Late-season (cold weather) diving

[Searcaigh]

Or, just get a dry suit..

Water temps in the Gulf reach 36C in the summer!

 

[scottwilson1]

I don't have a drysuit so I kept diving till the water hit 40f - I could do colder - in May was diving 37f wet but it was warmer on the surface which now it's just cold above and below.
hoping to get a dry suit next year

 

[decompression]

We've got some nice icebergs to dive in Canada........sometimes it get as warm as 30C.......


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TMHeimer]

Here in Nova Scotia I usually do two dives in a day driving to various shore sites between around May 10 through October. In Nov.& Dec. I do one dive in a day and gear up in my basement, walk 100' to the ocean for a 20+ minute dive and back inside to take gear off (except boots, BC/tank, weights, which stay outside "til I'm changed). Same process April to about May 10. Jan.-March usually down South. I have dived from the house all winter with water temps. in the low/mid 30sF (+1 to 4C). 7 mil farmer john good enough for that. If we didn't go South mid winter I'd consider a drysuit.

 

[ripman3]

I live in NYC and went diving last week. water was 50F the air was about 45F. I did a 1 tank dive. It wasn't to bad. I am going again next week. I think that will be it for me it for me for the year. The air temp is just getting to cold for me.

 

[bradells]

Winter/Spring is my dive season (too busy working to pay for diving in the summer/fall).

Water temps are in the 40's (7-12C to be exact for this year).


DRYSUIT. I find people who dive wet, only do 1 dive regardless of time of year, and in my standards, a short dive (well under an hour). Doesn't sound like fun to me.

By the time you get a few layers of 7mm on, and try to get enough weight stable on a belt and troddle to the water, we're starting to come back from a 90 minute dive (it seems).

There has been days on the boat that its warmer at our 20ft stop than the top freshwater slush layer (due to the snow), or the on boat.


And the best viz and critters are out over here as Bob mentioned.

BRad

 

[TMHeimer]

[QUOTE=bradells;


DRYSUIT. I find people who dive wet, only do 1 dive regardless of time of year, and in my standards, a short dive (well under an hour). Doesn't sound like fun to me.

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Agree. It's not much fun at all. But rather than just not diving at all for a month or several, it's better than nothing and keeps the wheels greased. Though as I said, if we were in Nova Scotia all winter every winter I'd for sure dive dry.

 

[FinnMom]

I had a very high quality 7mm fullsuit with a 5mm hooded shorty (Waterproof brand, semidry) that I happily used at 3-4C, from May to late October. It was wonderously warm underwater, and if I always had a warm area in which to get dressed and disrobe, I could have happlily used it for 80% of my diving even now. It's the part about being above the water that's the dealbreaker. Even in summer sitting on a boat with water next to your skin and a breeze, even under warm sunlight is amazingly chilling. In even slightly chilly conditions, the only way to stay warm after a dive is to get dry, which means you have to get nearly naked -and that's cold. Better yet, every time you take off the wet wetsuit and try to put on something dry you have a huge challenge to keep the dry stuff dry, Usually you very quckly have wet stuff and moist stuff, all of which is cold, as are you.

So I sold the wetsuit. I loved it, but I sold it to scratch together the money for something warmer. And the best part was, as soon as I had a drysuit my dive season was January 1 to December 31.