100 replies to this topic

[cmt489]

I sure hope so! God knows I have waited long enough!!

[annasea]

Welcome to diving dry!  You'll love it!

ScubaDadMiami,

I hope you return to this thread and see this post as I'm most curious about you and your preference for drysuit diving in Florida . . .

1. What are the water temps that you're diving in? (It seems odd that you seem to be the only one diving dry in such a *warm* climate. I know you wrote of being clam-happy on your second dives, while others are chilly-willy ... if this is usually the case, why aren't those other divers in drysuits as well?)

2. Are you always in a drysuit in Florida or just during the *cooler* months?

3. What type of layering are you doing underneath your drysuit?

(I'm planning on heading off to Florida once I'm certified, so I'd like another perspective on the waters, please, in addition to the one I currently have.)


Question to the cold water divers:

I'm trying to understand the concept of cold water diving and being in a drysuit. . .

Would you liken it to playing outside in the snow (in -10 degrees Celcius weather) and being all bundled up in a snowsuit, gloves, scarf, boots, etc.?

By this I mean . . . sure, you're well protected from the cold, but you're still very much aware that you're out in the cold. Make sense?

(In order to complete the ocean dive portion of an OW course here in Vancouver, I will definitely be in a drysuit and will add it to my training accordingly, but to be honest, diving in cold water freaks me out. As well, I'd rather invest in u/w photography equipment than a drysuit.)

[chinacat46]

I was diving off West Palm Beach in July and the water was fine. I think it was about 81F. I was wearing a 3mm and did 4 dives one day and never got cold. I believe Walter dives without a wetsuit in the summer. It could be ScubaDadMiami is doing decompression dives and hanging in the water for long periods of time. Then again some people get cold really easy as well.

[fbp]

Question to the cold water divers:

I'm trying to understand the concept of cold water diving and being in a dry suit. . .

Would you liken it to playing outside in the snow (in -10 degrees Celsius weather) and being all bundled up in a snowsuit, gloves, scarf, boots, etc.?

By this I mean . . . sure, you're well protected from the cold, but you're still very much aware that you're out in the cold. Make sense?

(In order to complete the ocean dive portion of an OW course here in Vancouver, I will definitely be in a dry suit and will add it to my training accordingly, but to be honest, diving in cold water freaks me out. As well, I'd rather invest in u/w photography equipment than a dry suit.)

Annasea,
Me thinks you're making this into a bigger deal than it is...
It's Cool water... I used to swim in it with just a bathing suit. Takes your breath away, but you don't turn into an ice cube as in Flash Frozen.

People dive with wet suits , 7mm, all the time and You Canadians do more so (my observation) than we Wussies down here.. but the point is, it's NOT absolutely required, but it sure feels nice.

It's kinda like haven't an air conditioner on a hot day.. Yes, you can go out in it.. but it's much better with an ac...

The dry suit fits snug, much like a skiing outfit, but probably not as bulky. Like a skiing outfit, you don't pay much attention to it while skiing.. It's there, it's comfortable and it keeps you warm. You don't pay attention to how cold it is, you having too much fun skiing or diving as the case may be...

You all have some of the best diving in the world up there so limiting yourself to just WWW-ing would be selling it short. IF on the other hand you don't like to dive, then, of course, it's a whole different story...

Suggest, just take the class, heheh... do one dive in a wet suit (actually it's not the 1st dive but the 1st After Dive when you get out and have to wait for the 2nd dive that does it...)
Then do the dry suit cert - assuming you can try them out first before buying.. and decide for yourself..

Me thinks?? (rare indeed ) that you could concentrate on doing the classes and get it over with, you'll be fine in the temp area.. especially now in the summer..

Hope that helps...


ps summers are harder in a dry suit as it's hotter air temp.. water's about the same, but the "After 1st dive " that does it...
Just relax, you'll be fine and will see for yourself... it's not that big of a deal..

see ya in the water eh???

[annasea]

People dive with wet suits , 7mm, all the time and You Canadians do more so (my observation) than we Wussies down here.. but the point is, it's NOT absolutely required, but it sure feels nice.

I read somewhere on the board in a post of Colleen's that the water here in the PNW is around 50 - 55 F. I checked the yellow pages and found that 55 F is around 12 degrees Celcius. BRRR!!!! The pool that I access is around 20 - 22 degrees Celcius, or 70 F, and I freeze in it unless I'm in constant, quick motion! I have no doubt, as Chinacat pointed out, that I'm one of those that have very little tolerance for the cold.

I can add on a drysuit certification to my OW training, so in order to complete my OW certification here in Vancouver, I will be doing so. Maybe other Canadians are hearty, but there is no way I'm getting into the ocean here in a wetsuit!

I know we have some of the best diving anywhere here in B.C., so I feel guilty for not wanting to take advantage of it, but OTOH, I really can't take the cold.

I'm not a fan of air conditioning either. Great for a few minutes, but then brrr!!!

[annasea]

It could be ScubaDadMiami is doing decompression dives and hanging in the water for long periods of time.

Thx for the info, Chuck! Hopefully SDM will see this and clarify for us.

[fbp]

Heheh.. OK, OK... you win..

but you can get as warm as you want in a dry suit (more undergarments- dry gloves etc)... so being cold is not a valid excuse..

