Advantages of night diving?

[bluephoenix]

during my last night dive we have seen a catfish which was larger than me and two freshwater jellyfish etc. - it was amazing

 

[meagicano]

The poster who said he went into an overhead environment - it's important to know the site or be with someone who knows it well so that you can stay safe. We do all of our night dives on well known spots and we pair less experienced divers up with those who have done the site before. We have currents, overheads etc to deal with in the St Lawrence so we are pretty cautious.
Personally I hate night dives because I have an over active imagination, a small fear of fish and a big fear of the giant fish and eels that occasionally pop up in the news.

 

[ktkt]

Personally I hate night dives because I have an over active imagination, a small fear of fish and a big fear of the giant fish and eels that occasionally pop up in the news.

Ha! I think I spent the first ten minutes of my first night dive imagining sharks all around. Then I found an octopus out and about, and I was smitten

 

[BlueDevil]

As others have said you may see some quite different critters at night time. However in most cases there will be significantly less fish life at night. There may be exceptions to this depending on the dive site, however I have found it to be the case on virtually all the night dives I have done.

Tapatalk 2

 

[Lorenzoid]

As others have said you may see some quite different critters at night time. However in most cases there will be significantly less fish life at night. There may be exceptions to this depending on the dive site, however I have found it to be the case on virtually all the night dives I have done.

Even so, I find it fun to see the parrotfish sleeping in their "garages" in the coral. More generally, it can be nearly as interesting to see how the diurnal animals behave at night as it is to see the nocturnal animals.

 

[ZachB]

Sometimes I think I prefer night diving to day diving, but perhaps that is just because I don't do it as much! It is definitely a very different feeling. I really enjoy the sense of discovery, and looking back at the city lights along the coast while on the surface is an incredible feeling. My dive buddy at home and I have a favorite spot that we always go to, so we were quite familiar with it and could navigate all of the reef's swim-throughs. My first time night diving there, however, was a completely different experience. It was like exploring a completely new location!

That being said, night diving IS more dangerous than day diving. It doesn't feel any more dangerous until something goes wrong. First, the dive light, which is non-essential during the day, becomes a critical item at night, one more thing that can go wrong. Situational awareness is also greatly reduced, so the dangers of getting pushed by surge into an entanglement, sharp rocks, etc. is increased. Also compass navigation becomes a critical item. Going back to my go-to dive spot at home, my buddy and I were on our 8th night dive there. This was, however, about our 20th dive on that location within the last three weeks, so we were very familiar with it. I was in the lead and swam into what I thought was an open area between the main reef and a prominent rock known by name to local divers. I came across a "fork in the trail" and realized that I had actually strayed into a swim-through. No problem, I simply signaled my buddy and we turned around. Once we had exited onto the sand, we put the reef on our left, as we had always done, to swim back to shore. I checked my computer and realized we were getting deeper, so then I took a look at my compass and saw that we were actually swimming out to sea, not towards shore. The one thing I will never forget is the physical feeling of fear I experienced at that moment, realizing I was lost in the ocean at night. After some hand gesturing and dive slate scribbling, we both swam away from the reef and surfaced. We were actually on the opposite end of the reef in a completely different cove. Instead of turning around, we had strayed further into the reef before being spit out on the other side. Fortunately, a quick gauge check notified me of the error, but I really never should have gone into the reef in the first place. Two divers have died in the crevices at this location in recent years, and my buddy and I could have easily gotten lost, making surfacing on the rocks and in the waves at night our only option.

BUT! Don't let that dissuade you! I got myself and my buddy into that situation by making a poor judgment call. When done the right way, night diving is an amazing experience! If I may add one more word of advice, don't get the brightest light possible. Get a light that is sufficient to allow for safe navigation. Safety, of course, should be the first concern, but anything brighter than that will just scare away the animals! I used to dive with my primary light, a 900 lumen LED, until I got tired of the fishes, rays, and sea lions running away from me. Now I keep that with me as a secondary, but I actually use what used to be my backup light and have been able to sea many more sea creatures.

Happy diving!

