usvi-on-line
Another snorkeler died in waters off of St. John
Re: Another snorkeler died in waters off of St. John
Lisa: It's easier than that... just examine the graph at the top center of the page; the red line is the measured water level over time; the blue line is their prediction of the water level, and the green line is the difference between the two. Since the default graph only shows about a day of data, you can get a better sense of the tidal patterns by changing the "Begin date" below the graph to a few days before the present, and clicking "View Plot". Twice a month, the levels die out, and twice a month they are at their highest (near the full and new moon). There was a data glitch in mid-March that will rescale the plot very small if you try to look at all of March, but if you set the Begin Date and End Date for an earlier month, you will see the pattern, and be able to gauge whether you are in a period of strong or weak tides. You can also set the Begin and End dates in the future, at which point all that you see is the predicted water levels. Just make sure to ask for less than 31 days of data. About the worst it gets is ~17" between low and high water, and twice a month it drops to nearly zero, but if you look at the predictions for say, the month of May, you will see that the times when the tides are fairly strong tend to dominate, with only a few days when they really die out.
Trying to time things during a day of strong tides to pick a lull sounds risky at best; the phase delays between Little Lameshur and your snorkel site are unknown, and with only three hours between strong and weak flows, stopping for a burger and no fries at Skinnies could have substantially greater health consequences than usual.
Here is a screenshot of the tide predictions for the upcoming month of April. The new moon is on the 10th, and the full moon on the 25th. Note that high tides persist longer after the new and full moon than before, and that there are only really a few days each month when the tides are slack. Exposed snorkels at any other time of month are luck of the draw. If you do try to time it on an exposed snorkel during a period of strong tides, at least be sure to click the Time Zone to "Local", and re-plot the data before planning anything.
All the best,
Kevin
Trying to time things during a day of strong tides to pick a lull sounds risky at best; the phase delays between Little Lameshur and your snorkel site are unknown, and with only three hours between strong and weak flows, stopping for a burger and no fries at Skinnies could have substantially greater health consequences than usual.
Here is a screenshot of the tide predictions for the upcoming month of April. The new moon is on the 10th, and the full moon on the 25th. Note that high tides persist longer after the new and full moon than before, and that there are only really a few days each month when the tides are slack. Exposed snorkels at any other time of month are luck of the draw. If you do try to time it on an exposed snorkel during a period of strong tides, at least be sure to click the Time Zone to "Local", and re-plot the data before planning anything.
- April's predicted tides
Kevin
Last edited by Coconuts on Sun Mar 31, 2013 10:08 am, edited 4 times in total.
Re: Another snorkeler died in waters off of St. John
Thanks, Kevin. I understand and the advice is much appreciated.
I love having a scientist friend.
I love having a scientist friend.
Re: Another snorkeler died in waters off of St. John
I very much like the idea of promoting the fact that snorkeling can be dangerous under some conditions. Such notice may, unfortunately, scare off some folks needlessly, and will no doubt be ignored by some that really need to heed it. But when dealing with something that can be a life or death issue it's certainly better to err on the side of caution.
In a perfect world, everyone would take the time to get really comfortable in the water, with gear on, before snorkeling. Even at relatively benign locations such as Trunk and Maho I see people flailing in the water in a vertical (rather than horizontal) position. When they get in water that's close to or over their head what do they do to steady themselves? Stand on the "rocks", which often turn out to be coral. Because snorkeling can be such an easy thing to do, too many people jump right in without having practiced, let alone mastered the fundamentals of the sport, and that sign (that they may or may not have read) that said not to stand on/kick/touch the living coral reef isn't even an afterthought when anxiety due to inexperience takes over.
I believe one of the biggest problems is that many people attempt to snorkel in places that are prone to conditions well beyond their experience. I grew up near the ocean and have been surfing and swimming in it since I could walk. By the time we made our first trip to St. John I had been scuba diving for well over twenty years, with certifications through Rescue Diver, and Leslie had for well over 10, with an Advanced Diver card.
Even given that level of experience (and probably due to it) we were very conservative when deciding where to snorkel, how far offshore to go, etc. On each subsequent trip we seem to get more comfortable and thus "braver" with our swims, but we also do real time monitoring of the conditions (including how we are feeling) and give each other the green light to abort any swim if it becomes uncomfortable.
One word about flotation devices: In my opinion, the biggest benefit, particularly for the novice/occasional snorkeler is peace of mind - the biggest fear most people associate with being in the water is of sinking and drowning (although you don't really need the former to do the latter).
If you're trying to swim against the current, your floatation device will make that more difficult. If you have the ability to remain calm in the water, it's virtually impossible to not float in the salt water of the ocean. Other than when on snorkel charters where I was required to, I've never worn/carried one. I may rethink that position and at least have something with me that can be inflated if the need/want arises. I would imagine that even a seasoned veteran of the water might appreciate a "safety net" in a worst case scenario.
Other than the (somewhat) unavoidable factors such as health, I still think what gets a lot of folks in trouble is putting themselves in situations that are potentially more than they're ready to deal with. Go look on any travel forum for places where snorkeling is a draw. How many topics along the lines of "where's the best/most scenic snorkeling?" are there compared to "where is a good place to go for a beginner/intermediate level snorkeler?" do you see?