You'll get a better idea when you do it several times.. that will give you a feel...

Oh and the good news/bad news on the water temp??
LOL..

Bad news is that it's not, that I've seen anyway, much above 50F if that..
Good news is that it's not much below 47F...

The other good news is that the water temp doesn't change that much. It's the outside temp that causes the problems.. too hot or too cold out of the water...
Unofficail observatilion and my memory is it hangs aroun 48F

Heheh.. anyway, good luck...
Hope you do go dry...

frank

Edited by fbp, 02 August 2005 - 08:22 PM.

[annasea]

Heheh.. anyway, good luck...
Hope you do go dry... 

for all the info, Frank! I'll keep you posted.

[cmt489]

And Frank, not all of us Canadians are hardy... I thought I was literally going to die diving here in a wetsuit!

[fbp]

And Frank, not all of us Canadians are hardy...  I thought I was literally going to die diving here in a wetsuit!

Heheh... yes, and now you're sold on a dry suit...

LOL.. see??? the system works..
and in defense of those "Wet Suited Canadians"... they DO have a little more, A-hem size?? or insulation on them, natural insulation that is...
so Katline, I certainly do understand what you're talking about. heheh.. and of course you also Michelle...

Sigh, the "Lovely Ladies of the North..."

[Walter]

I prefer water in the mid to upper 80s, but even I'll dive in a wet suit down to the upper 40s before I need to go dry.

[Diverbrian]

I prefer water in the mid to upper 80s, but even I'll dive in a wet suit down to the upper 40s before I need to go dry.

Not this little black duck! I get cold. I admit it. My 7mm wet suit hasn't been used since midway through my first dive season and I own two drysuits. Typically, I use two sets of undies underneath the drysuit and I was getting chilled diving dry in Brockville last year (70 degree water) because I backed off on the undies.

Oh and ocean? What's that? LOL I was diving seventeen miles away from the Edmund Fitzgerald last weekend and that seven hundred foot (plus) ship went down in a Lake, not the ocean. At least the thermocline was below my deco stops on the Samuel Mathers.

[Walter]

Not this little black duck!

And all this time, I thought you were pastey white. You've been getting lots of sun since I saw you last, buddy.

[WreckWench]

ScubaDadMiami,

I hope you return to this thread and see this post as I'm most curious about you and your preference for drysuit diving in Florida . .

I'm not sure I know all the reasons that Howard aka SMD dives dry but some of them do concern his training...he dives doubles and has been trained to dive dry, so chooses to 'practice' this training on all his dives in order to perfect those skills. (Or in SDM's case...continue to perfect those skills or is that re-perfect those skills???)

Part of his training is in fact decompression diving (all dives are decompression dives...they all just don't require a manditory stop) which means he is/can be in the water much longer than most of us. But unless he is specificially on a dive planned to be a decompression or technical dive, he does not do manditory decompression diving.

And part of his reason for diving dry is my reason for diving dry...sometimes drysuits aren't JUST for beating the cold..."dry is dry" regardless of the temperatures.

I personally now choose to use my drysuit as often as I can...even in 80 degree water. Is it needed for warmth...for me yes but I can certainly dive comfortably in a wetsuit (dove a 6.5 in Cozy and the water was 85...but I also live in Texas where its 100+ and my ac doesn't kick on until its 88 so its all relative.) But I also like to practice diving in it when the conditions aren't distracting me i.e. excessively cold. Diving a drysuit is like learning to dive all over again...here I am at 800 dives and I look like a brand new newbie in the water as I learn bouyancy skills and weighting all over again in my drysuit...and of course it is different when I am wearing my thermals or different configurations of my thermals etc.

The point is...MOST people do not need drysuits...they do require a lot of additional skill...cost....maintenance and effort. BUT...for some of us...they have opened up a whole beautiful world of diving such as the PNW! I have been diving for 12 years in ALL the WARM places. Now I want to see the majestity of the 'cooler part of the world'!

And now that I have...all I can say is WOW!!! My first dives in the PNW were awesome! And I will be back to do more!! Am I glad I waited? Sure...there is lots of warm water diving to do! Am I glad I took the plunge? Absolutely!!! Am I glad I now dive dry??? Most definitely!

Would I ever had tried to learn to dive a drysuit after first getting certified? NO WAY! Heck it was all I could do to concentrate on those first steps...master them and then move on. Fortunately not everyone is as slow as me...only took me 10+ years of active diving to decide to try our the drysuit. But at $1500-$3000 for a custom suit (ONLY WAY TO GO) I think it was fine that I waited awhile. Besides...I really needed to see if I was going to like this diving thing before I spent that kind of money on it!

[Diverbrian]

On a serious note, with heavy doubles (which is what I nearly always dive anymore) the drysuit is my back-up buoyancy control. I have had issues with my wing that have made it more convienent to disconnect the wing and use the drysuit.

This would be the primary reason that anyone sees me diving in NC will see me dry instead of in a two piece 7mm. The wetsuit is bearable as far as temps, but mandatory deco doesn't help me stay any warmer on the line and with double 130's and a LP 45 stage the drysuit is needed for back-up buoyancy.

Oh, and Walter, I am still quite light of complexion. I normally stay covered up fairly well. I never did get rid of the "submariner's tan"