New to coldwater diving - help please!

[kenns]

Hi Volauvent
I'm a female diver of similar size to you and I'm diving in British Columbia where are waters are a wee bit colder (last dive 48F), therefore more undergarments. I use a crushed neoprene suit which also means more weight but helps me to stay warmer. Although I'm 50 years old and started diving only a year ago, I am a runner and my cardio is good. Like you, found it difficult to get up from a bent knee position when I began, as well, the long trek up to the parking lot was a challenge. Take heart, you will get stronger. You'll also learn how to manage the surf.

I began using a HP80 steel tank and which helped me to take some lead off, but I'm still diving with 28lbs (18 in BCD, 10 weight belt) in the winter when the water is getting colder. Most of my dives are around an hour, so I'm wearing more fleece to allow me to stay in that long. I might be able to shed a couple more pounds once I learn to more effectively deal with air in my feet - that remains my biggest challenge to date in the shallow waters. I have dove warm waters and cold, and would encourage you to stick to learning your drysuit. It'll take as many as 15-20 dives to get used to the drysuit. There are too many wonderful things to see in our cold waters and I'd hate to see you lose out on that.

Good luck....keep diving!!
Kerry

 

[sambolino44]

I don't have much to add to the great advice already presented, I just wanted to encourage you not to give up, because it does get easier. You probably can reduce the dry weight of your gear (steel HP80 cylinder, steel BP/W, weight belt, and distributing the weight with things like trim and ankle weights are all good suggestions), the techniques TSandM suggested will help, and it never hurts to increase your physical conditioning with exercise. But really, smarter is better than stronger. I've learned a lot of ways to keep myself out of situations that require a lot of physical strength.

 

[FinnMom]

When I started diving the weight of a single tank seemed like a lot. For most of the 1st summer I learned that the easiest way was to carry the BCD+tank to the water, then come back with my weight belt on, then put on the BCD in the water. If you can do anything similar to lighten the load while your muscles are developing maybe it would help. You don't want to injure your back/ankles/knees by having weight you really have hard time controlling. And little by little you will notice that your back, knees and legs are all getting stronger.

Keep diving and keep doing whatever else you enjoy to keep in shape. Fitness snowballs: the fitter you get the more energy you have and the greater taste you get for physical activity.

Doubles are really a lot nicer to carry and to balance. With doubles the weight seems to hugs your back like a high-quality pack. IMHO 15-20% extra weight in doubles+backplate+lead btwn the tanks can be easier to lift than one big tank that hangs off the center of your back. I also found that adding weight to the BCD/wing and therby moving it off my waist was a huge help too.

Don't get discouraged w/ the drysuit. It's a real challenge to learn bouyancy control anew after switching to a drysuit. After nearly 15 drysuit dives I was getting pretty discouraged at how little skill I'd gained. At shallow depths any attempt to stay horizonal was feet up, feet down, up/down/up like a blasted teetertotter! Then just a few dives later it finally started to come together.

Also about a drysuit. (1) Gator wraps seem to have been a real help in keeping excess air from going into my boots. I'm very happy w/ that purchase. (2) I use a Weezle Extreme+ undersuit. You look like the Michelin man's tubby baby sister in one of those, but they are really warm, even when wet. I once had an obvious leak during a dive, then stood around on the ice quite comfortably socializing for a good 30 mins. Only only after getting to my car and undressing did I realize I had a good 1/2 gallon of water inside my suit. Yep, warm even when wet.

 

[mathauck0814]

Swapping your BC For a steel backplate and wing, replacing the AL80 with a steel tank will get you a lot of the way there. I'm 6'1", 210lbs with a healthy "bioprene" layer and I only wear 6lbs in addition to my kit when in my fusion drysuit...

 

[Colliam7]

Hard to add a lot of new information, so I will 'ditto' several of the suggestions already made.

Is there any way to reduce the weight so that I can actually get up under my own power (I do intend to go to the gym, but I'd also like to know how the 70 year-olds and people with bad backs do it!)

Possibly, you can reduce part of the weight, but not a large amount. Plus, over time you will learn some drysuit 'tricks', techniques that allow you to stand up. If I am on my knees on shore, at the end of an exhausting drysuit dive, at times I may need some help to stand up. That is not embarrassing. Even a rock with a vertical relief of only 18 inches helps me get to my feet. Sure, go to the gym, but don't feel somehow inadequate because you may need assistance getting to your feet. Heck, there have been times when I take my rig off in the water and drag it to dry land, THEN get some help putting it back on.

