Understanding WindGuru Phuket Scuba Diving
Windguru is one of the best weather sites for getting an understanding of the conditions related to scuba diving in Phuket.
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A Quick Video ON Understanding Windguru
Understanding Windguru VideoThe website windguru.com is the guide and go to website for not only all scuba diving and boating agencies in Phuket but the world wide.
Given that all of the scuba diving in Phuket is involved a lot of boat travel (anywhere from 1.5 hours for Racha Yai and three hours for Phi Phi) most scuba diving rely on it heavily for information for the safety and enjoyment of their customers.
Often divers particularly those doing beginner course such as the PADI Discover Scuba Diving or PADI Open Water Course have never been on a boat for extended periods. Given that it is their first experience at scuba diving we try to make it as enjoyable as we can.
Often we provide the website to divers to assist them in planning their dives whist in Phuket. To the untrained eye it look like a lot of lines and colours and really doesn’t make a lot of sense.
Hopefully this blog will help a little.
Understanding Phuket Weather Blog
On the website there are two very important features regarding boat travel and they are wind speed/gust and wave height. The stronger the wind the larger the waves. The larger the waves the more uncomfortable and sometime dangerous the boat trip can be.
To a lessor extent rain is also an issue. Not that rain itself effects the diving to much but it does effect diver comfortability. As you will spend long periods on the boat, being wet for most of the day is not pleasant.
Wind and Waves
Way back in 1807 navel officer Francis Beaufort designed a wind – wave scale based on his observations at sea (and land). This scale has since become the guide to understand the correlation between the wind speed and the subsequent wave height. Basically, the stronger the wind, the bigger the waves. The bigger the waves the more uncomfortable the day scuba diving trip will be.
Beaufort Scale – Aussie Scale
| Wind Speed | Wind Description | Wave Height | Sea Conditions | Aussie Divers Scale |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lees than 1 Knot or 1km/h | Calm | 0m | Sea like a mirror | What are you doing on land? Get out there and dive! |
| 1 – 3 Knots or 1 – 5km/h | Light Air | 0 – 0.2m | Ripples with the appearance of scales are formed, but without foam crests | The surfers loss is the scuba divers gain – go diving! |
| 4 – 6 knots or 6-11km/h | Light Breeze | 0.2 – 0.5m  |
Small wavelets, still short but more pronounced; crests have a glassy appearance and do not break | Nothing to worry about – Just don’t leave your drink on the table |
| 7 – 10 knots or 12-19km/h | Gentle Breeze | 0.5 – 1m  |
Large wavelets. Crests begin to break; scattered whitecaps | Still a good day out. If you are prone to motion sickness take medication way before the boat ride |
| 11 – 16 knots or 20-28km/h | Moderate Breeze | 1 – 2m  |
Small waves with breaking crests. Fairly frequent whitecaps. | 1.0 – 1.5m: The boat will move a bit. Medication for most. For those that get seasick, one tablet the night before and one first thing in the morning. 1:5 – 2.0m: The boat will move a lot and if you don’t like rocky boats please take this into account |
| 17 – 21 knots or 29 – 38km/h | Fresh Breeze | 2 -3m  |
Moderate waves of some length. Many whitecaps. Small amounts of spray. | If you come from a family of sailors, fishermen or pirates not a problem. Everyone else start looking at other things to do. Boats could cancel in this weather. |
| 22 – 27knots or 38 – 49km/h | Strong Breeze | 3 – 4m  |
Long waves begin to form. White foam crests are very frequent. Some airborne spray is present. | You may as well stay at home as we will be. No boats will operate. |
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