What is the appeal of Lake, Cold, Low vis diving?

[Telvar]

Warm, cold, salt, fresh, I don't care that much. I just want to dive!

If I were to live on the Maldives, then I would most likely only opt for warm water dives. But I don't. It's the cold, murky salt/fresh waters of The Netherlands for me. And once or twice a year somewhere warmer with better viz.

First it was out of necessity: either dive cold or hardly at all. And then I discovered that -apart from the cold and sometimes ****** viz- cold water environments can be beautiful too. I really don't mind the cold that much. I only have one big gripe about cold water diving and that's donning and doffing the thick wetsuits. Hate that.

 

[Jcp2]

Warm, cold, salt, fresh, I don't care that much. I just want to dive!

If I were to live on the Maldives, then I would most likely only opt for warm water dives. But I don't. It's the cold, murky salt/fresh waters of The Netherlands for me. And once or twice a year somewhere warmer with better viz.

First it was out of necessity: either dive cold or hardly at all. And then I discovered that -apart from the cold and sometimes ****** viz- cold water environments can be beautiful too. I really don't mind the cold that much. I only have one big gripe about cold water diving and that's donning and doffing the thick wetsuits. Hate that.

Sounds like drysuit time!

 

[OMyMyOHellYes]

Maybe someone can explain it to me.
I am a vacation, warm water diver.
I like it because there are so many interesting things to see.

So what is the appeal of diving in lakes, quarries, cold, low vis waters?

Is it just the thrill of the diving itself?
Is it the challenge presented by the conditions?
Maybe sometimes there is something interesting to see?

An opportunity to pee in your pants without public scorn.

 

[LightBrownPillow]

It's close to home, way cheaper than a full vacation, and in some places the native fish are super docile/curious and come right up to you. The trout in Gilboa Quarry, OH, let you pet them like dogs almost.

For some of us it's just the thrill of floating around underwater, regardless of where it is/how much gear we have to put on.

And when I DO go on a warm water vacation, holy cow it is so easy and more relaxing!

 

[Ontwreckdiver]

What is the appeal of Lake, Cold, Low vis diving?​

This, she is 140 years old and still standing proud!

 

[John C. Ratliff]

I am with the OP on this one, but I know that everyone has their own preferences. If the only places I could dive were cold, low viz, I probably would turn in my C card. My training was in a lake in Texas and it was about 10 feet viz, green and not much to see.

My diving spots need to be like an aquarium, 80 foot viz or better, warm enough to wear no shirt at all and just board shorts, and lots of coral and tropical fish. I don't need to go more than 60 feet deep and could make everyone of my dives for the rest of my life in those conditions. Unfortunately, as many have said, that means all tropical diving destinations, with means international flights, rental cars, resorts, week long vacations in order to go diving. I try to go about 4 times a year and some years add in a fifth.

So many different ways to enjoy this sport and hobby.

Visibility “like an aquarium, 80 foot viz or better…”. Well, that depends upon your aquarium. If you took the aquarium water, increased it to the amount in a swimming pool, and swam in it, you’d probably have only 10-15 foot visibility. But, if you start looking at smaller, closer aquatic life, then you get a different situation. Here’s a photo of a 3-spired stickleback I took in a freshwater river (the North Umpqua):

Stickleback in leaves by John Ratliff, on Flickr

And, here’s a photo of a Western Pearlshell Mussel spawning that I took in that same river, the North Umpqua River. This photo was taken in 1984, using a Nikonos II camera.

Mussels spawning8a by John Ratliff, on Flickr

That camera was equipped with a macro ring and framer so as to place the focus of the 35mm lens at about four inches.

D4EDD38B-33D4-4E41-A69B-1F29085D2DC2 by John Ratliff, on Flickr

In short, you don’t have to travel; you can stay where you are and get really nice, unique photos, or to have a unique, wonderful experience, underwater locally.