Advantages of night diving?

[freeze43]

Hi,
I'm new to SCUBA and I was wondering why night diving seems to be such a wildly popular thing to do. It seems a bit more dangerous without all the daytime illumination for both navigational and sensorial awareness. Is there a benefit from seeing the sorts of animal life down there?

 

[fjpatrum]

No more dangerous, from what I can tell based on the 5 or 6 night dives I've done so far. The advantages are:

1) less crowds (especially for surf entries where you may have to also contend with snorkelers, surfers, beach goers, etc.)
2) more activity from the creatures that are nocturnal.
3) different behaviors from pretty much all the creatures, nocturnal and diurnal.
4) different sounds -- again less man-made ones, typically
5) cool bioluminescense in some places that you won't see during daylight

 

[drbill]

I do it because many critters are only out at night, or are indulging in different behaviors then. To get the full picture of an ecosystem, one needs to look at it over the entire period of a day (for years).

 

[tracydr]

Incredibly peaceful. Night creatures like eels, lobsters and octopi are much more likely to be out free swimming. It's just different and you have to experience it to understand the attraction.

 

[Searcaigh]

My record is 50 night dives in one year, you find the most bizarre critters sometimes at night that you will not see during daylight hours.

My first night dive ever was incredible, a bit like being in a Sci-fi movie .... who would have known such creatures existed .... got me hooked anyway.

 

[boulderjohn]

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.

This will seem counterintuitive, but in a way you can see better at night. The colors of the spectrum are removed from light in order as you descend. By the time you are at normal diving depth during the day, you are in a world dominated by blue. If you have a good light during a night dive, the actual colors become visible to you. You are now in a world of color. If you really want to see the difference, dive in the Pacific where there are colorful soft corals. Do a dive by day, and then do the same dive at night to see what those colors really are.

 

[nimoh]

In some respects, it is safer.

It is much easier to keep track of your buddy if you are diving with good quality narrow beam lights, and if you both dive such that you can see each other's lights. If there is a problem, you can notify your buddy much quicker with an erratic light movement.

 

[redacted]

Sometimes it is hard to get 5 dives in before the sun sets.

 

[ermaclob]

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 did a dive once with a boat full of ~9 ppl that had only led, hid canister lights and video lights. it was like diving during the day only with all the yellows and reds and ornges clearly viewable.

 

[ScubaDocER]

People have mentioned many of the positive aspects of night diving and they are correct. The colors seen during a night dive are more true to form than during a day dive. The creatures that emerge during a night dive can be distinctly different from those that appear during a day dive. There are however aspects of a night dive that can be more challenging and require more awareness.

1. Your vision is limited by the light beam in front of you. You don't have light all around you as you do during the day. This can make navigation challenging as well as limit your view of the things in your immediate sight.
2. You must be prepared to deal with potential emergencies. It can be different dealing with an out of air emergency during a night dive than one during the day. Or a panicked diver. Or not being able to see the boat. The dive ops that I have used conduct the night dive in rather shallow water. Some however, like the liveaboard to Utila, did the night dive at non shallow depths (70-80) feet. Emergencies during a night dive can be unsettling for the unprepared.
3. The equipment needed during a night dive can be different than that used during a day dive. Some divers will carry a small light during a day dive to look beneath the reefs shelf or peer into holes. These need not be powerful lights. Night dives however are more enjoyable when you have a strong light (HID or LED) so that the ocean floor is easier to see in its entirety. Night diving is like driving a car at night. You can only see where the light is shining. If you use your high beams, you can see more of the road. Make sure you have fresh batteries and at least 2 lights in case one floods or dies on you.

As you enjoy the unique creatures that emerge during a night dive, make sure your awareness of events around you remain sharp.