i did my first manatee run on saturday and the vis was about 15' is that normal or does it get better? i have heard that it is not the best vis system until you go upstream freedman(sp?).
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i did my first manatee run on saturday and the vis was about 15' is that normal or does it get better? i have heard that it is not the best vis system until you go upstream freedman(sp?).
Ryan,
Yes it does get better... since the flooding the walls are darker than normal. The walls have always been dark; it swallows the light. Vis was much better before the flood.
Did you see the cave sign? Last time I saw it I could only see the top 6 inches of it. Plus the flow moved it down stream about 10-15 feet.
Great diving with you the other day.
Low vis in that system is not unusual - but 20-30' is more comon. Upstream of Catfish there are a couple of tunnels that contribute to the poor vis (the Chalkly Bypass and the Milk Tunnel are the major ones). Past the Milk Tunnel (about 2300' upstream of Catfish) there is often an improvement.
Also vis usually improves when the flow drops. Often the best vis is when everything else is nearly flooded.