vis.
Plankton and algae blooms can wreck the vis. Check with local dive shops
for info on what season(s) of the year are best/worst for plankton.
 PD> in, Low slack  tide and High slack tide?  And does anyone know of any
I like to dive on a rising tide, say three or four hours after low
tide. Avoid diving on an ebb tide, unless the current patterns at the
dive site do not pose a risk of the ebb carrying you out to sea.
 PD> My next question, Would you concider that dive to be a simple
 PD> dive?  We dove on Half-Moon bay in Winchester Bay.
I have never been to that site, but I have made over 100 dives in
Monterey and Sonoma counties, in visibility ranging from 2' to 60+'
I wouldn't call your experience a "simple" dive. I hope this one
bad day won't sour you on diving. There will other days of calm,
warm water, excellent visibility, and these will make up for the
bad days.
If you stick with it, you will probably do some scuba diving in
tropical water, like Hawaii or the Caribbean. It's glorious!
Visibility of 100' or more, 82 degree water so you can shed that
awkward bulky wetsuit, dive with 10 lbs of lead instead of 35 pounds...
One dive trip to Cozumel, and you bless yourself for sticking
with scuba diving!!! Good luck on your future diving life!
--- HyperMail! v1.22
---------------