What do you do over the winter?
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Head north to Scapa Flow - best time of year to go, dependant on which boat you choose unlikely to not get it, visibility is around 10-15m just now, and we've had the first storms already to stir it up a bit - so good I need to go back this weekend too
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Aha! I was always wondering about folks who dive dry, I know that most of the body is warm, I just wonder about the face.
Depending on the material, a drysuit may have little impact on how warm you stay ... that's the job of the undergarment. The drysuit's job is to keep the water out. And the value of a good hood cannot be overstated. It's often said that if your feet get cold, get a better hood. Of course, a good choice of socks or booties will also help.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
Chip Elliott
Connecticut Yankee
Do them make heated socks?
olphart
Contributor
Heated socks??? What for? The water temp doesn't get much below 39 under the ice! (in fresh water anyway)
drrich2
Contributor
Winter is a great time to research and compare potential dive destinations in depth. Some destinations offer a range of places to stay, each with trade-offs, a variety of dive op.s (ditto), if you don't have an 'all in one dive resort' (e.g.: Buddy Dive Resort in Bonaire) then you've got hotel to pick, if you're bring non-divers (e.g.: family) it's time to research what there is for them to enjoy, if you need to rent a car what's the road situation (e.g.: how contested, which side of the road to drive on, etc...), and sometimes you have different types of dive op.s (e.g.: mainland, island, live-aboard). For example:
1.) Researching a trip to California confronted me with a lot of decisions in the decision tree. So much so I wrote up a separate report thread instead of just wrapping it into my trip report.
2.) For Belize, the best diving will be by live-aboard or one of the islands farther out from the mainland, but the best topside tourist fun will be an island closer in (e.g.: Ambergris) or the mainland.
3.) For Roatan, there's a difference between diving the northern vs. southern coasts, I'm told, and it's been recommended not to drive a car (since fall out from accidents could be worrisome). In Curacao the better diving is said to be out west, much more rustic than the civilized offerings nearer the main city. In St. Croix, the east & west regions of the island have different terrain, and the northern shore wall diving more subject to waves than the leeward west coast. In the Cayman Islands, do you want 7 Mile Beach and the other topside opportunities of Grand Cayman, or the highly spoken of diving off Little Cayman?
4.) Some destinations don't have all the info. you need in one place. When I researched our trip to dive out of Morehead City, NC, I found a lot of pieces of info.; pulling it together into a cohesion, informative 'vision' of how to understand and plan that destinations took me through an on again, off again course over months.
5.) On the other hand, some destinations have so much info. on so many options trying to wade through it I could choke on it. Check out some of the threads on this forum, and ask what an ordeal it would be to write an informative report factoring in location (e.g.: near what resorts), type of food, cost and differing opinions for dining options in Cozumel. If you're not catatonic from that, now delve into the various reputable places to stay. Having fun yet? Now pick amongst the highly reputable op.s cheer-led by our membership. You might end up booking with Scuba Club Cozumel or some other A.I. & dive with the onsite op., desperately grateful not to have to make too many decisions.
You can burn through a winter doing this stuff.
Richard.
1.) Researching a trip to California confronted me with a lot of decisions in the decision tree. So much so I wrote up a separate report thread instead of just wrapping it into my trip report.
2.) For Belize, the best diving will be by live-aboard or one of the islands farther out from the mainland, but the best topside tourist fun will be an island closer in (e.g.: Ambergris) or the mainland.
3.) For Roatan, there's a difference between diving the northern vs. southern coasts, I'm told, and it's been recommended not to drive a car (since fall out from accidents could be worrisome). In Curacao the better diving is said to be out west, much more rustic than the civilized offerings nearer the main city. In St. Croix, the east & west regions of the island have different terrain, and the northern shore wall diving more subject to waves than the leeward west coast. In the Cayman Islands, do you want 7 Mile Beach and the other topside opportunities of Grand Cayman, or the highly spoken of diving off Little Cayman?
4.) Some destinations don't have all the info. you need in one place. When I researched our trip to dive out of Morehead City, NC, I found a lot of pieces of info.; pulling it together into a cohesion, informative 'vision' of how to understand and plan that destinations took me through an on again, off again course over months.
5.) On the other hand, some destinations have so much info. on so many options trying to wade through it I could choke on it. Check out some of the threads on this forum, and ask what an ordeal it would be to write an informative report factoring in location (e.g.: near what resorts), type of food, cost and differing opinions for dining options in Cozumel. If you're not catatonic from that, now delve into the various reputable places to stay. Having fun yet? Now pick amongst the highly reputable op.s cheer-led by our membership. You might end up booking with Scuba Club Cozumel or some other A.I. & dive with the onsite op., desperately grateful not to have to make too many decisions.
You can burn through a winter doing this stuff.
Richard.
OP
Forget about tropical destinations! I've been enjoying myself reading about Great Lakes shipwrecks.
Chip Elliott
Connecticut Yankee
I am diving here in New England this Saturday and then on the 26th. I currently have a Henderson Aqualock, and I plan on wearing a lycra full body underneath, as well as a pair of lycra socks under the boots. I am hoping this will keep me warm for the dives I have, the water is about 50 degrees F right now. After these dives I will need one more to finish my OW certification, which will be on the 26th. If I want to continue to dive I know i will have to eventually invest in a dry suit. There are some good scallop opportunities off the coast of Mass during the winter from what my LDS tells me. However, to not get out of practice my LDS says I can use their pool whenever they have it reserved for free to hone my skills as far as breathing, hovering, buoyancy, etc. I can also practice my kicking skills.
All that to say that I would love to someday get a drysuit and dive all year round up here. Exotic trips not in the plans for at least another 3 or so years.
All that to say that I would love to someday get a drysuit and dive all year round up here. Exotic trips not in the plans for at least another 3 or so years.
Chip Elliott
Connecticut Yankee
Some pretty cool ones too.Forget about tropical destinations! I've been enjoying myself reading about Great Lakes shipwrecks.
Also, I have friends that have dived off of Old Fort Niagra and Fort Erie, one of them found an old cannonball, another found the metal part of an old musket. That's a haul for you from Chicago, but they are interesting dives on the Great Lakes. Similar threads
