Atlanta area lakes/quarries. Wet or dry?

[smash29]

Hello all!

Now that I've officially been bitten by the scuba bug after doing my first real dives down in St. Thomas I've started researching local options for getting wet.

It looks like there are some 'local" lakes and quarries around that are diveable (Jocassee, Dive Haven, Pelham AL) and I'm wondering if anyone has any advice or info about exposure suit use when diving in the area. The few people I've talked to have recommended a dry suit if I'm going to be diving here regularly and I'm just curious if anyone has any experience with the sites around here. If getting into a drysuit is going to be necessary then I'll resign myself to a trip south every month or two until I can get the funds for one, but I'm really just wondering if there might be any other options.

Hope someone can help!

Thanks!

 

[tre2000zx2]

Jocassee is an option as is Keowee hot hole... for hot hole i divea 3mil hederson no hood boots or gloves and im fine..cassee...dry if you have it or are goin really deep..past 2 weeks me and a friend have both been on cassee with 3 mil hederson, 3/2 edge shorty layered , 3 mil hood , 3 mil gloves, and booties...i was fine to 100-110 but its also subjective to you and how easily you get cold...id have to look at the logs to tell ya the temp ..at deoth i wanna say it was round 50's both weekends..i tend to not get as cold very easily most were usin 7/5 or 5mil farmers johns...

 

[The Kraken]

Smash, that's a tough one to answer.

To put it simply, it depends upon how deep you want to go and what your thermal requirements are.

Up at Lanier, if you drop below the second thermocline any time of the year, about 45 to 50', you'll encounter water in the low 40's year round. Above that, between the 1st and 2nd thermocline, a 5mm will do. Above that a 3mm in the summer.

Needless to say, it also depends what times of the year you plan to dive.

In the quarries the temps can drop into the lower 50's below the thermoclines year round.

the K

 

[ekewaka]

I dove Lanier last weekend in a 3mm. The temp was 47F at 80 feet. I probably won't do that again. I am fine in a 7mm at any time of the year. A dry suit would be nice, but you can certainly dive without one.

 

[divinginn]

i still cant believe you dove a 3mill when you had a 7mill,you looked pretty cold,in another month we might be able to break out the 3mils again,still gets cold below about 40 ft though.

 

[smash29]

I appreciate all the replies! Good info.

I do realize that temperature can be subjective from person to person, I was just wondering if something along the lines of a 7 mil would even be a viable option. The only people I've talked to about it (all 2 of them!) were of the opinion that a 7 might get me through one dive but I wouldn't want to do more than that without a drysuit. I did my OW dives in the Florida springs wearing a 3 mil full and a 2 mil shorty and I was fine.

Oh, and I wouldn't really need to go all that deep, I'm looking more towards simply getting more dives under my belt.

 

[DIR-Atlanta]

There are actually two issues - how warm are you in the water, and then how warm are you topside between dives. A drysuit will keep you warm both places, and a wetsuit won't. If you dive wet on a windy day, then you will freeze both places - a drysuit will solve that problem for you.

I dove two years locally in Atlanta before buying a drysuit, and wish I had done it sooner. It turned out to be one of the smartest investments in dive gear that I ever made. If you are committed to local diving in this area, then it will allow you to extend your diving season to pretty much all year round.

My first drysuit was a 7mm neoprene. I bought it because it was the least expensive option - never again. It barely lasted 4 years. My second suit was a TLS 350, which cost me about twice as much as the neoprene, but it has already lasted more than twice as long. I'm about ready to relegate it to "backup" status, and will probably purchase a second TLS 350 later this year. They are great suits, and you can't beat `em.

My recommendation is to go dry as quick as you can if you are keen on diving the local lakes and quarries. You will be much more comfortable in the long run.

 

[Upstate Scuba OWI]

go dry as soon as possible I recommend the whites catalyst 360 it comes with all the thermal's, boots and other extra's in the stock price. but until you do get a dry suit a quality 3 5 3 wetsuit with a hood and thick gloves works good at lake Keowee and Lake Jocassee in SC as well most florida springs in winter time.

 

[ClayJar]

You can dive wet, but learn the wetsuit divers' tricks of the trade. You can't underestimate the warming power of ingesting hot liquids on a surface interval, for example, and having hot water in a cooler (warmer?) to pour into your wetsuit before the second dive is really nice, too. There are other tips, too.

That said, I adore my drysuit, and I'm very happy I bought it, even though it wasn't even a month earlier when I told myself I had no intention of going dry. (I found a great deal and did an impulse birthday present for myself. Best. Present. Ever. )

 

[Coeur]

If you plan on diving ABWA (Pelham) or Dive Haven and don't have a dry suit, I would recommend a 7ml to be on the more comfortable side. It was around 56 degrees in Pelham a couple weeks ago (@ 70 ft). And from the LDS near Dive Haven, it's pretty much the same.