Transitioning to cold/poor viz diving from Caribbean clear & warm water

[ZombieZombie]

My wife and I have done about 75 dives- almost all in warm clear waters of the Caribbean- various Mexican sites and Key Largo- and some dives in Oman.

We have tried some California diving in Catalina and it was a shock to dive in cold, murkey water. We put it down to lack of experience then. Today, about another 40 dives later, we tried diving in Dutch Springs in PA. It's a spring fed former quarry and the LDS equipped us with 8mm of wetsuits (2x4mm), gloves,and hood.

However, the experience was quite poor. Although not a terribly hot or humid day, geared up in the sun, everything felt very constricting and claustrophobic. Weighting was a disaster with my wife dropping like a stone and me being unable to sink at all. I ended up ripping off the hood, gloves and top 4mm shorty. At least I could now sink but going below the thermocline at 30' was just too cold.

Our question- is this a common problem that with proper training, wetsuit fitting, and experience will go away and we will eventually start to enjoy diving in these types of locations? Or is it just a 'man up and embrace the suck' situation for people who enjoy swimming in cold chicken soup?

Living in Philly, I hate the idea that we have to travel to dive. The Jersey shore and dutch springs are pretty much our only local options.

We eventually got some value out of our dives today- practicing air sharing, shooting SMBs, and controlling depth during safety stops- but we didn't venture below 30' in a 100' lake. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba 2]

Transitioning from warm/clear to cold/murky is definitely an adjustment. My best advice is to take it slow, understand that colder water requires a bit more commitment and perhaps seek out a local instructor to offer you equipment, weighting, and technique tips.

 

[TheRealScubaSteve]

Can't speak specifically to diving in PA as I've only ever dove in NH, MA, and much clearer and warmer waters, but it's a bit of both. The worst part is the lead needed to counter super-buoyant wetsuits followed by roasting in thick and hot wetsuits with much less mobility. I dive with a 7mm hooded vest and 7mm wetsuit - most tend to dive drysuits up here, but those that do dive wet typically wear a vest and suit or john and jacket for added warmth - anything less and it is often too cold to truly enjoy the diving.

If it is 70+ degrees, it can be beneficial to suit up and jump in to cool off before putting everything else on. I have always been susceptible to heat exhaustion ( I hate hot weather with a passion ) and often felt tired, uncomfortable, and extremely constricted being suited up too long. After I started getting wet, it alleviated much of the problem.

The fact of the matter is that NE waters are always going to be cold compared to tropical destinations. That's the suck it up part. You'll get used to it, though I would suggest another layer. I don't typically chill too easily, but 8mm is far too cold, at least for me.

 

[Doc]

.... will go away and we will eventually start to enjoy diving in these types of locations? Or is it just a 'man up and embrace the suck' situation for people who enjoy swimming in cold chicken soup?

Yeah, you're gonna learn to love it.

 

[TSandM]

The unfortunate truth is that cold water diving will always involve thick exposure protection and a lot of lead. Yet, you CAN get used to those conditions and thoroughly enjoy that kind of diving. The initial transition is a shock for everybody.

 

[sethw]

This kind of cold water diving is not for everyone. Years ago I did my AOW at Dutch springs, I was miserable in a poorly fitting rental 7mm 2 piece wetsuit, it was just as you describe it. But like you I realized that local diving for me in north jersey would mean the jersey shore and Dutch springs, and this meant getting properly equipped and better trained.

With a good drysuit I like, the right undergarments, and additional training and experience I find I finally enjoy diving in the cold water. There are different challenges and rewards. But it is a commitment of time and money, not for everyone.

One other suggestion is to find a good local dive shop that specializes in technical diving. They will be able to offer advice and support on equipment choices and training that you would need to succeed at this. I don't know any shops in Philly but I do know of some in south jersey, PM me if you would like suggestions.

 

[industrious95]

It sounds like your biggest problem was your weighting. She's not supposed to sink like a stone and you're not supposed to bob on the surface indefinitely. Once you get that straight, you'll probably find a lot of the frustration and apprehension will dissipate.

I find thermoclines, for the most part, are a change but not necessarily uncomfortable. Your body adjusts and you quickly become accustomed to the new temperature. I haven't been in Dutch Springs for quite a few years, but I remember that the themoclines are a little more dramatic there than they are in the ocean.

Will you start to enjoy it? That's up to you, everyone's different.

I learned real fast that I can dive here in NJ every week, but I'm lucky to get out to someplace tropical once a year. So local diving has turned into a passion for me.

While our waters are definitely not as clear as the Caribbean, there's lots of interesting things to see and do. I'd take a shipwreck over another pretty blue or orange fish anyday. After a day or two of diving in the Caribbean, it all seems the same to me.

 

[altaskier]

I started out as you have, diving only in warm and clear water on vacations. When I moved to the Chicago area, I made a deliberate decision to dive locally and I am very happy to have done so. I think you gain a lot of skill and confidence in your diving by mastering different conditions and equipment configurations. OK, I'll take a colorful tropical reef over a local quarry any day, but because of my local diving I'm able to really enjoy myself when I visit Monterey, California (often by tacking a day onto a work trip) and other locations such as Croatia where I had a work trip last fall.

Get an instructor, or at least talk through the differences in cold, murky water diving with someone knowledgable. Again, when you build up your skills there, you will keep yourself fresh and challenged as a diver and find yourself oh so comfortable and on top of things when you go to the Caribbean, too!

 

[Dhboner]

If you can, try to deal with one challenge at a time at least at first. If there are days when the visibility is fairly decent concentrate on diving those days if your schedule permits. It's a bit overwhelming to be both cold and deal with low vis at the same time. Most of our diving here in Ontario is cold water but we often get days in Lake Ontario when the vis is really good and it makes dealing the other "challenges" less daunting.

 

[Degenerate]

I live in Sweden and dive with a 5mm wetsuit until the end of September with no problems really, after that it's drysuit all the way.
Only done 1 dive in warm clear water (Ras mohamed, Egypt) and yeah, it's very different from our cold and "murky" waters.
We get accustomed to it right from the start though so once we dive in warm clear waters it's a major WTF feeling

Skickat från min C6903 via Tapatalk