Why do Snorkeling trips get canceled?

It’s sunny and seems like a great day, so why did the dive/snorkel operator cancel our tour today?

So often in Karachi the day starts with a gusty wind and clear sky and it appears like a perfect day. If the sun is shining and the sky is clear and the gusty wind feels amazing blowing across your face while you eat breakfast, why on earth did the dive/snorkel operator call and say our snorkeling tour is canceled today? Divers and snorkelers are all confused as to why they got canceled for their Dive/Snorkel tours and many times tour companies never fully explain why they had to cancel the boat tours due to the wind.

Well, allow us to explain

On these ( seems like perfect days ) what a lot of divers and snorkelers overlooked was the gusty wind that is blowing. This wind is why tours get canceled in the Churna region. Wind speed and direction has a lot to do with your snorkel or dive tour conditions. Let us break things down into lay-mans terms for everyone.

Wind, Wind & More Wind

Based on data from different weather monitoring sites we pay close attention to the wind speed and direction not only weekly, not even daily, but even hourly.

Why you say? Well this is why.

Wind Direction

It has an important role in determining if there is a land mass to reduce the flow of wind thus decreasing its intensity. If the wind is flowing from an unfavorable direction then it means that the wind will have full thrust because there are no land masses to reduce the intensity.

Wind Speed

Wind speed has a lot of impact on the height of waves in the sea, so the higher the wind speed, the higher the waves will be. 0-10 knots will give us a light chop to 1 foot waves. 11-15 knots will give us 1.5 foot to 2 foot waves when blowing constantly for just a few hours. 16-20 knots will quickly build the waves to 3.5 foot to 4.5 foot and anything above 21 knots is when Small Crafts warnings are issued for boats under 60 feet.

Conclusion

So now we understand what Wind Speed and Wind Direction does to the Ocean causing the wave height.

If the waves are too high, then the water is really unstable for you to snorkel, visibility index drops down and seeing marine life becomes nearly impossible, this eliminates the whole experience of Snorkeling.

TONIGHT: EAST TO SOUTHEAST WINDS 15 TO 20 KNOTS. SEAS 2 TO 4 FEET. NEARSHORE WATERS CHOPPY.

TUESDAY: EAST TO SOUTHEAST WINDS 15 TO 20 KNOTS. SEAS 2 TO 4 FEET. NEARSHORE WATERS CHOPPY.

This kind of weather forces us to call off dive/snorkel tours because it just isn't worth the risks to take the boats off the dock.