Cold water diving advice

[Atom]

I'm sure some divers with way more experience than me will weigh in, but a few things I'd consider important (since I've gone through the process)

• If possible find an experienced diver to dive with, they have a lot of things to share
• Consider a dry suit if you find the water too cold for comfort, it's worth it. A lot of people also pour hot water in their wetsuits to make them more comfortable (water must be hot not boiling hot).
• Hoods will impair your hearing so do most of the talking/planning with your buddy before putting on the hood.
• If it's very cold outside (0C & lower), bring a thermos with hot water to help deal with frozen stuff, you'll be happy you did. And give your regulator/inflators a little warm up before the 2nd dive.
• Also bring enough warm clothing to be comfortable in the surface interval. And bring some spares, everything usually gets wet around dive gear. If you get cold during the surface interval your 2nd dive isn't gonna be fun.
• It's a good idea to bring some food with you and some hot drinks in a thermos.
• Don't plan complex/long dive initially, it'll take a few dives to adjust.
• Don't breath you regulator at the surface, in very cold weather it increases the chances that it'll free flow right there. And inflate the BCD & drysuit slowly in little pushes, once again to make sure you don't get a free flow.
• Practice your skills to make sure you can do them in cold water and with the equipment (mask removal + replacement is not the same thing with hood and gloves/mitts)
• Also make sure you can disconnect your hoses with the gloves/mitts you're wearing.
• Start heading back when you get cold, not when you're completely frozen.
• If your hands gets cold in with wet gloves consider using 3 finger mitts, they're usually warmer.

 

[Atom]

My add is make sure you have a good light (21 watt HID?) because cold usually also means dark w/low viz. Using a light to stay in touch with your team is the way to go.

Interesting... my experience has been that the colder it was the better the vis was. Of course I'm talking about local dives (St-Lawrence river + lakes), it's probably different in other places.

 

[Wetsuit 4 life]

Watch your depth, it's just going to get colder on the way down, but once you you start moving back to shallower depths I find that the water starts to get warmer.
For me i find a dive to 80 ft gets cold but once i get back to 30ft or less things start to be nice.

That or i'am in shock

 

[parkerco]

Lots of great advice here. A couple things I either missed while browsing or hadn't been mentioned:

- Pocket warmers are awesome for surface intervals (most sporting goods stores carry these)

- When you first get into the water relax for a few minutes ... the shock of the cold water can cause all sorts of problems. We ended up having to rescue a rescuer this weekend in our Rescue Diver class because she started hyperventilating while exerting herself during a scenario.

- If you dive dry (recommended!), be aware that all of those layers will severely limit flexibility. Make sure when geared up you can reach everything you need to (pockets, tank valve, etc.), use spring straps for the fins if possible, etc.

 

[dbulmer]

Rhone Man,
If you were speaking about the UK specifically I would answer a little bit differently.
My OW training was in Cancun but I dive mostly UK now.

I think one of the biggest things you have to be prepared to do is:-

a) Be humble and willing to listen to others who dive regularly in a cold environment.

b) Be enthusiastic and have a sense of humour - see point a - you'll sometimes need it

c) Be able to thumb a dive if you feel uncomfortable - this is a biggy. Conditions are usually harsher and your buddy wants you to enjoy the dive and not fear it. The buddy isn't looking for unplanned surprises so if you feel uncomfortable, thumb the dive and have a chat afterwards if you want to.


d) Be more conservative in your exposure time and gas management. If you don't know what gas management is have a chat with your buddy. If he doesn't know what gas management is, look for an instructor who does.

A 21W Hid light for someone trying out a dive is overkill in my opinion. In the UK, a 10W would be
sufficient for regular diving (Peter Guy: unless team demands rule otherwise ) but a UK400R would be ok for a couple of days.


All the rest is about going diving and getting used to heavier gear and weight in and out of the water and gaining a different perspective on wrecks or wildlife. Good instructors, club mentors and good buddies can help with the adjustment in conditions, advise on gear and prepare you with locale specific procedures.

Rhone Man,
My answer above would be for a newer diver and is not directed at you personally.
If it were you, DSMB procedures, OOA procedures, mask removal, correct weighting and then off for a dive

 

[Gerbs]

The things that I found when I switched from warm water (red sea) to cold water (German lakes) after 33 dives were:

- exposure protection needs to be right: 7mm semi + 7mm ice vest + short dives if the water is really cold or dry suit (and learn how to use it).

- regulators have it bad in cold water. Dual first stages are the way to go.

- it's dark. Get a good light!

hth

Gerbs

 

[Codiak]

Because of all the items listed so far

Be prepared to do fewer dives in a day and don't think twice about thumbing a dive before you even hit the water. Once you get cold, warming back up can take a lot of time.

 

[paddler3d]

Hearing all this makes wonder why I go diving in our local cold and dark waters...then I go and remember!

 

[Kingpatzer]

d) Be more conservative in . . . gas management

I hinted at that above with the psi calculation, but it really can't be emphasized enough.

When it's cold you will go through more air.
When wearing heavier gear you will go through more air.
When using your air for a drysuit you'll go through more air.
When the tank hits the cold water it will lose significant psi.

And regulators, as was mentioned above, do have it hard. Free flows are relatively common in cold water.

Gas management is serious business in cold water diving in a way that warm water divers just won't really appreciate until they become cold water divers

 

[jtivat]

Tie a string around your "parts" so you can pull them back out after the dive.