Drinking the Night before a dive

[drbill]

I'm probably much older than you and my body may no longer tolerate a lot of alcohol... I rarely drink on a night before a dive (which means most nights) and on the rare occasions that I do, it is usually just one glass of wine, bottle of beer or a single Scotch

 

[ev780]

Still wondering why the bars are packed at the end of the dive day yet no one seems to drink before diving?

 

[VA Jeff]

That seems like reasonable advice to me albeit some will consider it on the 'sporty' side

What advice ? Sporty side ? "albeit" some may consider it useless, immature and confrontational.

Your initial reply was nothing but ridicule. You have to just love guys like you. Maybe you should get off your high horse and read the rules of this section again. The guy comes on here asking a reasonable question with regard to his safety only to have some DOPE like you call his question stupid.

You then, in your second post imply he is drunk while posting. You suggest, with that superior intellect of yours, that you could possibly offer some advise were you to be given more specifics. My guess is that you probably have nothing to offer but only like to hear yourself talk.

I am new to the site and quite frankly its guys like you who keep people away from forums like these, that otherwise could be a helpful resource. If you have nothing valuable to offer, which is probably the majority of the time, you should keep your pie hole shut.

" If those around you only think that you're an idiot, why speak and remove all doubt "

 

[Tom Winters]

I thought that this was going to be a tough place to post until I saw that it was the NIGHT before the dive. I don't have a problem with that. If I get a REM cycle or two before I go diving, that's ok.

After I became an instructor years and years ago, while traveling around the world, I was amazed at the number of other instructors who would have a tot BEFORE they went diving. Not the night before, but the morning or early after noon of. I couldn't do this - the military kinda instilled the 12-hour rule - and I'm thinking that in retrospect, these people might have been tropical juicers. The lifestyle can do that.

I still remember the first time I dived in Floriduh with a boatload of other instructors. I was gearing up and someone handed me a open cold one. I was so clueless that I didn't know what to do with it. You can drink on my boats after the dive. Hell, you can even take your clothes off after the dive if you really want to wind down. Well, maybe not Jim Lapenta - that pale Pennsylvania skin might blind us and cause incoming aircraft to FLL, PBI, and MIA to divert.

 

[dmoore19]

Like most things, it is a personal call. Some handle the effects of alcohol better than others. There is nobody around that can make the call. I prefer to limit my drinks to a beer or 2, someone else might see it different. I do know that on a live aboard, the first drink of the day means you have finished diving for the day. Other than that, have fun and be safe.

 

[tkdgodess]

Have a couple of relaxing drinks, don't get wasted. Force yourself to drink water before you go to sleep. (I aim for a litre). Not a big deal.

 

[UrbanJungle1966]

As I am a new diver I would say either really limit yourself or don't drink the night before. There is so much going on and stuff that could happen you really need your wits about you. At only 20ish dives I find myself still having to force myself not to think about breathing and buoyancy let alone trying to navigate to add onto that the hassle of a hangover .

 

[KickDrumX2]

Personal choice IMHO. To each his own. As long as your decision doesn't directly impact or effect someone else's safety or rights, then everyone else with an opinion can go fly a kite.


But..... keep in mind that if your decision places someone else in a position of having to perform a rescue..... then that still counts as impacting someone else's safety.


Personally.... I go on vacation to dive, sleep, relax, read , and......party. I'm a big boy and have no problem diving with a bit of a hangover. Don't plan it that way, but if it happens and I wake up feeling a little less that "perfect"...not big deal.

Also, I really enjoy having an ice cold brewski.. waiting for me in the truck right after an afternoon dive.... and even if I'm gonna dive again in an hour, it's no big deal.

One of the great things about shore diving in Bonaire. No rules, no standards and especially..... no self appointed righteous know-it-alls who think they are experts and that others are supposed to live by their rules.

ScubaDog is spot on. Use some common sense and you will be fine. Only you know how alcohol impacts your body. No one is advocating you go out and spend all night getting ripped, but drinking the night before isn’t some super reckless diving practice some people make it out to be. Someone else hit on it earlier; the dive bar isn’t packed at the end of the night because no one is diving the next day…..
Like ScubaDog I have also been known to have a beer right after an afternoon dive despite the fact I will be diving again in an hour. I am aware that statement is diving heresy and yet here we are. Ignore the science classes and have a good time.

P.S. Hydrate or Die

 

[windapp]

There are three factors to consider.

1. Your BAC must be zero while you are diving. Keep in mind that there have been several drunk driving arrests where people got drunk the night before, and were still drunk in the morning after thinking they had slept the alcohol off. I have an associate who once did a very dangerous experiment where one of his dive buddies drank two beers and went to 30 feet under the supervision of several dive buddies. He fell asleep. Alcohol and pressure do not mix.
2. Dehydration is considered to be one of the biggest contributing factors in DCS.
3. Being hung over is a serious distraction in a sport that requires your full concentration all of the time.

I do not get drunk the night before a dive, and I never drink immediately before diving.

 

[lancekerry]

It is not good idea to drink before diving. Alcohol will impair your physical performance, concentration and judgment underwater, plus mask symptoms of decompression sickness for many hours until your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level reaches 0.0 percent.