Do you Drink and Dive?

[500 PSI]

If anyone remembers the movie the DEEP, then you will recall Nick Nolte downing one before he dove. Then his dive partner (can't recal his name) said "I never drink before I dive" ! I guess it was a real macho think for Nick, but then again he was recently busted on a DUI. He's not exactly a divers roll model

 

[Don Burke]

Actually, I always dive 100% sober.

Same here.

 

[gstroupe]

always sober! diving is dangerous enough. Now, after the dives are over....well, that's a different story for a different board

 

[DiveGolfSki]

If anyone remembers the movie the DEEP, then you will recall Nick Nolte downing one before he dove. Then his dive partner (can't recal his name) said "I never drink before I dive" ! I guess it was a real macho think for Nick, but then again he was recently busted on a DUI. He's not exactly a divers roll model

I think you hit the nail right on the head. My instructor remembers the time on board the "Seeker" (Shadow Divers fame, et al) back in the 70's when diving was really considered dangerous. On the way to a wreck site, Bill Nagle would pour out half of each can in a six pack of coke and fill it up with RUM. He'd consume all of it before getting to site and he'd still dive:11: . This in the days before mixed gases??!! Of course, we all know what he died of..

I just realized I do drink when I dive ... one martini every fifty feet ... I just have the bar tender hold the olives and everything else.

 

[Segundo]

The only thing I ever drink either before, during (on occasion) and after is water. Come to think of it a case of beer can last me for a year or more!

 

[grouchyturtle]

Never drink before diving, but have the night before.

How much really depended on what the dive plan was for the next day, and whether I'm on vacation or diving locally NJ.

I also drink tons of water while diving.

Have had a few after diving, but that's usually with dinner, after and hour+ trip back to shore, followed by packing up all the gear. Have had a beer or two from the cooler on the ride back too, but that was after a shallower dive, and also after packing up all my gear.

Last trip I did , I really didn't drink that much, mainly because we were doing a lot of deeper dives, and hauling doubles all over the place at the end of the day. So I was almost falling asleep at dinner even without any alcohol.

 

[SeaKat]

Never drink before a dive....the night or the day or after. I do not feel well after drinking, and a single drink, in my case, can impair my mental sharpness for a full day afterwards.
There is no way I would drink and dive, nor have I ever.
SEAKAT

 

[UndrWatrDan]

I have never drank and dove and would not dive with anyone that has consumed any amount of alcohol prior to a dive. Matter of fact, on dive trips I hardly drink at all, maybe a margarita (or whatever drink is "appropriate" for the location I'm visiting) with dinner after a day of diving, but I'm on a trip to dive not to get drunk and be hungover. When it comes to alcohol, I like the rule, "one drink and you're done diving for the day"

 

[TCDiver1]

While abstinence is always the best policy, moderation can take you far in life also.

Moderation, in that you NEVER dive while under the influence of alcohol or any other substance that may impair judgment.

Someone mentioned "Martini's Law." Basically, Martini's Law is the idea that each 50 or so feet of water depth has the equivalent narcotic effect of one Martini or one alcoholic drink. So if you have one drink immediately before diving, you're at about one atmosphere of narcotic impairment before you even break the surface. Obviously not the optimal place to be.

If you had a drink far enough in advance of a planned dive, as to not be impaired, you have no problem. Either way, common sense dictates proper hydration before and after diving in all cases. Drinking in moderation before or after diving will not kill you if you follow these basic rules with a little common sense.

 

[Santa]

I guess it was a real macho think for Nick, but then again he was recently busted on a DUI.

The drysuit?