As for the weight, basically, the variable weight is mostly in what you added (26 lbs). That weight can probably be decreased by:
a) moving to a less positively bouyant BCD. As many have suggested, a stainless steel backplate and simple web harness - and NO padding - will help. The BCD you used is positive. You are adding weight to compensate for that situation. It is also weight-integrated, and while you can adjust where the weights go, I have to wonder if you put the weight in the front pockets - a sure prescription for getting to a feeling of moving slightly face forward / down in the water. I also agree with Thal, go with a weight belt. And, a small item - use SS buckle cam bands.

As for steel tanbks - yes, go with tanks that are negative. That may not change your total tank weight by much, but it may help reduce some of the added weight. As for size, you might find a smaller tank works for you. Or, a HP80 may work for you. To a certain extent it is trial and error.

Should I just forget cold-water beach diving

No. It is a learned / acquired skill. With experience, you will find ways to increase your stability on entry and exit. You will also find that you need less weight.

You described being negative, on the bottom, and needing several puffs of air to get neutral. It does raise a question of whether you were overweighted. While 26lbs is not all that unusual for a drysuit, a positive BCD and an AL80, it may be too much for you.

I dive my suit so that I use just enough air to prevent the suit squeeze from being uncomfortable. The fact that you didn't feel any squeeze in the ocean may indiciate that you had quite a bit of air in your suit (and you were still negative, again suggesting possible overweighting). I don't need, and don't want a big cushion of air, and the associated roaming air bubble. I agree with the suggestion to look at gaiters, based on your comment about feeling the air bubble move into you drysuit legs.

 

[temet vince]

In my opinion, if you aren't adhering to a regular workout schedule (3-4 times/wk.) outside of diving, you shouldn't be diving. That being said, some types of diving/conditions can be a pretty good workout. YMMV.

Are you talking about diving in general, or ocean shore diving and kayak diving? I don't work out at all and have never been hindered in my dives, but I do coldwater lake dives. Of course, my metabolism is super fast though, so I stay fit.

OP - hey there. Cold water diving is a very different sport to warm but can still be very enjoyable too.

People can dive in warm water? I hate being landlocked.

To the OP; one thing to think about is that you may not have to dive in a dry suit. Many people can and do dive in thick wetsuits in cold water. I don't know if that's your style or not though.

 

[volauvent]

Hi:

Many, many thanks to all who weighed in (so to speak). Here's the summary:

Equipment
- Go to a steel tank (NorCalDM, Bubbletrubble, Jorgy, TSandM, kenns, sambolino44, mathauck0814, Colliam7)
(a smaller steel tank may work for short/shallow dives but watch for air consumption)
- Go to a BP/W with steel backplate and cam bands (Bubbletrubble, TSandM, sambolino44, mathauck0814, Colliam7)
- Use a weight belt instead of integrated weights (thalassomania, sambolino44, Colliam7)
- Distribute weight for better trim (NorcalDM, sambolino44)
- Try a neoprene drysuit to stay warmer (kenns)
- Try Gator wraps to manage boot bubbles (FinnMom, Colliam7)
- Try Weezle Extreme+ undersuit to stay warm even when flooded (FinnMom)
- consider double tanks (FinnMom)
- Consider a wetsuit instead of a drysuit (temet vince)

Skills
- Do a weight check to avoid overweighting (thalassomania, Bubbletrubble, Colliam7)
- Work on buoyancy and trim control to reduce weight requirement over time (Colliam7, Bubbletrubble)
- Learn how to figure out when conditions will be benign and good for diving (Bubbletrubble)
- Learn the "tricks" of entries/exits when surf is present. (Bubbletrubble, kenns, Colliam7)
- Stick to an exercise plan with aerobic and strength training (Bubbletrubble, sambolino44, kenns, FinnMom)
- Learn the tricks of how not to flood the suit (scoobydrew, Bubbletrubble)
- Be smart about managing gear, e.g. put equipment on when standing up, gear up close to the entry point, work with your buddy, use a rocky ledge to stand up (scoobydrew, sambolino44, FinnMom, TSandM, Colliam7)
- it's ok to carry weights in/out separately (Jorgy, TSandM, FinnMom)
- it's ok to put on / take off the gear in the water (TSandM, FinnMom, Colliam7)

