Do people dive in Jan/Feb?

[neve]

Hiya all,

Another dumb rookie question for those residing in N. America: do you dive in winter, i.e. January/February?

I'm going to Vegas and Philly in Feb '03, and wondering if diving is possible around that time of the year. If yes, where?

Assuming it's drysuit diving, I will need to get extra training as I have never dived with a drysuit before. Do LDSs there have drysuits for rent?

Thanks!

 

[melfox26]

Neve,

Out here in Northern California, Jan/Feb is some of the best time to dive the cold Monterey waters. The visibility is better, although it's a little colder out of water. The water temp. is pretty consistent the whole year, in Jan '02 one of my dives registered 51 degrees, the same dive spot in June registered 57 degrees. You still need at least a 6.5 mm wetsuit or drysuit.
As for Vegas, you can dive in Lake Mead all year round. Check out this site:

www.divelasvegas.com

I went through them for a couple dives I did earlier this year, they're great. I'm not sure about the rental drysuits though.

Happy diving,

Mel

 

[raviepoo]

There are hardy souls who dive the Northeast in January and February but I wouldn't recommend it for a tropical diver without some re-training. It's work. Diving up here can be difficult, even in the summer. It is much more gear intensive than the diving that you are accustomed to. Water temperatures can get quite low. You need suitable equipment.

You probably will NOT be able to find a dealer to rent you a drysuit unless you have a dry suit cert or can demonstrate LOTS of logged drysuit dives. Some shops STILL won't rent to you, unless you did your drysuit cert with their instructor and their equipment.

I have an alternative suggestion for you if you want to do something fun and easy. Vegas is quite close to Salt Lake City. You could go to Seabase, an inland hot spring with temparatures between 70 and 85 F and the same salinity as the ocean. There is a collection of tropical fish there from all over the world. You can see carribean fish swimming with things that you only see in the Western Pacific. I've never been there, but if I ever get out that way again I'm definitely going to try it out.

Here is a link:

www.seabase.net

 

[Rick Murchison]

The water temperature in the Florida springs is the same 365 days a year, so wintertime is caving time. We also dive the Gulf in the winter... this winter just past the lowest I saw was 59 F. The lowest I've ever seen off our coast was 49F, and that winter we actually had some ice around the edges in the bays.
Bottom line, diving is a year-round sport. For a nice introduction to drysuit diving, you can rent one at Vortex spring in Ponce de Leon, FL and dive in protected waters there.
And if you want to keep essentially tropical, you can dive the Keys in the winter in a 3 mil quite comfortably.
Dive America!
Rick

 

[srkdvr]

I dive year round and I only wear a 6mm wet suit. I always (unless the boat get canceled) make a New Years Day dive. I got OW qualed in November so the cold is no big deal, the coldest part is changing on the boat. Once I get into the water it is all good, I warm.

Rich :mean:

 

[Former FLL Now MSP Diver]

neve once bubbled...
Hiya all,

Another dumb rookie question for those residing in N. America: do you dive in winter, i.e. January/February?

Yup - though the water temps drop to the low 70's here in South Florida. Brrrr!

 

[kelpmermaid]

The water temperature should be in the high 50's or so. This can be done with a 7 mil suit...you could take an extra day at LAX...

 

[raviepoo]

Within 1 - 2 hours drive of Philly you will find the following quarries:

Dutch Springs www.dutchsprings.com
Willow Springs Park www.willowspringspark.com/
Wabank Quarry (I don't know if they have a web site)
Bainbridge Scuba Center www.divebsc.com

I've been to both Dutch Springs and Wabank in the last month. Water temperatures right now are 45 or less at depth. I can't speak for the other two as I haven't dove them. According to the websites, the only one that seems to be open during the winter is Bainbridge.

I know someone who dives locally (around NYC) year round. I think he does some shore diving in the North Atlantic. Again, I wouldn't attempt this without specific training.

The USA is very far from your home. I can understand you wanting to get some diving in while you are here. Do you know that you can fly from Philly to Florida in about 3 hours for around 200$. There is a nice reef off southeast coast of FLorida. As long as you are here, it might be worthwhile to send a little extra money to dive Fort Lauderdale or the Florida Keys. That's where I will be diving in January and February.

 

[neve]

I looked at the options and Lake Mead seems like the best option for now. I want to experience something different to what I'm used to here in Asia. I've yet to try freshwater diving and drysuit diving, so I'm dying to go! Do you get to see lots of fish?

I'm now looking for a local instructor to teach me drysuit diving (although I can't imagine where we'll practice, the coldest water here is around 78F and that's at 100ft!). I'll probably be boiling in that drysuit, as I normally wear a 0.5mm suit.

If all else fails, I guess Seabase or Florida are my last resort.

Bainbridge looks interesting too. Cheers for the suggestion!

Thanks folks, keep the advise coming!

 

[neve]

after reading through the recommended sites, it seems to me that a lot of the dive sites/operators don't offer equipment rental. Is this a common practice in the US? Does this mean that I have to lug all my gear over? I'm not even sure if my gear is suitable for cold water diving

here, you can just show up at the dive shop with your swimsuit and a wad of money and they'll outfit you, lend you gear, change your tanks, etc. I'm not looking for similar treatment in the US but it will be nice if I could at least rent all the gear.

comments?