-Zach

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Sometimes I think I prefer night diving to day diving, but perhaps that is just because I don't do it as much! It is definitely a very different feeling. I really enjoy the sense of discovery, and looking back at the city lights along the coast while on the surface is an incredible feeling. My dive buddy at home and I have a favorite spot that we always go to, so we were quite familiar with it and could navigate all of the reef's swim-throughs. My first time night diving there, however, was a completely different experience. It was like exploring a completely new location!

That being said, night diving IS more dangerous than day diving. It doesn't feel any more dangerous until something goes wrong. First, the dive light, which is non-essential during the day, becomes a critical item at night, one more thing that can go wrong. Situational awareness is also greatly reduced, so the dangers of getting pushed by surge into an entanglement, sharp rocks, etc. is increased. Also compass navigation becomes a critical item. Going back to my go-to dive spot at home, my buddy and I were on our 8th night dive there. This was, however, about our 20th dive on that location within the last three weeks, so we were very familiar with it. I was in the lead and swam into what I thought was an open area between the main reef and a prominent rock known by name to local divers. I came across a "fork in the trail" and realized that I had actually strayed into a swim-through. No problem, I simply signaled my buddy and we turned around. Once we had exited onto the sand, we put the reef on our left, as we had always done, to swim back to shore. I checked my computer and realized we were getting deeper, so then I took a look at my compass and saw that we were actually swimming out to sea, not towards shore. The one thing I will never forget is the physical feeling of fear I experienced at that moment, realizing I was lost in the ocean at night. After some hand gesturing and dive slate scribbling, we both swam away from the reef and surfaced. We were actually on the opposite end of the reef in a completely different cove. Instead of turning around, we had strayed further into the reef before being spit out on the other side. Fortunately, a quick gauge check notified me of the error, but I really never should have gone into the reef in the first place. Two divers have died in the crevices at this location in recent years, and my buddy and I could have easily gotten lost, making surfacing on the rocks and in the waves at night our only option.

BUT! Don't let that dissuade you! I got myself and my buddy into that situation by making a poor judgment call. When done the right way, night diving is an amazing experience! If I may add one more word of advice, don't get the brightest light possible. Get a light that is sufficient to allow for safe navigation. Safety, of course, should be the first concern, but anything brighter than that will just scare away the animals! I used to dive with my primary light, a 900 lumen LED, until I got tired of the fishes, rays, and sea lions running away from me. Now I keep that with me as a secondary, but I actually use what used to be my backup light and have been able to sea many more sea creatures.

Happy diving!

-Zach

Yes i was thinking about this today. Surfacing at night and not being able to recognize shore points, being lost and potentially being swept unto large rocks at night is a big deal. In the day you may be able to see shore much easier and recognize landmarks etc. Also, if you have to come through a surf zone at night, it would be about impoosible to hold a light over your head and shine the light out into the sea in order to look for incoming sets... Something that you may be able to do in the day.

Again night dives should probably be in locations where navigation is simple or non-critical. I also have gotten turned around on a night beach dive and expended all my air comming "in", when in reality i was booking straight out and finally surfaced with zero air and being offshore about 1/2 mile at night in a thunderstorm... It was probably a 50 minute swim and then a looong walk back to the car.... Lesson learned: always take a compass..

 

[Mr. Willoughby]

I still remember my first night dive... It was magical. Full of schools of shrimp, a huge 5' diameter sun-star, schools of bait-fish and the most intense bio-luminescence I've ever seen. And all of this a mere 50' from our hotel in Sydney, BC.

The next most memorable was when a harbour seal decided to play with us in Whytecliff Park. It scared the crap out of me when it zoomed past my mask less than two feet away...

 

[Akimbo]

one of the things I like about night diving is that if u have good lights you can see everything in "true color" you dont get the blue green tint of color absored light like in the day. ...

I am amazed that being enveloped in true color wasn’t the first reply and even more that it took until the ninth. That is easily number one for me.

 

[drbill]

The critters people have mentioned that come out more at night include lobsters, crabs, octopus, squid, active moray eels--lots of good things to see.

Another good thing is that many of the questionable divers you see during the daytime are probably off at the bars drinking at night in preparation for the next day's dives!