Winter Diving

[Deepsea5]

I dive wet all winter here in Nova Scotia. The key is you have to have a method. The ocean may be as high as +15C as late as Dec. (but air temps. near 0C), but as low as near freezing by March, and only maybe +5-7 by May when the weather warms up (16-18). I haven't dived lakes in winter but here they are usually ice covered at some point.
I do one dive in a day, usually about 20 minutes. Have to have a procedure that limits your time exposed to the cold air before (especially) and after the dive. I don my wetsuit at home and drive maybe 1/4 mile to the site, using plastic on the driver's seat for the wet trip back. Everyone's situation is different, so you have to develop your own method that fits. Good luck.
Oh, I never bought a drysuit because for years we did 3 winter months in Florida (in case you're wondering why I'm crazy).
And like JimBlay says in the next post, you may need some sort of warm shelter for before & after the dive(s). It's the air/wind that is the concern. Within a reasonable time limit, you can dive in water that's almost freezing in a wetsuit if you can get warm immediately upon exit (and start off being reasonably warm). I have dived in as cold as 33F ocean water (+less than 1C).

TMHeimer: what you do sounds like what my Public Safety Dive Team did, back when I did that type of diving. We would drive to the dive scene with our personal vehicles (or patrol car, if on duty at the time). If we responded with our personal vehicles, there's a good chance we had time to don our wetsuits before responding. Most of the time we would drive home or back to the Sheriffs Dept to change back into our civvies or uniform.
One thing we had in our favor was an ambulance that we converted into our Dive Team vehicle. We used that vehicle as an equipment transport/storage vehicle, a place to warm up and a place to change clothes/don wetsuit if need be. We could also heat water for coffee; and more importantly, to warm up water that we would place in Thermos bottles. With our wetsuits already donned, we would dump the Thermos full of warm water in our wetsuits just prior to entering the water. That was a BIG help in adjusting to the water temp.
FYI: The only regulator set I own is a Scubapro MK-2 first stage/Scubapro G-250 second stage. That is the setup I've been using for 30 plus years, even for ice diving. I used to run a Scubapro AIR2, but have since swapped to a Scubapro R380 octo.
Some people say you will DIE if you ice dive with my setup! LOL I never had a freeze up. As I'm sure you well know, ice/cold water diving requires extra prep/caution.

 

[Bowers]

Dry gloves and a heated shelter as mentioned above are huge advantages. Fresh water cannot get below freezing and is most dense at 4c/39f so bottom temps are usually around that unless ice is on the surface

 

[TMHeimer]

TMHeimer: what you do sounds like what my Public Safety Dive Team did, back when I did that type of diving. We would drive to the dive scene with our personal vehicles (or patrol car, if on duty at the time). If we responded with our personal vehicles, there's a good chance we had time to don our wetsuits before responding. Most of the time we would drive home or back to the Sheriffs Dept to change back into our civvies or uniform.
One thing we had in our favor was an ambulance that we converted into our Dive Team vehicle. We used that vehicle as an equipment transport/storage vehicle, a place to warm up and a place to change clothes/don wetsuit if need be. We could also heat water for coffee; and more importantly, to warm up water that we would place in Thermos bottles. With our wetsuits already donned, we would dump the Thermos full of warm water in our wetsuits just prior to entering the water. That was a BIG help in adjusting to the water temp.
FYI: The only regulator set I own is a Scubapro MK-2 first stage/Scubapro G-250 second stage. That is the setup I've been using for 30 plus years, even for ice diving. I used to run a Scubapro AIR2, but have since swapped to a Scubapro R380 octo.
Some people say you will DIE if you ice dive with my setup! LOL I never had a freeze up. As I'm sure you well know, ice/cold water diving requires extra prep/caution.

Yeah, we used a dumbed down version of this when I was assisting with OW checkout dives. In cooler weather the shop truck provided shelter and we also filled a big cooler with hot water. People could soak gloved, etc. in between the 2 dives and even take turns standing in it. Surprising how long the water stayed warm as long as the lid was on when not in use.
Prior to our move to the "city", we lived right on the ocean, so I could gear up & down in the basement I just walk 100' to the shore. Whatever works to stay reasonably warm (or I should say to not be TOO cold as to border on hypothhermia).

