Making the leap...

[Kamala]

I posted this in Basic Scuba to get the input of cold/low viz divers from everywhere, but I'm posting here because who better to ask than the Orca Bait crew!

Since my certification and entire dive experience was in the warm, clear water of the Florida Keys, I'm seeking advice and tips on making the transition to the Puget Sound dive environment (typically 45-50 degree water and much more limited visibility than the water off Key Largo). My buddy and I are planning on hitting the water off Whidbey Island a few weeks from now.

I'll be diving a wetsuit and I've read several threads with tips about keeping warm during, between, and after dives, so I'm really looking more for thoughts on all the other new environmental aspects with which I'll be dealing, particularly the ones that a soon to be former WWW (warm water weenie) may not have in mind.

For the instructors and generally properly cautious folk of Scubaboard, I'm aware of the limitations of my training and the conditions of not diving beyond that training that are inherent in obtaining a C-card. I will be diving very cautious profiles only at slack tide or in otherwise no current conditions with an experienced Puget Sound diver. Although I have dived in current, I think it best to minimize taskloading while dealing with new conditions and equipment.

Thanks in advance for all your advice!

 

[bcsean]

get a light, cause it gets dark down there in a hurry. As for staying warm, obviously drysuit is ideal, but for wetsuit diving, bring a thermos of hot water. Get suit off between dives, dry off and get dressed. Body uses a ton of energy keeping that layer of water warm. When you're ready to get diving again, pour hot water into suit. Makes it much more pleasant to put it back on.

Enjoy.

 

[OE2X]

Pack a thermos or two of warm water. You can pour this down your suit for the second dive. Takes the nip out of it.

You should also always dive with a light even shallow and during the day. Most of my buddies use use 10 - 21 W HID's on all of our dives. When the vis is bad this may the only way for buddy teams to see each other. What I mean by that is that lets say you are diving with a total of 4 people. You have your primary buddy who you stick with, but it's o.k. if you get separated from the other two. If they get a bit ahead of you, you stll can see their lights. Had this happen to six of us today on both dives.

 

[Alkiman]

The warm water is called Wuss Water, just so you know. Also it honestly isn't the sound that's going to chill you down, its the world renowned liquid sunshine that Puget Sound is so famous for, as well as the wind it brings with it, so drying off and warming up between dives is clutch. Maybe do a couple of one divers to get used to it. Also you will feel a little like the Michelin man the first couple of times, but once you get used to the added equipment the diving is awesome and will be totally worth it. Enjoy and welcome!

 

[Sonicvalley]

recently dove by hoodsport for a few days and found that leaving the wetsuit on between dives left me the warmest. although if you pour in hot water i'm sure that would make it a little easier.
nice signature alkiman

 

[ColdH2Odvr]

All good tips and it sounds like you have the right approach/attitude. Stay on top of your buoyancy. Depending on the type of exposure suit you’re used to diving, the buoyancy swing of all that neoprene can be a bit of a surprise. Make sure you can do everything with the gloves on; nothing tricky, just get used to vent/inflate etc. Getting a good seal on your mask is lots of fun with a hood and gloves, practice. Flooding and clearing is a real treat the first few times in cold water! Refreshing!

The light is a good idea but if you’re using one of the typical pistol grip types, they tend to float up in your face when it’s least helpful. This can be a pain if you’re already having dexterity issues trying to vent with your nice thick gloves. Might want to leave the light out for the first dive or two if you’re prone to task loading, keep it simple.

Give yourself an extra 20 minutes to get your gear on… I had the opposite experience my first warm water dive: Time to dive site 15 min, better start getting ready, time to dive after getting ready 14 min… big difference.

You’re in cold water now so slow down and look at stuff. I don’t know what it is about tropical divers but the tendency seems to be cover as much ground as possible. Some of the coolest things (like Grunt Sculpins) are small, stop and look.

You’ll need a few new definitions: 10’ is good vis. 52 degrees is warm and a thermos of hot water is heaven.

A good buddy makes all the difference, don’t tolerate someone who’s not willing to give you time to adapt to your new kit. A cold water intro from the local dive shop might not be a bad idea, especially if you’ve been out of the water for a while.

Practice, practice, practice, be safe, have fun and welcome to the real thing.

 

[seabat]

An alternate to the thermos advice is one of the 5 gallon solar camp showers that go for about $10. Fill it with hot water, put it in an old "cooler" and it will still be warm when you get out of the water. It gives me and the spouse enough water for the both of us and a quick rinse of the equipment (as we dive in dry suits your usage may vary). Its also nice to have the shower when the public ones are closed for the winter.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

We use a propane water heater with a pump that allows us to pump warm water down the backs of course students. We also have a large tub of warm water that we encourage the students to stand in to warm their feet.

I use a drysuit.