Most interesting or unusual cold water place you’ve dived?

[Landau]

Madrona point on Vancouver Island. I like octopus and fewest I have ever seen there is 9.

 

[nolatom]

I haven't dived "cold" much at all, just Massachusetts and Rhode Island a little, and have never dived dry.
That said, I found the wreck (half-wreck really) of the small tanker CHESTER POLING to be both interesting and unusual. Interesting, because I like wrecks, and unusual, because I knew about the sinking and rescue of all but one of her crew when she went down in a winter storm almost 42 years ago. There is a long Coast Guard report you can find on line. I was a desk-driver in the Coast Guard in Boston then, and knew several of the Coast Guard rescuers, who absolutely risked their own lives in horrible weather off Gloucester (Cape Ann, Mass) to get to them, and pluck them out of 35-degree water in full-storm/snow conditions. Unfortunately one crewman couldn't stay afloat long enough. This was before the days of survival suits, just winter clothing.

So being able to see where the hull split in two (stranding crew on both sides of the break), how the hull bottom and sideshell steel was bent (or not bent, where it cold-fractured in tension), and the deck and davits area from which the crew had to jump in to that freezing water to get rescued (neither lifeboat nor inflatable raft turned out to be launchable or usable), was sobering to me.

Also sobering to me was how cold it was in a hot day in July. Water 60F surface, but 45F at 80-90 feet where the wreck lies. Which was bearable on first dive in rented 7-mil because I was so fascinated by the history and being able to see it, but way cold on second dive to where I was grateful (oh God yes) when my nitrogen ticks "made" me and buddy ascend. The thermocline back to 60F on the way up felt like a hot bathtub.

So I don't dive cold much, just mostly Florida and the Gulf. But that cold dive was interesting.

 

[mike_bayer]

Dodd Narrows, Nanimo BC

 

[TMHeimer]

This goes back a few years to when I started diving. 1969 to be exact. In the Air Foce stationed on the island of Crete, Greece. Me and three buddies decided to dive a fresh water pool about 100 yards wide and 130' deep. I didn't own a wet suit at the time. When we got to the place and suited up it was raining----cold rain. All I could think of was hitting the water to get out of the rain. Well, when I jumped in (last) I immediately felt like a floating popcicle. Talk about cold? We headed down and as I approached 25' I realized it was not good. Every breath was an absolute gasp and I had to concentrate very hard to keep from going into panic mode. I grabbed my buddy and signaled that I had to abort the dive and that he should pair up with the other two. I surfaced and got out into the cold rain, which now felt like a hot shower. Little did I know that the water came from snow covered Mt. Ida, some 15 miles inland. Water temperature? 39 degrees, and no wet suit. Ouch.

Wow. I assume you didn't know the water temp. and assumed warm because it's Greece? You were braver than me, and I'm one of those who occasionally ducked in from the hole I cut in the ice in N. Manitoba. But no scuba gear on!

 

[TMHeimer]

I haven't dived "cold" much at all, just Massachusetts and Rhode Island a little, and have never dived dry.
That said, I found the wreck (half-wreck really) of the small tanker CHESTER POLING to be both interesting and unusual. Interesting, because I like wrecks, and unusual, because I knew about the sinking and rescue of all but one of her crew when she went down in a winter storm almost 42 years ago. There is a long Coast Guard report you can find on line. I was a desk-driver in the Coast Guard in Boston then, and knew several of the Coast Guard rescuers, who absolutely risked their own lives in horrible weather off Gloucester (Cape Ann, Mass) to get to them, and pluck them out of 35-degree water in full-storm/snow conditions. Unfortunately one crewman couldn't stay afloat long enough. This was before the days of survival suits, just winter clothing.

So being able to see where the hull split in two (stranding crew on both sides of the break), how the hull bottom and sideshell steel was bent (or not bent, where it cold-fractured in tension), and the deck and davits area from which the crew had to jump to get rescued (neither lifeboat nor inflatable raft turned out to be launchable or usable), was sobering to me.

Also sobering to me was how cold it was in a hot day in July. Water 60F surface, but 45F at 80-90 feet where the wreck lies. Which was bearable on first dive in rented 7-mil because I was so fascinated by the history and being able to see it, but way cold on second dive to where I was grateful (oh God yes) when my nitrogen ticks "made" me and buddy ascend. The thermocline back to 60F on the way up felt like a hot bathtub.

So I don't dive cold much at all, just mostly Florida and the Gulf. But that one was interesting.

I dived near Cape Ann, MA in July in my shorty in 55F water. Did 2 dives that day, but the 90F air temp. warmed me up some in between. I did find a really giant periwinkle there.

 

[Minion_Diver]

Greers Ferry Lake in Arkansas during the winter and spring time. There are a couple old homesteads that you can dive as well as the old pump house for the city water supply that is still intact. The pump house is ~120 at normal pool and stays around 50* year round.

 

[barth]

Glavas in Croatia.

The landscape is so beautiful.

The cave was really nice. We went to 30 meter for the entrance. After that it was getting shallower. We did even surface in the cave.

My camera housing was flooded before that dive. I have to go back one day for photography.


Found this on YouTube.

 

[Centrals]

The German WWI wrecks in Scapa Flow.
I believe those wrecks from Jutland Battle are far more interesting.

 

[Chris H]

Based on the OPs description of cold water, I guess the majority of my dives are cold water dives. The Great Lakes offers some incredible shipwreck diving. Lake Huron near Presque Isle, MI has awesome wrecks and fantastic visibility. The Norman and the SS Florida are probably my favorite dives there. Lake Superior at Whitefish Point, MI has some equally as amazing wrecks with the added benefit of not having mussels all over them. For example, the boiler on the Comet still has the painted name in place after 143 years under 230ft of cold, freshwater. That is incredible! I've also been lucky enough to swim with adult Lake Sturgeon on more than one occasion. It is always amazing to swim with a 6ft long, prehistoric sort of fish.

 

[doctormike]

Newfoundland. Not only is the diving awesome, but Rick Stanley and the team at OceanQuest Adventures are the BEST! Can't wait to get back. Wrecks, icebergs, whales and whale bones. And not far from home...