Low Viz scare ya ?

[ccx2]

It does me. If I'm in good viz like 40'or better no problems here but if it's real bad like 5 or 10 I get scared/spooked of what might be just outside of my vision that can harm me or maybe just scare the chit out of me when it moves into my view in such close proximity . If I have on a wetsuit and gloves it's not quite as bad because I feel somewhat protected, but it's still bad.
Anyone else have this problem ? How do you deal with it ?

 

[acteg]

I was recently snorkeling in low viz conditions (probably 3-5ft max). It wasn't scary but I was only under for a few minutes at a time, so maybe not a good comparison to your situation. I got that feeling like I'm walking through my house in the middle of the night with no lights on, kind of expecting to bump into something, but not really since I know my way around. Kind of treading carefully, ya know? I can imagine that if I was scuba diving the feeling would have been much more pronounced.

 

[tempoffroad]

Here in NC most of the time 10 I would be happy with. We have some quarrys and sometimes off the coast you know your at the bottom when you are landing on it. I just try not to think about it if its really bad. Just will slow down some and maybe stay a little shallower

 

[tdtaylor]

I believe all new divers have some thoughts along these lines. When I originally took my OW course, it was in bad viz- and I am glad for it now. Most divers I am with all have anxiety when in a new situations before they become more comfortable.

About a month ago I was on a boat wreck diving off the Maryland coast, different level currents, fairly deep and low visibility -a situation I haven't been in before. My SAC rate was rather high for the first dive. By the second dive, I had relaxed enough, was familiar with the unique rigging arrangement of the boat, and throughly enjoyed the dive, and my SAC rate returned to normal.

Give it time, and you will become more comfortable with the situation.

 

[MattJ]

I teach in Central Texas; we do our certifying dives in Lake Travis where the vis isn't ever going to be confused with blue-water diving.

I'll get students sometimes who are scared of diving in low-viz conditions. So, I'll have them list what's in the water that could hurt them. (The answer, critter-wise, is "nothing.") So, I'll remind them that if we get separated, they know what to do. If they get tangled, they know what to do. I reinforce that I'm going to go pretty slowly and that I'll have a light that I'm shining back behind me that'll help them follow me.

The first dive for them is usually the scariest. After that, they know what to expect. And the more you dive in it, the more comfortable you get. It's like golfers playing every weekend on the local muni course. If that's the place near you where you can golf, and you love to golf, that's where you go. If low-viz is what you dive every weekend, it doesn't become low-viz diving, it's just diving.

The good thing about diving in low-viz conditions is that, for navigation, when you swim away from the platform with a compass, you can't just turn around, look up, and swim back. You really have to navigate back. You have to swim pretty accurate patterns for search and recovery. So there are some advantages, too.

How do you deal with it? Dive it more often.

 

[eelnoraa]

I am kind of used to 5-10 ft of viz, enough for for me to see the bottom if I am near it, or the smb line, so I am not disoriented. I have dive in less than 1ft viz a few times in day light. Everything was white. I couldn't see the bottom when my hand could touch it, and couldn't see the smb line even if I was holding the spool. I didn't know what I was swimming into, and I don't know if I am going up or down. It was definitely scary. I think only if everything is black will be more scary.

 

[TMHeimer]

I obviously don't like low viz in currents or strong surge. Otherwise, I'm not crazy about anything under 3 feet, but not really spooked. If I can see the bottom at all to hunt for shells I'm happy. Being a foot or less off the bottom is also excellent buoyancy practise.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Where I dive we often have to deal with low vis conditions during the summer months due to plankton blooms. A few years back I took a trip to Maui. As we're descending to the airport, I noticed the island was encircled with a ring of brown water ... apparently it had been raining hard for a few days and they had mudslides. After we landed and got settled into our condo in Kihei, we went to the local shop to rent tanks for a shore dive, and the guy wouldn't even rent them to us. He said it wasn't worth diving because vis was less than 10 feet. We told him we were used to that ... at home that was considered a decent day. He replied that at home we don't have tiger sharks.

Well ... um ... OK ... I guess ...

At any rate, we decided to find something else to do for the day ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[eelnoraa]

The problem is not really low viz for the entire dive. If I get into water and find 1 foot viz, I probably will call it right there. My low viz incident happened in mid dive, all in about 40ft of water with bottom of also about 40ft. I can only imagine if I was in deeper water with much deeper bottom. I wonder who and where I can get some very low viz traning.

 

[lowviz]

...//... I wonder who and where I can get some very low viz traning.

-take a search and recovery course with your local PSD divers. You won't be disappointed...