How was your first night dive ?

[Sandie7]

One day I will probably do a night dive, but the idea is a bit scary, mainly because I am afraid of the dark

At first, I thought I would never try it, but I am getting curious ... So I am just wondering how that kind of dive was for you

Thanks !

 

[Imla]

My first "night" dive was a dive where I was supposed to train with my drysuit. In the end of the dive, my instructor takes me in under the pier. (Lots of headroom, no overhead ) and it got pitch black. (We had lights, but turned them off)

At first... I couldn't see anything. Not even my instructor. Then he started waving his hands, and millions of dinoflagellates lit up. In Norwegian they are called Morild and they are incredibly beautiful!

 

[icechip]

I was kind of nervous about it too. But it turned out really great and was a totally different way to experience underwater. We dove here in Maine and I was amazed at the sea life I saw, like how many lobsters there were and how active they were. At one point, we put our lights to our suits to cover them so we could see the bio-luminescence. Awesome! So give the night dive a try, to at least say you've done it. I hope you find it amazing.

 

[redacted]

If you are "afraid of the dark", you are not going to enjoy a night dive. But night dive are a different and wonderful experience. So work on your unfounded fears. Then seek an opportunity to do a twilight dive where you have control, like a shore dive. Or just stick with the daylight if that is your comfort limit.

 

[RJP]

One day I will probably do a night dive,

I see what you did there!

but the idea is a bit scary, mainly because I am afraid of the dark

That's why we bring lights!

 

[freewillie]

Night dives are my favorite dives. I enjoy the experience of diving in the dark with lights. You see different colors and different fish. Many fish like eels that you see just hiding in the cracks during the day come out and are much more active during the night. You also go much slower over a much smaller area. Since you can only really see as far as your light can shine you tend to swim more slowly over the reef and cover smaller areas but are inspecting much more closely. And I think the experience of diving in the dark with the lights is just a really cool experience.

My first night dive was one of the specialty dives for Advanced Open Water. Simple shore dive at an easy to navigate reef that is very popular to train beginner divers. There was still a lot of fish and lobsters and shrimp and eels to make a really cool dive. The lights also make it very easy to keep track of your buddy. Turn the lights out and if you are lucky you can see the bioluminescence in the water.

You also don't have to have huge light cannon flashlights. I have a small hand held 220 lumen light. It is plenty bright for night dives and not so bright it disturbs the fish or other sea creatures. You should always dive with at least one back up in case the primary light malfunctions so if you come prepared you shouldn't be "in the dark" if you light goes out. You can also see better than expected once your eyes adjust and if there is enough moonlight you would be surprised and the visibility even without lights. It's not quite as dark as you would think.

Try it, you may like it.

 

[Sandie7]

i see what you did there!




That's why we bring lights!

:d

:d :d :d

---------- Post added April 29th, 2015 at 11:56 PM ----------

If you are "afraid of the dark", you are not going to enjoy a night dive. But night dive are a different and wonderful experience. So work on your unfounded fears. Then seek an opportunity to do a twilight dive where you have control, like a shore dive. Or just stick with the daylight if that is your comfort limit.

You are right, of course. But I was terribly afraid of diving, due to a very bad time in a "Scuba Diving Experience". It was not easy, but I worked hard an conquered my fears. I guess I will just try and work on this one more fear.

Thanks !

---------- Post added April 30th, 2015 at 12:03 AM ----------

At first... I couldn't see anything. Not even my instructor. Then he started waving his hands, and millions of dinoflagellates lit up. In Norwegian they are called Morild and they are incredibly beautiful!

We dove here in Maine and I was amazed at the sea life I saw, like how many lobsters there were and how active they were. At one point, we put our lights to our suits to cover them so we could see the bio-luminescence. Awesome! So give the night dive a try, to at least say you've done it. I hope you find it amazing.

Sounds MAGIC !

 

[dmaziuk]

So I am just wondering how that kind of dive was for you

On my first night dive there was a whole lot of small translucent cornet(?) fishes floating at the surface with their mouths up. You touch its tail and startle it: it'd jump up out of the water and rush away. That was hilarious.

 

[gr8jab]

Technically, I did my first night dive at Hoodsport, Washington. It was mirky and dark with very bad visibility and there was nothing to see. We followed a line down from the beach, single file, through the layers of muck. I could only see my buddy's fins every few moments, but had to be close enough that I was worried he would kick my mask. Once we dropped below the layers of muck, visibility improved to maybe 8 feet. I saw absolutely nothing, and we returned to the surface within 25 minutes. It was not fun, but I doubt that had to do with the 'night' aspect.

I consider my first real night dive to be the Tug Boat in Curacao. It was much more interesting! We saw lots of cool stuff, including some cuttlefish. Visibility was great (compared to Hoodsport), and I enjoyed this dive very much. Yes, I was very tentative, and I stuck close to my buddy and the dive master. My biggest fear was navigation. I prefer to know my own way around, and am uncomfortable if navigation is difficult. Navigation at night is difficult, but I discovered a few things that made it easier. I've done about 10 night dives since, and recently did a couple without a guide.

1. Dive at a familiar site. Frequently, dive ops will take you night diving at the same spot you dove that morning.
2. Pick a dive boat that lowers a light into the water. I'm not sure how common this is, but it provides a great navigation reference.
3. Use a dive guide, and follow them around. It takes away a lot of apprehension.
4. Get a good bright light. Rental lights usually suck.

 

[gypsyjim]

While my first night dive was so long ago now that I do not recall what we saw, I do know that I was hooked!

I had first witnessed night diving from afar, late one evening, as I watched a bay below my table in a cliff top restaurant on St Thomas light up. WOW! Until that night I had never thought about diving at night, but seeing the ocean below me glowing bright green sure got my attention!

Watching as the individual lights moved across the floor of the bay, and then all turned upward together, lighting the surface as the divers ascended was a beautiful sight.

Of course I was still nervous about diving at night for the first time, but my next trip was to Cancun and an operator there offered a 2 tank night dive. Dive #1 was a pre-dusk dive, ending after full dark. By the 2nd tank we were already used to the idea and couldn't wait to jump back in!

I probably have done over 100 night dives since. To say I was hooked by my first night dive is an understatement.