EXPERIENCED scuba divers are quite knowledgeable about boating weather.

In some dive locations such as the Aqaba Gulf in the Middle East, it is rare for a dive to be cancelled due to the sea conditions.

On the Sunshine Coast, it is a vastly different story.

Here on the Coast, up to 100 days a year can be cancelled due to adverse weather conditions. This year it has been particularly bad with 50 days alone being cancelled during the months of February and March.

What puzzles many novice divers is why a trip is cancelled on a beautiful summer day when the seas are smooth and the skies are blue.

The answer generally is the presence of a powerful 3-4m ocean swell that rolls towards the shore from up to 1000km or more away. These powerful swells cause strong surges underwater, making it dangerous for divers. When novice divers look out to sea from the shore, they often see relatively smooth seas - but still their trip is cancelled.

What they don't realise is that a lot further out to sea, there may be winds of up to 20 knots, making it too uncomfortable in a boat. No matter where divers explore, they should always take the advice of the local dive charter operators. They are the experts.