Other
- Keep diving and it'll get better (kenns, NorCalDM, Bubbletrubble, scoobydrew, sambolino44, FinnMom, heck, that's about everyone!)
- Do a lot of dives at some of the easier shore dive sites, and try other locations - Carmel or Macabee (NorcalDM
- Find a dive buddy with similar goals (Bubbletrubble)
- Get a DM or experienced diver to assist in the learning process (scoobydrew, Bubbletrubble)
- Yes, the weight of the gear can be overwhelming when starting - it gets better (TSandM, FinnMom)
- Yes, female divers can enjoy cold water diving (NorCalDM, kenns, FinnMom, TSandM)
- It's ok to ask for and accept help (TSandM)

Thanks again to all - I feel much better and will keep at it. You guys are awesome!

Teresa

 

[aquaregia]

Just to add to the other comments, if you're after dive buddies there's a pretty strong community around here. It's not the easiest diving, but it's absolutely amazing and totally worth it.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Are you talking about diving in general, or ocean shore diving and kayak diving? I don't work out at all and have never been hindered in my dives, but I do coldwater lake dives. Of course, my metabolism is super fast though, so I stay fit.

@temet vince: My comments relate to all scuba diving in general. In particular, ocean shore diving and kayak diving can be fairly strenuous activities, so it's even more important to be in good shape if you choose to do that kind of diving. Note that with shore diving and kayak diving, you can end up exercising quite a bit following a dive. If you're out of shape, a low-impact post-dive activity (like crawling out of the surf and walking along the beach OR paddling a kayak back to shore) can turn into a strenuous endeavor, which we know increases DCS risk.

I think divers should view physical fitness as an important safety issue. It's right up there with doing comprehensive functional pre-dive checks, maintaining gear properly, communicating with your buddy, choosing a safe dive op, diving within your training/experience, and practicing skills you learned in basic OW class. And it really shouldn't matter what kind of diving one does. Divers put themselves into a pretty hostile environment that can make some serious physical demands on occasion. Even if a diver doesn't feel like he is being physically "pushed" on a particular dive, it's really nice to know that he has a "fitness reserve" to call upon in the event of an emergency. In addition, if we assume that blood flow and the cardiovascular system play a role in the on-/off-gassing of inert gases to various tissues in the body, wouldn't you want your heart and blood vessels to be in tip-top shape just in case it might decrease DCS risk? And that doesn't even include all of the great non-scuba-related benefits of being in shape: more energy, better health, stress relief, etc.

I don't know you, so I won't presume to know your level of fitness. However, I would like to raise the possibility that you might not be as fit as you think.
By a "super fast" metabolism, I'm going to assume that you have a fairly slim body type. That doesn't necessarily imply being aerobically fit.
Not being "hindered" on dives isn't a very good barometer of cardiovascular/strength fitness either. Some people spend a significant portion of any given dive simply hovering. Drift diving can also be effortless. IMO, those types of diving aren't very physically taxing -- they're rather comparable to sitting on the couch. Please understand that I'm not criticizing people who dive this way. (In fact, I love nothing more than to hover for about 15-20 minutes in one place to watch UW critters go about their business.) I'm just saying that conducting such dives wouldn't be the best test of fitness.

 

[Token]

Hi Teresa -- I had a pretty unrewarding cold-water experience last spring...here's what I figured out because of that.

1] Breaking in new gear is stressful in and of itself. If you can, spend some time in the pool with it and get the feel of how it works before you actually get into the ocean.

2] A heavy suit and a heavy BCD is a heck of a thing to get in and out of the water, esp. if you're boat diving. My solution is to go with a separate weight belt where I carry HALF my necessary weight. This has several advantages, not the least of which is being able to drop and drag the belt ...or hand it over to your real good buddy

if you have problems getting to your feet.

3] In fact _any_ new diving experience is liable to take a lot of energy to get through...be mentally prepared for that as well. After a few times in the water with your new gear, you may be surprised with how easy you find it becoming. Good luck!