First real dive trip

[Searcaigh]

Good you are wearing a hood during the dive, a lot of body heat is lost via the head. I also recommend semi-dry suits.

As others mentioned during the SI keep warm, wooly or fleece hat, drink hot soup.

One of the things I liked during my trips with Asia Divers at Puerto Galera in the Philippines was the hot towel, just like flying business class, after the dive, even though we were in warm water, sheer luxury.

Enjoy your trip

 

[TMHeimer]

Agree with all that the surface interval is most important when diving in cold climates.

 

[CamG]

Greetings Jeni and congrats on the trip!
I am a very cold person on SI's as well, I quite literally have to were coats, hoodies, stocking hats and or gloves.
When I dive wet my core temperature goes several degrees farther than when I dive dry.
This point was made rather very poignant in the pool this winter when we did a 2hr pool dive in a 7mm.
By the end off the dive I was freezing but the other two divers were shaking and ready to call it.

Thermal protection is a critical issue for many and we all need to realize that it is a HUGE distraction on dives and thus affects our decision making.
The key is to know when to say enough is enough!
There are some dives now that I must have warm liquids between dives just to put some heat back into the core.
In the dead of summer I wear a beanie or hooded sweatshirt to keep warm.

Dive times are a huge consideration when diving colder water.
Just plan your dives for shorter times or call it when you get cold.
We have come up with several guidelines for water temps, 30º - 40º dive times of 30-40 minutes, 50º-60º dive times of 40-60 minutes.
These were calculated diving dry and if we got cold we altered the plan.
I have found that comfort on a dive to be very individualistic and can vary day to day.

Do not feel awkward sleeping with all that stuff on after diving your core temperature is just down and trying to recover.
What I have found is that I usually take a sleeping bag rated for 40º-50º range then peel down to underware no shirt or socks and get in that for the night.
By morning I feel warm and so much better.
It takes sometimes a half hour or so to warm up but I never know because I always go out quickly.
I used to be a iron man when it came to cold temps now I find I am a wise man that plans for it and likes to be comfortable!

Have fun and dive like crazy but plan for the colder temps and you will have a great time!

CamG Keep Diving....Keep Training....Keep Learning!

 

[rameus]

That's what I'd call brave since my coldest dives have been around 60 and that already felt cold. But never mind. Just go in there, enjoy it and be excited and make sure you get something warm to drink after you get out... that helps a lot!

 

[SoccerJeni]

Thanks everybody for the suggestions on staying warm! I was surprised last time just how cold I was later that night. My two friends who went with me were not cold at all, one of them was an itty bitty little thing with almost zero body fat...strange!

Have a wonderful time!

If you are going to do trips like this, I would highly recommend investing in a TruWest dive parka. The windproof, waterproof outer coating, matched with the high quality fleece, is ideal for putting over a wetsuit, or putting over dry clothes. It IS hard to warm up well, when you are doing three or more dives a day, no matter what water you're doing them in.

Thanks TSandM! That parka looks awesome! I'm going to save that and when I have that extra bit of money I'm definitely investing in that! I think it will come in handy in MANY situations. I can see myself taking it to a December/January Chiefs home game too!

Glad to hear that you will be getting in some diving,... at last! You can look at the drysuit (which is my preference) or even look at maybe a Semi dry (no special training required for that), especially if you are planning on doing a lot of cold water diving in the future. Have fun!!!!!

No doubt Tammy! I keep reading your FB status updates thinking, ahhhhh, I can't wait until I'm in the water again! I'm thinking we'll probalby only get 5 dives in total this weekend, but I'm interested to see how much I will grow from multiple days of diving! So exciting!!!