Night divers unite!

[Ed Palma]

My first night dive was a transition dive. The thought of diving into dark water was at first disturbing, but as the light slowly faded and we came to rely more on our torches, the critters started coming out, colors started becoming more vivid, and awe overcame trepidation. Subduing the light against my belly, and the silhouette of the reef was clearly seen (full moon - tropical reef). Bioluminescence from other divers fins - in fact any movement - is also something else to watch out for.
To alleviate any initial hesitation, preparation both gear wise and mentally is important. Know your limits, know that if your anxiety levels get too high, its okay to thumb the dive, be comfortable with your skill set. Redundancy and knowing your equipment is important too.


Anyway, I've found that a total cure for any jitters one might have for night diving is... penetrating a wreck (everything feels a heck of a lot brighter and safer after that)



(of course, training is essential...)

 

[DennisW]

Night Dive Cert? Never heard of it. Been diving at night off and on for a long time since 1988. Never had a night cert.

 

[gypsyjim]

I knew I wanted to try night diving a long time before I had the chance, but like many others it did make me nervous thinking about entering the dark water.

Baiting the hook:

I was in St Thomas one evening on a non dive vacation, and we were sitting in a restaurant high above the water. I was watching the bay below suddenly beginning to glow green is spots, and then later all the glows came together, and grew intensly green. The divers were ascending. What a beautiful sight! I knew I had to do a night dive, although up until that night such a thing had never even crossed my mind!

Setting the hook:

A few years later, as I was getting back into diving more, I had my chance on a trip to Cancun. A two tank night dive. I was nervous, but determined to give it a try.

First tank was just before dusk, so our first entry was still in daylight, but by mid dive it was fully dark. We had a blast, there was just so much to see, and so different from what we saw in the same area earlier that day!

We couldn't wait for that SI to be over, so we could do our second tank! NO second thoughts now about entering dark water, after that first dive, we were hooked!

Many years later night dives are still my favorite. Those and pre dawn dives, where I watch the reef come awake. Both my kids love night dives almost as much as I do. They got their first as part of their AOW. There are a few things to be aware of in night diving, so it does pay to do your first one or two with an DM or instructor, just to cover the added safety issues, but it's really no big deal, and certainly not worth the trepidation that I approach my first night experience with.

 

[ScubaGirlJg]

After reading all your posts I am definitely a bit more eager to do it and a tad more comfortable lolol Thanks Scuba board members!

 

[Louie]

After reading all your posts I am definitely a bit more eager to do it and a tad more comfortable lolol Thanks Scuba board members!

That's exactly what I thought after doing the AOW Night Dive.

The general observation I can make is that people either don't like night diving or REALLY LIKE IT.

In terms of procedures and protocol, I can only reinforce that sticking with the dive plan is very important - in terms of dive time, navigation etc - and NOT doing anything unfamiliar on a night dive (such as trying out new equipment).

It's so wonderful being able to see creatures and creature behaviour that you would normally not see during the day. I will always remember with awe the sight of sharks circling overhead and Spanish Dancers in the light of my torch - all in the same dive!

So have fun, do more night dives and you won't regret it.

 

[overkillphil]

Yeah!! Have fun!!

 

[gypsyjim]

After reading all your posts I am definitely a bit more eager to do it and a tad more comfortable lolol Thanks Scuba board members!

Go for it! You will not regret it if your first dive is with the right people, and done rationally!!!

It's a different world down there after dark!

 

[Sinbad the Diver]

I did night dive training last summer but didn't actualy do a night dive until this summer. My first night dive was in the quarry on a cloudy night and it was one of the funniest events ever. The buddy that I dive with most often and I were the only people to venture in (it was a cookout and night dive put on by a local shop) and we became the entertainment for the night. Watching our lights go round in circles seemed to amuse many. It was rather funny, but we learned a lot about how to communicate, how not to wear a headlamp (I was blind after that dive) and the importance of awareness of where you are and where you are going. All done in the safety of our little mudpit that we know pretty well (worst case we swim a couple hundred yards on surface if we get real lost).

All this paid off last month though when we went on a dive trip and did a night dive. Wow....same reef we had been on that morning, but just a million different things to see. We both came up, looked at each other and said..wow, best dive ever. So glad we had done the mudpit version so we were able to enjoy the tropical one.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I did my first night dive as part of my AOW class. I don't recall all the specifics ... but I do remember my instructor telling me that if I had stuck to him any closer we could've shared the same drysuit ... guess I was a little nervous ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[drbill]

I can't really remember... it was many decades ago.

However, most of my dives the past two months have been at night. I absolutely love night diving since there are so many different things to film then compared to during the day.