raviepoo
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Cold water divers vs warm water divers
- Thread starter divemed06
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To answer the question.... I believe it's easier for a cold water to adapt to a tropical environment than a tropical diver adjusting to cold water. A cold water diver with average skills should have no problem in tropical water. The same average tropical diver may not fair so well in cold water. I've heard it said many times that if you can dive cold water, you can just about dive anywhere. As far as the tropical diver having better skills because their in the water more often..... I don't think so. If you really love to dive you'll be in the water, warm or cold.
...Everything done in cold water - skills/tasks - is more difficult to perform due to:
> Cumbersomeness of the rig
> Fatigue due to equip. wt., restrictiveness & the energy sapping aspects of cold water ( cold inspired air, immersion diuresis )
> Decreased manual dexterity
IMHO, cold water diving is much more demanding physically, mentally & emotionally. This reality requires of the cold water diver a higher degree of overall fitness & a continuous reassessment of one's personal capabilities & limitations.
Cold water can be very unforgiving.
I would venture the cold water diver could adapt to warm water diving much faster than his/her warm water counter-part could to the cold.
I recall working with G.O.M. divers & inviting them to spend a drilling season working in the Canadian high Arctic...
...Nary a taker!
D.S.D.
> Cumbersomeness of the rig
> Fatigue due to equip. wt., restrictiveness & the energy sapping aspects of cold water ( cold inspired air, immersion diuresis )
> Decreased manual dexterity
IMHO, cold water diving is much more demanding physically, mentally & emotionally. This reality requires of the cold water diver a higher degree of overall fitness & a continuous reassessment of one's personal capabilities & limitations.
Cold water can be very unforgiving.
I would venture the cold water diver could adapt to warm water diving much faster than his/her warm water counter-part could to the cold.
I recall working with G.O.M. divers & inviting them to spend a drilling season working in the Canadian high Arctic...
...Nary a taker!
D.S.D.
If looking at it that way makes you feel good then have at.
Skills are skills and I went from tropical to cold and I found very little trouble and I am just as profficient. I agree there are more things to keep track of but if you know what you are doing and you are comfortable it is easy to adapt.
Pete
Skills are skills and I went from tropical to cold and I found very little trouble and I am just as profficient. I agree there are more things to keep track of but if you know what you are doing and you are comfortable it is easy to adapt.
Pete
No. Asking questions is fine. Polls, however I think are silly (or agrivating) for the reasons I gave. Maybe your the only one who has a right to an opinion because you have a question.
Some people teke me seriously and, I guess, some don't. I might be narrow minded but I gave you my answer to your question didn't I?
the sharkman
Contributor
I think polls are cool, if you are using them for gaining knowledge about something. I guess some do seem like a waste of time, but sometimes they can benefit someone looking for info (and to me that's what this board is all about).
Personally, I think cold and warm water diving are totally different. If you normally dive cold water (like me) and go to warm water, it is soooo much easier than going the opposite direction (warm to cold). To me, it seems so easy to go dive warm water. I am also of the opinion that there might be something wrong with you if you actually enjoy cold water diving, especially in wetsuits (and I LOVE cold water diving, and in a wetsuit).
:guitar:
Personally, I think cold and warm water diving are totally different. If you normally dive cold water (like me) and go to warm water, it is soooo much easier than going the opposite direction (warm to cold). To me, it seems so easy to go dive warm water. I am also of the opinion that there might be something wrong with you if you actually enjoy cold water diving, especially in wetsuits (and I LOVE cold water diving, and in a wetsuit).
:guitar:
It's easier to adapt to a tropical environment than to a cold water environment. However, this doesn't mean that you're a better diver.
This will probably make me come off like an ass, but I don't intend it that way.
I live in Seattle.
I have 250 dives in the Puget Sound and off of Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
I have 25 dives in warm water in St. Lucia and in the Somosomo Strait in Fiji (which has some strong currents, BTW).
Warm water diving is incredibly easy, by comparison, for me at least.
Now, I don't think this makes me a better diver than people with 250 dives in warm water and 25 dives in cold water.
But I haven't found any condition in my experiences so far where I think one of my warm water dive was more challenging that my cold water dives - not even remotely close.
Still - I absolutely love cold water diving. Truly I love it. For those of you who have never tried it, our diving in the Pacific Northwest features some of the most incredible life you could ever want to see, and it's HUGE by comparison to tropical fauna.
Yeah, it's a challenge... but it's also an unforgettable experience, and I can't recommend it enough.
-david
I live in Seattle.
I have 250 dives in the Puget Sound and off of Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
I have 25 dives in warm water in St. Lucia and in the Somosomo Strait in Fiji (which has some strong currents, BTW).
Warm water diving is incredibly easy, by comparison, for me at least.
Now, I don't think this makes me a better diver than people with 250 dives in warm water and 25 dives in cold water.
But I haven't found any condition in my experiences so far where I think one of my warm water dive was more challenging that my cold water dives - not even remotely close.
Still - I absolutely love cold water diving. Truly I love it. For those of you who have never tried it, our diving in the Pacific Northwest features some of the most incredible life you could ever want to see, and it's HUGE by comparison to tropical fauna.
Yeah, it's a challenge... but it's also an unforgettable experience, and I can't recommend it enough.
-david
Windwalker
Contributor
I have dove warm and cold, salt and fresh. for me its a lot more difficult in colder water. In the cold water I dive a 7mm Farmer John. I have never been cold in it*. However, it does limit my movement. The gloves make dexterity a challenge, and moving around with 38 pounds of weight makes life a little miserable. As I go deeper, my wetsuit crushes, I have some skills to deal with that. Thermal currents seem like they are more drastic in the colder water, adding another thing to watch out for.
<joke alert>
When I climb onto the dive boat, I feel like the swamp creature, the way I shamble around with the gear and water that weighs about as much as a VW bug. </joke alert>
*Mask clearing in warm water is a walk in the park. The first time I practiced in 42 degree water, I thought my face was going to be an Ice cube before I could get the damn mask back on.ut:
<joke alert>
When I climb onto the dive boat, I feel like the swamp creature, the way I shamble around with the gear and water that weighs about as much as a VW bug. </joke alert>
*Mask clearing in warm water is a walk in the park. The first time I practiced in 42 degree water, I thought my face was going to be an Ice cube before I could get the damn mask back on.
ut:Exactly!
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