What are the dangers of fresh water diving?
- Thread starter Crock
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idocsteve
Guest
I dived a freshwater lake at Jellystone Campgrounds in upstate NY. I had no idea what to expect, but after hopping in I found myself in a flat bottom shallow manmade lake, in about 5 foot depth and 6" of visibility. I did my best to compass navigate across the lake but I couldn't even see the compass face most of the time. I got to the other side of the lake, popped my head out and there was a father and son fishing. They were impressed and said "Wow a Scuba Diver! Did you see anything cool down there?".
I said, "No, not really...and turned and dived back in again. I couldn't see my compass, the vis was even worse than before due to my initial trek across the lake. After a few minutes I figured I better take an orientation look and popped my head up and...there was the father and son fishing team. I went in a full circle.
The real hazard there was that I almost died of embarassment.
I said, "No, not really...and turned and dived back in again. I couldn't see my compass, the vis was even worse than before due to my initial trek across the lake. After a few minutes I figured I better take an orientation look and popped my head up and...there was the father and son fishing team. I went in a full circle.
The real hazard there was that I almost died of embarassment.
reefseal
Contributor
Risk of drowning because you get so bored, you fall asleep underwater and your reg pops out of your mouth and you drown.
OP
Crock
Contributor
Ohhh a lot of jokers on here.
LOL Crock there are alot of jokers in here but most of the time its all in good humor. There are some honest post and some just to poke fun. Take it for what its worth and hopefully you got the serious answers you were looking for!
OP
Crock
Contributor
diver_doug
Contributor
You run the risk of looking like a weirdo for diving in a lake. Also, when you get out of the water, people will probably ask you: "did you find the body?"
Togalive
Contributor
So true....
Since the OP is in Toronto - I'll answer from a fellow great lakes diver.
1) Biggest issue that I encounter is the boat traffic that others have mentioned.
2) Zebra mussels to a lesser extent can be a bit of a PITA but good buoyancy control should eliminate that for the most part.
3) Thermoclines - I was in Lake Erie last weekend and the temp was 77 degrees down to 63 feet at which point it dropped to 41 degrees in a space of about 2'.
4) Rougher water - the great lakes have different wave action then what is normally seen on the oceans because the waves are closer together then the swells normally encountered in salt water environments. This can lead to more/worse cases of seasickness.
On the lighter side:
1) Possibility of addiction to wreck diving once you start to experience 100+ year old wrecks that look like they could be salvaged and returned to service.
2) Hatred from your LDS because if you don't rinse off your gear it won't rot which could otherwise result in more gear sales for them - note they usually make this up in additional gear sales such as drysuits.
3) Jealousy from salt water divers with regards to the above point concerning hatred from your LDS.
4) Over hydration - get thirsty on a dive (or before you descend), just pop the reg out a take a couple swallows ... of course this then leads to eventually needing to expel that extra hydration and with a drysuit on ... you start learning about options that you might otherwise had wanted to ignore.
5) And my personal beef - getting frustrated when reading dive magazines since all they talk about are warm water destinations
1) Biggest issue that I encounter is the boat traffic that others have mentioned.
2) Zebra mussels to a lesser extent can be a bit of a PITA but good buoyancy control should eliminate that for the most part.
3) Thermoclines - I was in Lake Erie last weekend and the temp was 77 degrees down to 63 feet at which point it dropped to 41 degrees in a space of about 2'.
4) Rougher water - the great lakes have different wave action then what is normally seen on the oceans because the waves are closer together then the swells normally encountered in salt water environments. This can lead to more/worse cases of seasickness.
On the lighter side:
1) Possibility of addiction to wreck diving once you start to experience 100+ year old wrecks that look like they could be salvaged and returned to service.
2) Hatred from your LDS because if you don't rinse off your gear it won't rot which could otherwise result in more gear sales for them - note they usually make this up in additional gear sales such as drysuits.
3) Jealousy from salt water divers with regards to the above point concerning hatred from your LDS.
4) Over hydration - get thirsty on a dive (or before you descend), just pop the reg out a take a couple swallows ... of course this then leads to eventually needing to expel that extra hydration and with a drysuit on ... you start learning about options that you might otherwise had wanted to ignore.
5) And my personal beef - getting frustrated when reading dive magazines since all they talk about are warm water destinations
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