Cold Water Die-Hards vs. Warm Water Wimps

[drbill]

In the words of Jack Nicholson "You can't handle the truth." Just teasing... feelings do seem to be getting hurt here, which I find pretty silly. What really matters is how much someone enjoys diving (and, of course, how safe they are which can matter not only to them but to their buddies).

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I dive cold water cause that's where what I'm most interested in is. Wrecks. The better preserved the more I enjoy tham and generally that means cold water. I enjoy warm water as well. Going to Bonaire in february. But alot of that is because of my wife who can't take the cold on vacation due to being confined to a wheelchair. Also as I can usually only afford one big trip a year and she goes along it's somewhere warm. If I had the option though to choose between Bonaire in Feb and Scapa Flow in July or August. I'd be buying a ticket to London or wherever in the Isles would get me there soonest. To me after a couple dives a reef is a reef. But to glide over a ship that men lived, worked, and perhaps died on is what gets me going. My best dive to date has been on a wooden ship that went down in 1870. After 137 years it looks like if you brought it up it would float. 155 ft down- 39 degree water temps. Face went numb about 70 feet. 2 hour drive and 2 hour boat ride out. For one dive. It was more than worth it.

 

[haha49]

Its not cold water that makes people better its the fact that you have to deal with more gear more weight and more boancy from thicker suits when you remove them diveing is easyer as you have to do alot less with alot less gear..

 

[vshearer]

Funny, I was just checking the coastal buoys to see what this front did to the water temp (54F) and then I get here and see this thread. Jeez. Whatever! Just dive.

 

[biles]

I started in the 80s, too. Did all my diving in Michigan - warm water was what you dumped into your wet suit before jumping into the ice hole. Used to carry 2 towels; one to lay over the snow to stand on while I got out of my wet suit.

Life happened, and there I was a used-to-be diver in St Thomas a couple of years ago. Always wanted to do this... I'd forgotten what a great thing diving is.

So now trying to start over - get the gear, dive when I can. I know one thing. I won't dive cold again. Before I hit the local waters, I'm getting a dry suit!

 

[biles]

Oh, and I agree with DrBill. Environments are different; the best diver is probably the one whose worked at his skills in many places.

 

[PinkPADIgal]

I think it is all about what motivates you to dive. I dive to relax and forget about what is going on in the real world. I can't hear the cell phone underwater...only the sounds of my bubbles. Oh yeah, lots of fish and other cool things to look at. I dive very slow and just enjoy the world around me. If that is in Puget Sound, British Columbia or the Caribbean, it just doesn't matter. Water temp is just an adjustment that I am prepared to do so I can dive.

 

[DiverBeth]

I started in warm water. Doing my AOW locally I froze my a@% off and swore I wouldn't freeze again. No fun being that cold underwater. So I learned to use a drysuit. Cold water diving has not just opened the quarrys for me but Lake Michigan with its wrecks as well.

Cold water and low viz I love it. Warm water great viz I love it. The more I dive the better my skills overall become.

So I go both ways cold and warm. Just be happy with your diving whether it's cold, warm or both.

 

[drbill]

I think it is all about what motivates you to dive. I dive to relax and forget about what is going on in the real world. I can't hear the cell phone underwater...only the sounds of my bubbles.

Wow... I didn't realize there actually was a "real" world other than that. I thought it was just a figment of the imaginations of those living in cities.

 

[Ron Brandt]

I tend to agree. It's all different and anything that's different can throw you some kind of curve.


I don't mind cold water because I wear adequate exposure protection to stay warm but I've had about all the cold weather I can stand. Diving in cold water is one thing, messing around suiting up and dealing with wet gear in sub-freezing temps is something else. I've done about enough of it.

On that quarry vis thing...the fact is that lots of quarries have really nice vis before the divers get in the water. ok, it's not the caribbean but 20 ft - 30ft is very common 30 - 50 isn't too surprising and in some qurries at some times of the year I've seen it pretty close to 100 ft. But...divers will always think it's bad because they always make it so.

Mike ;I've had all the cold weather I can stand too. Right now we have a blizzard.

I will revisit this topic sometime in June as I'm about to see how well a diver certified in warm water can handle cold water.I'm taking some students to Coz the first week of Feb to do their cert dives. They have also expressed interest in diving here in the spring and have already purchased some gear to do it.

Personally I have dove cold water for the last 27 years and only started to go to warmer water about 11 years ago. I still enjoy both..the vis is all relevant.Right now I'm sure the vis is fantastic but I've gotten tired of cutting ice.

Ron