Cold Water Diving Skills

[Garrobo]

Why would anyone want to dive in COLD water?

 

[Ber Rabbit]

Why would anyone want to dive in COLD water?

Small groups rather than crowds of divers at the dive sites
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[Warren_L]

Visibility around here typically gets better as things cool down in the fall when some of the algae and other things in the water die off.

 

[DeepSeaDan]

Why would anyone want to dive in COLD water?

...a REAL DIVER until you've mastered the complexities of ice water immersion. Any body can puddle around in that warm soup called the "tropics".

Come to the cold, cold depths & earn your stripes, bathwater bubblers!

:mooner:

Best,
DSD

 

[abitton]

...a REAL DIVER until you've mastered the complexities of ice water immersion. Any body can puddle around in that warm soup called the "tropics".

Come to the cold, cold depths & earn your stripes, bathwater bubblers!

:mooner:

Best,
DSD

Hear here!!!!

And I love the look on x-country skiers' faces when they see us getting ready to submerge next to their trail in the middle of January!!

 

[MSilvia]

Why would anyone want to dive in COLD water?

There are probably several hundred shipwrecks within 20 miles of my front door, many of which have likely never been seen by another diver. There are also lobsters, sea scallops, cod, harbor seals, nudibranchs, electric rays, anemonae, squid, sharks, whales, dolphins and many other interesting creatures. There are several artificial reefs, dozens of excellent shore entry points, and plenty of good charter operations. There's plenty to see and do, few crowds even at the good sites, and since I own my gear and have a local shop that does free air fills, I can dive all weekend for the price of a few dollars in gas.

That, and when it's REALLY cold, it's fun to watch the skaters on the other side of the ice.

Why wouldn't I want to dive in COLD water? I think the hood and gloves are well worth it. After all, the water's cold... not me.

 

[String]

Where i live the water is cold, therefore if i want to dive for me than 1 week holiday a year i dive cold water.

I've got literally hundreds of ship wrecks, walls, reef, drift dives and many other things to keep me happy.

 

[Beach_Bunny]

Mask removal is one huge one frequently overlooked in cold water. That cold water may literally take your breath away causing a panic and a bolt to the surface. Practice breathing witht your face in the water and your reg in your mouth with your mask off in the SHALLOWS while you are standing up or on your knees with a buddy watching you. Then you can slowly graduate to clearing your mask in the shallows

and then finally a mask removal drill in the shallows while a buddy watches you.

Panic, IMHO, is one of the biggest killers and this cold water skill sneaks up on many warm water trained divers causing major panic. I have seen it and experienced it as I was in your same situation until i started diving in the NE.

Have fun, just take it slow, and only concentrate on one new thing each dive. For example, your first dive will be all about weighting and getting the new and thicker gear on. You'll be just fine!

Now, go out and get Jerry SHine's book, "A SHore Diving Guide to New England" at bluesperepubs.com and get out and dive!!!

Oh my god I thought I was the only one who just didn't expect the cold water hitting my warm face under my mask!

 

[String]

Oh my god I thought I was the only one who just didn't expect the cold water hitting my warm face under my mask!

Thats the reason when teaching mask removal you do it progressive. A small amount first then clear, then half, then 3/4, then full then removal.
By the time they reach the last 2 the face is already used to the cold.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Why would anyone want to dive in COLD water?

So much to see ... Puget Sound has well over 100 species of nudibranchs, more species of inverterbrates than one person will ever see in a lifetime of diving, the world's largest species of octopus, and a wide variety of fish. And the farther north I go, the more intense and colorful the life gets (and the colder the water gets).

I've logged over 1,500 dives here and I still every once in a while come across species I have never seen before ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)