A lot of folks answer that question "Waterlemon Cay" on STJ forums. And there are always replies from the fortunate folks that had a calm, easy day that say "my eighty year old grandmother did it with no problem" to reassure them that they can certainly handle it. And when it turns out that on the day they went, that they couldn't, the results can be tragic.
In a perfect world, everyone would take the time to get really comfortable in the water, with gear on, before snorkeling. Even at relatively benign locations such as Trunk and Maho I see people flailing in the water in a vertical (rather than horizontal) position. When they get in water that's close to or over their head what do they do to steady themselves? Stand on the "rocks", which often turn out to be coral. Because snorkeling can be such an easy thing to do, too many people jump right in without having practiced, let alone mastered the fundamentals of the sport, and that sign (that they may or may not have read) that said not to stand on/kick/touch the living coral reef isn't even an afterthought when anxiety due to inexperience takes over.
I believe one of the biggest problems is that many people attempt to snorkel in places that are prone to conditions well beyond their experience. I grew up near the ocean and have been surfing and swimming in it since I could walk. By the time we made our first trip to St. John I had been scuba diving for well over twenty years, with certifications through Rescue Diver, and Leslie had for well over 10, with an Advanced Diver card.
Even given that level of experience (and probably due to it) we were very conservative when deciding where to snorkel, how far offshore to go, etc. On each subsequent trip we seem to get more comfortable and thus "braver" with our swims, but we also do real time monitoring of the conditions (including how we are feeling) and give each other the green light to abort any swim if it becomes uncomfortable.
One word about flotation devices: In my opinion, the biggest benefit, particularly for the novice/occasional snorkeler is peace of mind - the biggest fear most people associate with being in the water is of sinking and drowning (although you don't really need the former to do the latter).
If you're trying to swim against the current, your floatation device will make that more difficult. If you have the ability to remain calm in the water, it's virtually impossible to not float in the salt water of the ocean. Other than when on snorkel charters where I was required to, I've never worn/carried one. I may rethink that position and at least have something with me that can be inflated if the need/want arises. I would imagine that even a seasoned veteran of the water might appreciate a "safety net" in a worst case scenario.
Other than the (somewhat) unavoidable factors such as health, I still think what gets a lot of folks in trouble is putting themselves in situations that are potentially more than they're ready to deal with. Go look on any travel forum for places where snorkeling is a draw. How many topics along the lines of "where's the best/most scenic snorkeling?" are there compared to "where is a good place to go for a beginner/intermediate level snorkeler?" do you see?
A lot of folks answer that question "Waterlemon Cay" on STJ forums. And there are always replies from the fortunate folks that had a calm, easy day that say "my eighty year old grandmother did it with no problem" to reassure them that they can certainly handle it. And when it turns out that on the day they went, that they couldn't, the results can be tragic.
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Re: Another snorkeler died in waters off of St. John
Indeed a tragedy....
Like Augie, I consider myself pretty comfortable in the water. Still - I wear an inflatable vest anytime I'm planning to be on a "long snorkel" or go a longer distance. Began this right after a trip to Cozumel when I was "forced" to wear one, the water got choppy, and I started to actually get sea-sick. I felt an urgent need to inflate the vest to relax a moment or two to regain my composure. Truly - I was thankful to have that vest. Now - wife and I bring them and wear them pretty routinely.
Like Augie, I consider myself pretty comfortable in the water. Still - I wear an inflatable vest anytime I'm planning to be on a "long snorkel" or go a longer distance. Began this right after a trip to Cozumel when I was "forced" to wear one, the water got choppy, and I started to actually get sea-sick. I felt an urgent need to inflate the vest to relax a moment or two to regain my composure. Truly - I was thankful to have that vest. Now - wife and I bring them and wear them pretty routinely.
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Bluestreak12
- Posts: 65
- Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2013 7:32 pm
Re: Another snorkeler died in waters off of St. John
****Sorry if this is misleading due to the title of the thread**** I am not aware of anyone that has died recently.
Just bumping this up for any newbies as it may provide valuable information to those inexperienced with snorkeling.
We had trouble also this past July with a strong current around Waterlemon right at the full moon. I normally just swim with my legs when snorkeling, but I had to swim all out to get through the current. The most important thing is to not panic and I like to float on my back until I regain my strength.
Good luck to all and be safe.
Just bumping this up for any newbies as it may provide valuable information to those inexperienced with snorkeling.
We had trouble also this past July with a strong current around Waterlemon right at the full moon. I normally just swim with my legs when snorkeling, but I had to swim all out to get through the current. The most important thing is to not panic and I like to float on my back until I regain my strength.
Good luck to all and be safe.
Last edited by Bluestreak12 on Wed Dec 11, 2013 4:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Another snorkeler died in waters off of St. John
A great thread to bump to the top given the conditions of the sea down there lately! I know we will be taking extra precaution on our upcoming trip!
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mindehankins
- Posts: 3014
- Joined: Fri Mar 06, 2009 8:21 am
- Location: Western NY State
Re: Another snorkeler died in waters off of St. John
Indeed. And prayers for his family, on this saddest Christmas....