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

[diverdan214]

I'm the kind of person who can look at silt for hours and still be fascinated.

This is so true, you can see some interesting stuff if you actually look at what's in that low-vis.

 

[sandmanz32]

The Hot Hole in lake Keowee (?). Along the rock wall, the water was fairly clear.

thats where i did my checkout dives. vis normally sucks there 5-10ft. but riding the current comming out of the turbines is always fun.....and nothing beats 75 degree water when its 30 outside

if you liked keowee you should really dive jocassee, its about 15 mins from the hothole to the divers ramp on jocassee. you can just pull your car down the ramp, suit up and jump in, only 2 bux to dive now thats great! water's alot colder though, but the vis is alot better usually at least 20ft, and alot more to see and do.

 

[Vtdiver2]

The exception might be the Great Lakes. For quality wrecks, the deeper, colder, and darker it gets, the better quality the "museum" is. So you deal with the environment to get to the goal.

On Lake Champlain, where I live, we have numerous wrecks from the 1800's. The Spiegel Grove and other salt water wrecks are awesome, but my favorite wreck of all time is the Horse Ferry on Lake Champlain.
Warm water is normally fun, almost mindless diving, but the cold waters of the north teach you to be a much better diver. I've heard a story of a DM from a Caribbean island, who had been diving for over 20 years, who came to to VT to see friends and do some of the wrecks. At 80 ft, he couldn't take the lack of vis etc, and tried to bolt for the surface, only to be stopped and calmed down by his friend who was visiting. If you can dive the cold waters of the north, you can dive anywhere.
C-Dawg

 

[dave4868]

Weightlessness

Serenity

Convenience

Being able to work on night dive skills in the middle of the day.

I just love diving, I guess....

Dave C

 

[GA Under Water]

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?

Just being in the water. Quarrys and lakes that I dive in are clearer than what I swam in and fished in growing up so even 5' vis is more than I'm used to. I am just as excited in quarrys as I am in the Ocean.

 

[do it easy]

This is SO not true! Perhaps you're not familiar with a common phenomenon resulting from CWD's diving in the Caribbean called HIGH VIZ Narcosis....

Results when a cold water diver is shocked to realize that it's possible to see all the divers from the dive boat at the same time.

There's more than a grain of truth to this...

 

[diverdan214]

Beware the diver who says I done______ in blank so clearly I can _______ in blank...unless you know you're filling in the _____ and the blank with the exact same thing?

Reminds me of a friends story of a group of experienced British divers on the boat with him in Belize. On the night dive he stuck with the Dive Guide, they didn't because they knew how to navigate and could find the boat again. Apparently they had a long surface swim back.

Not meant as a bash at British divers, just any overconfident ones that decide they know the locality better than the locals.

 

[wb416]

Being good in one environ doesn't imply skill in another. I went to Pompano Beach once with a group of experienced group of CWB's. (cold water barbarians) Dealing with the current on wrecks like the Capt Dan was surely a wakeup call. Had I had experience in the St Lawrence River like I do now, that might have made a big difference.

Even when I go to the Caribbean for diving these days, I don't take anything for granted.

 

[Vtdiver2]

Being good in one environ doesn't imply skill in another. I went to Pompano Beach once with a group of experienced group of CWB's. (cold water barbarians) Dealing with the current on wrecks like the Capt Dan was surely a wakeup call. Had I had experience in the St Lawrence River like I do now, that might have made a big difference.

Even when I go to the Caribbean for diving these days, I don't take anything for granted.

I agree with you 100%. Never take things for granted, because that's when Ole Murphy will show up, and you won't be ready. However, "Cold water Barbarians" do seem to learn more skills than the "warm water wimps", as their environment warrants it. This isn't meant as a slight to anyone, as when I dive new areas in the Caribbean, I seem to learn something new, that's particular to that area.
C-Dawg

 

[MaconBubbles]

thats where i did my checkout dives. vis normally sucks there 5-10ft. but riding the current comming out of the turbines is always fun.....and nothing beats 75 degree water when its 30 outside

if you liked keowee you should really dive jocassee, its about 15 mins from the hothole to the divers ramp on jocassee. you can just pull your car down the ramp, suit up and jump in, only 2 bux to dive now thats great! water's alot colder though, but the vis is alot better usually at least 20ft, and alot more to see and do.

There's a good chance that I will be doing Jocassee this weekend!