Newbie question re: Gilboa

[cavdeb]

I'm currently scheduled to do my open water certification at Gilboa in late June. Hubby and I are taking a dive-oriented cruise in July; gotta get my certification done! My instructor has thoroughly frightened me about how unpleasant and cold the water will be at Gilboa in June. Before I drop cash on traveling someplace warm with my referral, is it REALLY that cold and unpleasant at Gilboa in the 3rd week of June? They're supplying a 6 mm wetsuit, hood and gloves for the certification dives. What would you tell a 40-year-old female newbie?
Thanks!

 

[mikiedfd17]

Well, I think he's trying to build you up so that once you do hit the cold water, you won't be upset or disapponited and turned off from diving. 3rd week of June I think you will be just fine. . . I'm sure someone will chime in with water temps, my guess is you wont go deep enough to get into the really cold water at the bottom. I won't lie -it will be cold, but nothing that you shouldn't be able to handle in a 6mm wetsuit

I was there last November with water in the upper 40's and i managed 30 minute dives with a 7mm wetsuit. . The cold air on the surface is what made it worse, at least in June the chances of surfacing with 30* air is slim. Hope that helps.

 

[speedhound]

It will be "cold", I've attached a link to the gilboa site. As well as bringing some snacks, "pre-warm" your wetsuit by pouring warm water into it before you dive (bring a 2l bottle or gall milk jug. there's warm water on site) - should buy you some time. Also, make sure to bring(acquire a hood and gloves). A 6mm wetsuit should be fine for that time of year. During my checkout dives (Portage) I was too "excited" and busy to notice what the water was like!

Here's the link : http://www.divegilboa.com/conditions.shtm

Dive safe and have fun!

 

[cal2632]

I did my open water checkout dives in Gilboa in June. As a (then) 44 year old female - I was cold and miserable in my 7mm. BUT - I am glad I did it there, because after the cold water and (relatively) low visability, my first ocean dives seemed even better. if you can deal with the less than perfect conditions of quarry diving, you'll be more confident about your abilities and will be able to better enjoy your first dives in the Caribbean. I say go for Gilboa.

 

[DudleyNMU]

6mm you will be fine...nothing like cold water diving...

 

[Eeyore48104]

If it ain't cold, it ain't diving!
I did my certification at White Star last year (as a 49-year-old male) on 30 April and loved it! (As I said elsewhere on this board) water was 43* and (as speedhound said) I was so excited, I didn't mind it - until we did mask clearing (what a jolt) and when we got out (air was 39*)!
But, if you can dive here, you can dive anywhere! (BTW - The pop bottle/milk jug idea works well!!)
Good luck and don't worry - we've all survived it - you can too! The cruise will be even better for it!

 

[Ber Rabbit]

I do the same thing with my students, describe how cold Gilboa is and suggest they put warm water in their suit immediately before entering. I have a tent with heaters in it to keep them warm between dives if needed, that's not usually an issue in June though. You want to know what the students have always said, "It wasn't nearly as cold as you made it out to be." It's cold when you first get in, get your whole face wet before you go under and your body adjusts quickly. Three finger mitts are a little harder to use but they keep your hands warmer and that makes for a more pleasant dive. Make sure you get a wetsuit that fits as well as a rental can, the less water you have exchanging in the suit the warmer you will be. You can also wear long johns (no cotton, get a performance fabric) under your wetsuit for a little extra insulation. A dive skin over the long johns makes putting the wetsuit on easier and you can use that on your tropical dives to protect from stings and scrapes. The fleece lined skins are really nice and eliminate the need for the long johns. I've found that I'm colder if I'm wearing a bathing suit top so I have a cropped fleece tank-top that I wear with my tankini bottoms instead of the regular tankini top. I also have a fleece hat that fits snugly and I can wear it under my hood for added warmth. I am the queen of freezing, my students laugh at me because I'm freezing in my drysuit and they are comfortable in their wetsuits LOL!

Gilboa is a really neat place to dive and there are a lot of interesting things to see. I think you're actually going to enjoy the experience.
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[ckharlan66]

cavdeb,

The water won't be too bad that time of year. You might find that you enjoy it and can start participating in some of the many trips that are organized to gilboa from groups on here. There are some great folks that get together up there.

Chad

 

[Barracuda2]

If you can combine a 5mm sleevless vest with attached hood under the 6mm wet, that can really make a comfort difference also. Even compressed, you have more protection around your core with this combo and it really cuts down on water shifting in and out around your mid back, waist, and neck. It'll be great!! Have fun.

 

[RPanick]

When I did mine OW the water was about 55 or so, that wasn't the problem. It was heat exhaustion wearing the wet suit out of the water. The water actually felt pretty good. Don't worry about it, wear the suit, gloves and hood and you will do fine.