HEY! Who's diving wet still?

[whitelief]

It was very interesting to check out the Buzzards Bay Buoy last Sat with all that wind. The water temp went from 51 to 38 in something like three hours! YOW. Nothing like a strong NW wind to pull up that bottom stuff!

So, as a new guy on the block, I am wondering who is still diving wet this time of year? And what extra layer tricks are you employing to stretch the season out?

And speaking of stretching out the season, it sound like another crappy weekend, with snow and wind and stuff. Alas. Perhaps the weather will settle down before Christmas.

David in Westwood, MA

 

[decapoddiver]

I dive dry this time of year. Pre-DUI, I used a hooded 3 mm vest under my 2 piece 7mm wetsuit and it worked very well. I still managed to get in two "normal" dives a day.

 

[MSilvia]

I just stopped for the season, and dive in a 2 piece 7mm wetsuit. 40 degrees at the bottom is my cutoff point.

 

[Spectre]

MSilvia once bubbled...
40 degrees at the bottom is my cutoff point.

Sad. As Matt ages, he looses his tough. What was it before? 'It's not cold, it's stil liquid?'

*sigh*

[ehh.. who am I to talk ]

 

[reefseal]

It's not when you're under when wet.. It's topside as you're unsuiting.. Brrrr... Frozen fingers in wind unzipping and when bare exposed wet skin in freezing wind!! That's what sucks. I could dive wet in winter as long as air temps are above freezing, sun is out and no wind. Then it's bareable...

Good tricks like pouring hot/warm water into suit, dunking gloves/hood in warm water help..

 

[Big-t-2538]

If I were allowed out of the house (damn almost 9 months pregnant wife not being "comfortable" all the time) I'd be diving wet...but that is b/c there's a lack of options....

Hell last year we made some dives in DEC in the snow....wet

 

[MASS-Diver]

I dive dry year round, but,a few years ago my buddy dove the whole winter wet ( 2piece 7mm).

Tips are:
1.) Get dressed into WS in a warm car or in the cabin
2.) Duct tape wrist and ankle seals
3.) Add warm water before entering
4.) Think "warm" thoughts
5.) Get fat (or fatter)
6.) I "heard" some people drink a big cup of coffee before diving to "recycle" it later as addded warm fluid in their suit


And of course, be careful, you can get into alot of trouble when your hands start to shut down, stress increases when you get cold, it can become hard to think to straight, and you are much more vulnerable to DCI because your circulation is all screwed up. You can get so cold you can't walk straight and you'll feel drunk - not good.

Plus, you'll have to put up with jerks like me with a DUI, wheezle extreme plus underwear and argon, complaining about how we are cold

 

[gfisher4792]

But only in the warmer waters of West Palm Beach. Otherwise, brrrr. Though 40 deg is my cutoff point.

 

[Soggy]

What are the water temps like? I haven't been out in a couple weeks...it was 45 last time. Damn, I need some better undies.

 

[Spectre]

Soggy once bubbled...
Damn, I need some better undies.

Try these