Dark and/or foggy I can usually see bow waves and prop spray long before I can see the ship itself, but I'm pretty sure the enemy AI visual isn't programmed to even notice spray. In real life however I imagine the procedure would probably be different if you were putting along at 5 knots charging batteries and saw a destroyer looming out of a fog bank in the distance, as opposed to a can or plane coming straight at you full tilt boogie.
Crash dive shift to battery, all ahead full, rig out bow planes and put them on hard dive, flood negative, safety, and bow buoyancy, then start opening the main ballast tank vents from forward to aft. The idea is to get the bow under with a steep down angle ASAP who cares how much spray is kicked up in the process since the jig is already up.
If you haven't been spotted on a dark night, a better procedure would be to All Stop, open all main ballast tank vents and flood down level with as little spray as possible, then flood the internal tanks (which are vented inboard, no geysers or bubbles). Again in game it doesn't matter since the enemy AI visual is programmed to see by size and distance, near as I can tell it takes no notice of a sudden increase in speed, bow waves, ballast tank geysers, or even blowing a spout like a whale.
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