Problem at Dutch Springs (long)

[Kestrell]

About the only thing you could have done better was if your wife called the dive
earlier, befoer hypothermia set in. I'm sure she must have been uncomfortable before
she got worse. Next time, I bet she'll give you the thumbs up before the shivering
becomes uncontrolable. But that does not have to happen...

Buy her a drysuit for her "early birthday". I tied one recently. Down at 60feet where it was
"low 50's" I was thinking to myself that I had on way to much undergarments.

Here in So. Cal the water temp gets down to only 50F but in your location the stuff
can actually turn solid. A drysuit would be much more usfull there

Just curious, what was the water temp? Most larger people are OK down to low 50s in a
7mm suit with gloves, hood and all but smaller people maybe not?

A dry suit is a good option. However she still owes me for all of the gear she has. Of course it may be worth it just to extend my dive season.

 

[Kestrell]

About the only thing you could have done better was if your wife called the dive
earlier, befoer hypothermia set in. I'm sure she must have been uncomfortable before
she got worse. Next time, I bet she'll give you the thumbs up before the shivering
becomes uncontrolable. But that does not have to happen...

Buy her a drysuit for her "early birthday". I tied one recently. Down at 60feet where it was
"low 50's" I was thinking to myself that I had on way to much undergarments.

Here in So. Cal the water temp gets down to only 50F but in your location the stuff
can actually turn solid. A drysuit would be much more usfull there

Just curious, what was the water temp? Most larger people are OK down to low 50s in a
7mm suit with gloves, hood and all but smaller people maybe not?

A dry suit is a good option. However she still owes me for all of the gear she has. Of course it may be worth it just to extend my dive season.

As for thumbing the dive earlier next time she gets cold; you took the words right out of her mouth. When we discussed the dive afterwards that was the number one thing she would have done differently.

 

[voop]

I want to second the dry-suit option, and of course reccomend the corresponding training in order to use it safely. Heck, get one for yourself too, and dive all year round Yeah, they're a tad pricy, but getting a good one and maintaining it appropriately will ensure that it'll last you for many many many years.

Also, compliments to the original poster on handeling the situation! Couldn't have been done better, and you said that you were "new divers". Be proud of yourself -- and tell the wife to be proud of you too She's got a wonderful dive-buddy, it seems.

If any lesson is to be learned from this, it would be that it's important for a diver to anticipate problems and act before they appear. In your wife's case, she could have signaled "quits" before getting so cold that the problem arrised. This is not intended as critizism of your wife: however simple it sounds, it's actually not trivial to recognize then it's just "frisky, but OK" and when it's "cold". And she did signal you and behaved appropriately once the problem was recognized.

So good job -- both of you! If only all of my dive-buddies were more like that....