 

[Marie13]

Year round diver here. Drysuit, dry gloves, Thermolution heated vest under drysuit. The WI folks I dive with are hardier than the OH folks. OH folks put up a shelter (even just a pop up canopy with tarps around the sides to keep out the wind) with a propane heater (goes right on big BBQ type propane tank). The WI folks just get into their cars for a little bit to warm up. No shelter or anything. Just stay out otherwise!

 

[KenGordon]

Hi All,

First off, merry Christmas and despite the madness happy new year.....

It's been a short while since I last managed to get in the water, pretty much since the last lock down in England kicked in, I have worked my ass off though, done loads of cover for call out for work and i'm saving as much as I can ready for 2021 diving which, isn't far away.

I am preparing for diving during the months of January, February, March and April. The first three months are going to be the coldest in the UK.

I am calling on those divers that go all year round.

I have a wetsuit hood and wetsuit gloves, I have double checked my regs are suitable for cold water diving.

Has anyone got any other advise on how to best prepare. I have my thermal under-suit and some thick thermal socks

I have another question, how cold does water get on inland dive sites, over these colder months, does the temperature ever drop below freezing.

I apologies if these questions sound daft, but I can't wait for 2021 to kick in and I want to be as best prepared as possible for my next dive.

Thanks and Merry Christmas.

John

Looking back a couple of years I see a low of 5C at Wraysbury in February, late April it was 10 or 11 which is not awful.
Have a couple of pairs of gloves so you don’t need to put on a wet pair, hoods too but they are not so bad wet.

Some sites, such as St Andrew’s in Kent or NDAC, can be cold at depth all year. They are booth 7 at the dearest parts. Eat properly, try to stay warm out of the water. Keep out of the wind.

My first booked dive is the end of April from BRIGHTON. The way things are going at the moment we might not be able to do that.

 

[formernuke]

I forgot to add i bring sub freezing temp rated backpacking stoves and make soup/tea during surface time. Warm up from the inside.

 

[TMHeimer]

Year round diver here. Drysuit, dry gloves, Thermolution heated vest under drysuit. The WI folks I dive with are hardier than the OH folks. OH folks put up a shelter (even just a pop up canopy with tarps around the sides to keep out the wind) with a propane heater (goes right on big BBQ type propane tank). The WI folks just get into their cars for a little bit to warm up. No shelter or anything. Just stay out otherwise!

I've used the car heater in between dives on rare occasions even in Spring/Fall (sitting on big plastic garbage bags). I can see it easily working without the plastic seat coverings in winter if you remove your wet drysuit, but don't forget the OP is diving wet. Whole set of different rules for winter wet.

 

[lermontov]

others have covered it pretty well - adding to it-
reduce the contact with water as much as possible so dry gloves are good- even without an inner is better then wet hands
get a really good undergarment, if your budget allows a full heated one - get one with a flexible shell as opposed to a nylon shell as the nylon ones reduce flexibility
you can layer up but once again youll find that a) youll be bulky b) tight in the dry suit and c) youll lose flexibility

if you get a full heated undersuit theres an article about heated suits and DCS thats worth reading ( cant find it sorry)

 

[Marie13]

I've used the car heater in between dives on rare occasions even in Spring/Fall (sitting on big plastic garbage bags). I can see it easily working without the plastic seat coverings in winter if you remove your wet drysuit, but don't forget the OP is diving wet. Whole set of different rules for winter wet.

I didn’t even catch that. He’s nuts.

A good coat of the boat coat type. I have a Surf-fur fleece one. I actually put it on my car seat to protect it from wet as it’s waterproof.

 

[TMHeimer]

I didn’t even catch that. He’s nuts.

A good coat of the boat coat type. I have a Surf-fur fleece one. I actually put it on my car seat to protect it from wet as it’s waterproof.

I guess I misread. He has a wetsuit hood and wetsuit gloves, so I guess he has a drysuit. Wonder why he wouldn't have dry hood & gloves?