Got certified today! And froze.

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Marie, the vis was horrible. Maybe 4 foot max. Lots of silt and just "stuff" floating in the water. We plotted to a sunken boat and when I could finally see it I could touch it! LOL. There was a beautiful large rainbow trout living underneath it though, so that was really nice. Saw a lot of little bluegill and bass too. Oh, and salamanders. :)

Cuzza, a dry suit is on the agenda, but my daughter just got engaged! :) Yeah! Wedding is next November so I guess any monies I had put aside for a dry suit now will be going into a reception/dress, etc. :) But my wife and I are absolutely thrilled, he is a really, really nice man. He is finish up his PhD in Neuroscience at UCONN.

Erich, ice diving in a wetsuit? I couldn't even imagine. As soon as we got in the water today it started snowing!! Wowza. It was surreal.
 
Marie, the vis was horrible. Maybe 4 foot max. Lots of silt and just "stuff" floating in the water. We plotted to a sunken boat and when I could finally see it I could touch it! LOL. There was a beautiful large rainbow trout living underneath it though, so that was really nice. Saw a lot of little bluegill and bass too. Oh, and salamanders. :)

Cuzza, a dry suit is on the agenda, but my daughter just got engaged! :) Yeah! Wedding is next November so I guess any monies I had put aside for a dry suit now will be going into a reception/dress, etc. :) But my wife and I are absolutely thrilled, he is a really, really nice man. He is finish up his PhD in Neuroscience at UCONN.

Erich, ice diving in a wetsuit? I couldn't even imagine. As soon as we got in the water today it started snowing!! Wowza. It was surreal.

My first OW dives were mid-September. It had rained cats and dogs the night before. Viz was arm's length. That on top of everything else contributed to me only getting 1 dive done that weekend (got certified two weeks later).

Daughter can pay for her own wedding. You can have your drysuit. :wink: Don't get me started on the topic!:rant:
 
HAHAHAHA. I am a traditionalist, and we are only paying for part. :) Drysuit will be coming sooner rather than later.
 
Why..in Gawd's name is your shop doing cert dives in that water temp? We stop ALL O/W certification dives at 57 degrees...anything below that makes the student regret it. Not to mention the dexterity issues involved with a new frozen student trying to clear masks in hoods and 7mm gloves... it's just a recipe for a lost diver imo.

Diving is supposed to be FUN...freezing your azz off and regretting it is NOT how ya turn a new diver on and keep em in the sport....jmo.

Bubs
 
Congratulations. I was surprised at less than 50F water temps. in CT until I noticed you were at a lake and not the Sound. I just dived today here in Nova Scotia with both air & water exactly 50. Was the 7 mil wetsuit you wore a farmer john? That's what I wear and usually can do 2 dives comfortably at 50 or a little less unless it's this time of year with usually much colder air. In winter I can go all winter doing just one dive in a day at our house on the ocean. If you stay wet, I advise using the "lobster claw" mitts instead of the 5 mil 5 fingered gloves. These keep hands amazingly warm -- even in temps. below 40... though the rest of you not so much. I spend 7 weeks in Westchester NY each summer and have dived pretty much all the places on the CT Sound shore. Pleasure Beach near New London and Hammonasset State Park are about the best of a poor lot. We usually do 2-3 months on the FL panhandle after Xmas, where I may wear the wetsuit, and odd time the shorty. Not many locals that time of year diving...."Too cold on the Tundra of Florida".
 
Diving Wet When It Is Cold - SCUBA KNOWTES
Congratulations!

Here are a few tips for your next dives.

Pete

That is a really GOOD summary of how to beat the cold when wetsuit diving. There is one very important thing I think you missed. Possibly because you are from Maine and you think this is obvious, but it might not be to every one.

Wearing a ski cap before diving and especially on surface intervals is really critical, even if the air temperatures are just "cool" It is really beneficial to keep your head and ears warm to reduce heat loss and also to help ensure that your ears will clear on the next dive. I like to keep the ski cap on as long as possible and just leave the wetsuit hood down until the last possible minute.

Remember the old Jacques Cousteau movies? the guys were wearing speedos and (red) ski caps on the boat?

One other small tip, I would add is something I learned the hard way. Warm water is GREAT and you need to make it quite hot when you leave the house in order for it not to be too cool when you get to the dive site. But, the last thing you want to do is pour scalding hot water down the front of your wetsuit, you will be burned and you will not be able to strip the suit fast enough to prevent injury. Always test the water by taking a sip of it into your mouth, we are used to managing hot liquids and not burning our lips etc. If you try to use your hands to test, often they are too cool to work well. You can always add a little cool water to your hot water bottle before you pour into your suit!
 
drysuit? how about airplane tickets...

Contrary to common belief, some of us have little to no interest in warm water diving.
 
Contrary to common belief, some of us have little to no interest in warm water diving.
are you willing to learn? we like the diverse undersea life, warm water, great viz and easy diving.

hands down beats the random assortment of junk (stove, tire, old car) that i got to see when i was certified.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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