Winter Diving withdrawal syndrome

[bwerb]

in the winter and the visibility is getting really good (low phytoplankton). This last Saturday, I could see people on the surface from 58' deep. Go drysuit and keep diving.:cold:

 

[wb416]

Not quite ready to break down and buy that drysuit yet... here's some tips I put together that kept me warm a few years ago before a drysuit entered my life....

Cold water wet suit tips.....

1. Aside from warm/hot water to soak you're gear in during the SIT (larger cooler works great for this) and pouring into your suit prior to first and second dive....
   
2. A couple of pairs of wool socks... my feet seem to stay more comfortable when I wear one pair on your first dive, then while you're drying off during the SIT, put you're second pair on. Maybe even an extra pair for the drive home.
   
3. Make sure that you strip down your wetsuit at least to your waist during the SIT. I've gotten away with leaving my John folded down to my legs. The jacket definitely has to come off though. Place the jacket into the cooler with warm/hot water, only with your gloves and hood.
   
4. Wool shirts or sweaters on the SIT can work great. Even if they get damp from your gear, they won't lose the heat like cotton can. Combine this with a rain coat and you can get toasty.
   
5. Go to the hunting section of Walmart and buy some inexpensive neoprene gloves ($10) for the SIT and also get some chemical pack warmers ($2/6pk). I'm talking the disposable kind here, not the re-usable ones. The disposable ones stay nice and flexible. There are two kinds... hands & feet. Use the hand warmer inside the neoprene gloves, and the feet warmer inside of the hiking boots or other that you're wearing on your SIT, but OUTSIDE of your wool socks. The foot warmers get too hot for direct skin contact. You can stay nice an toasty this way.
   
6. At the end of the SIT, prime with hot/warm water the portion of wetsuit that you may still have on your legs, then start putting on the gear.
   
7. The Chem pk warmers can also be nice for the ride home after the second dive.
   
8. You may also find that a wool shirt under your wet suit will prevent a lot of heat loss when your stripping down after the first (and second) dives. Why bother? 'cause we don't alway get undressed and dryed off as quickly as we'd like, so while you're putzing around, you're not losing as much heat from your core.
   [/list=1]
   These things worked pretty good for me diving into mid December with 50°F water. It's the air temp that can make it miserable...
   
   have fun and stay warm,
   wb

 

[MikeFerrara]

Here is my wet suit tip. Only use them for fairly short shallow dives in very warm water. For all other diving use a dry suit.

 

[Royal Frog]

I use a drysuit with fluffy thinsulate and thermals underneath, coupled with 2 pairs of socks seems to work a treat. Plus hot drinks in the SI as well - and hot food if possible. Dive safely. Ribbet.

 

[Dxtreme]

dang guys, i dont even have my own equip yet and now you are pushing me to get a dry suit ????? ;-0

I definitely buying my complete set of equip for next spring/summer.

I heard that Geenie Springs in Florida is diveable with wetsuit all year round ???

I might just squeeze a weekend to go there and dive.

Any other place (besides the ocean) that is diveable all year round in the south ?

 

[SwimJim]

As others have said" join a club". That gets you connected to diving oppurtunities. I'll be jumping into Lake Michigan next Saturday. I don't know what the weather will be like then, but tonight is supposed to get down to eight degrees. I would consider that to be cold. I use a wet suit(7MM) and I carry along at least five gallons of very warm water. I use a little hand pump purchased at a local hardware store to get the water into my suit before and after a dive. Also its a good idea to have a thermos of hot chocolate or some other hot beverage along to help warm up the insides.
Theres a few ideas. Don't feel guilty, just keep going.

Jim

 

[MSP Rescue Diver]

Dxtreme once bubbled...

Any other place (besides the ocean) that is diveable all year round in the south ?

What's wrong with the ocean? Depending on how far south you live, Ft. Lauderdale and the Keys can't be any farther than a days drive for you. Plenty of interesting diving to do all winter, and there's lots of shops to rent from and tons of boats to go out on.

I was out yesterday with water temps of 78° and a 3mm suit was quite tolerable. It was the surface intervals air temps at 68° with a breeze when you're wet that were a bit tougher.

The 68° is unseasonaly cool.

Marc

 

[jepuskar]

This is my first winter as a diver. My local quarry is shut down for the season, no charters on Lake Michigan, I'm not gonna fork out the money for a dry suit, not yet anyway....so my only hope is too......

go on vacation soon..woohooo

in the meantime..its the LDS pool. :/

 

[Natasha]

Weight for me:
That is a great picture.
I'm with Jason though ..off for a vacation is the way us Chicagoans stay in scuba gear.

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

weight_for_me once bubbled...
Photo of "Hairy Fish" taken by me a few weeks ago before our dive. When we surfaced about 30 minutes later, we were in the middle of a blizzard.
GET OUT AND DIVE!!!
Randy...

Okay let me get this striaght: Freezing cold air, freezing cold water, low vis, few fish, no coral, no reef. . . God bless you! I wish I had the cahones to even consider that kind of dive warrior outlook! For me my diving includes a tropical sunset at the end of every day and more fish than the local aquarium. :moon: