Should There Be a "Cold Water" Course (not Ice Diving)?

[under water]

Good dialogue.
I agree that there are definitely additional skills that you need to dive cold water than in the Caribbean. It would be good if they were available as a short course for folks that wanted to dive cold water.

Personal example.. I got certified in Roatan and I would say that it didn't really expose me to anything near the skill levels needed to do cold water diving. I studied the course material (NAUI) and knew my theory just fine but had a challenge with buoyancy.. without even a wetsuit!

A year later we did our next dive trip to the USVI where I did get a better handle on buoyancy (again without wetsuit) . Still not too good though. And then we go to British Columbia for a vacation a few months later. Why not dive I said!
Well.. putting 14 mm of rubber on and a very tight hood and about 40 pounds to offset the neoprene changed the dynamic quite a bit. Add to that the green water and reduced viz (you need a light in the daytime) and this little thing called current. Let's just say it was not the diving I was used to.
You have heard it many times.. you need to wait to see the reaction before adding more air to your BC. Well I learned that the hard way.. was over-weighted (DM overweighted me to make it easy to get down I guess).. I went down pretty fast when I let the air out of my BC. Compensating for my downwards acceleration due to the compression of that 14mm of neoprene, I started to add air .. in a way that I might consider 'in a hurry'.
Well you guessed it.. I became a rocketship headed for the moon.
My wife had similar issues and actually hurt her ears, probably going down to fast .. nothing permanent.

We did about 3 dives and I did enjoy them .. I went through air like I had never used it before and I overburdened myself by bringing a camera. The DM made matters worse by turning the dive into races.. I wanted to go slow and look at stuff, but for some reason he was intent on going somewhere..

Bottom line.. additional cold water training would have been good and if it were available I would have taken it, but it still comes down to what happens when you get in the water. Nothing really prepares you for that wild swing in buoyancy that you get in cold water gear except experience.

 

[PinkPADIgal]

As an FYI...

Most of us who teach in water colder than the tropics incorporate teaching cold water diving techniques into our open water course. We prepare students for the enviroment they will be diving in. For my students, that is 47-53 degree water, and vis ranging from inches to 20 feet. In all the years I have been teaching, I have never allowed a student in Puget Sound with only a "quick" pool session. All my discover scuba courses have been pool-only.

For a diver that hasn't been diving in the PNW before, I teach a cold water orientation class. It is a discover local diving experience, and it allows a warm water diver to transition to cold water diving.

Diving is diving. You still need good airway control and buoyancy skills. I have found with many people who go from warm to cold water have no problem with both those skills. They typically complain that the hood, gloves and heavy gear is a PITA, but that is it. Most are surprised that it isn't as cold as they expected and how much cool stuff there is to see.

As for getting narced easier in cold water, I don't think so. I have found some of my most interesting "Narkd" experiences were in warm water.

 

[under water]

For a diver that hasn't been diving in the PNW before, I teach a cold water orientation class. It is a discover local diving experience, and it allows a warm water diver to transition to cold water diving. .

Where were you when I needed you? This sounds ideal.

I have found with many people who go from warm to cold water ..typically complain that the hood, gloves and heavy gear is a PITA.. Most are surprised that it isn't as cold as they expected and how much cool stuff there is to see.

Couldn't agree more!

 

[Blackwood]

I think the idea has potential. Without thinking about it too much, it seems far more valuable than, say, boat diving. I agree with previous sentiments that it need not be a full course. Perhaps a refresher on buoyancy swing with heavy suits, a discussion about regulator choice, and a 'tour' complete with mask-off work (just to get the feel for it).

Vacation divers do *NOT* need to be diving cold water, where many tech diving skills are needed, in my opinion.

I'd like to dive Alaska, Finland and Antarctica when I eventually visit those places.

In fact, I really want to do the Sala Silver Mine in Sweden. But since the water is 2°C year round, I guess that makes me a would-be vacation cold water cave diver

Drysuit takes 5 minutes to learn, gloves a bit less.

lol

 

[DOkie]

Oh my GOD!!! Can the balls continue to get any BIGGER during this discussion??? With the exception of one trip per year, I dive exclusively in the Great Lakes and primarily in a very dark, very cold bay. That said, why does a diver have to take an additional class to dive in this environment??? Are the skills required for cold water and warm water diving different? NO. It's the equipment. It has nothing to do with ability, but with EQUIPMENT. As said somewhere earlier... Regulator free flows? You have the wrong regulator! Too cold... Ummm... Buy a drysuit. Narcosis? Not all waters of the Great Lakes are dark and silty. I've seen guys come up off of wrecks outside of Sheboygan, Mackinac, and Munising talking about being narc'd. The water is BEAUTIFUL there.

Why is it cold water divers have this tendency to always make things worse than they are? I had 6" of viz. Well I had 3' of viz. Warm water divers couldn't make it down the line. Last year in Florida, I was actually embarrassed to be from the Great Lakes area. Holy hell! There were guys on the boat that bragged and bragged and bragged about our diving conditions. Telling other divers how "they have no idea what it's like to dive here"....

Now before I step off my soap box, I'll be honest and say that one of the hardest dive's I have EVER done was on the Duane. Water temp was beautiful... Viz was awesome... Current? Ripped my mask off at depth, I bit clean through my mouth piece trying to keep my regulator in my mouth, and it actually pinned me against the boat. Maybe I should have taken a warm water diving class.

 

[Scubadoo72]

lol..I was just about to ask if I need a warm water class if I go South?

Out of all my dives to date...the warmest I have dove is 54f, the coldest dives 29, 31, and 33, most mid 40's. I haven't encountered anything that I wasn't taught in my basic OW...

 

[RJP]

Vacation divers do *NOT* need to be diving cold water, in my opinion...

Hmmm...

I wish someone told me I didn't need to dive in cold water while I was diving on vacation in Canada.

 

[1_T_Submariner]

This is just adapting to local environments. I think getting tips from a local divemaster or instructor would be a good Idea. Not sure you need another card to prove you are cold water certified.

 

[Blackwood]

Now before I step off my soap box, I'll be honest and say that one of the hardest dive's I have EVER done was on the Duane. Water temp was beautiful... Viz was awesome... Current? Ripped my mask off at depth, I bit clean through my mouth piece trying to keep my regulator in my mouth, and it actually pinned me against the boat. Maybe I should have taken a warm water diving class.

Yes, because it was the warmth of the water ripping the regulator from your mouth...

There is a big difference between being an obnoxious braggart who acts the bee's knees because he dives a black cold quarry and recognizing that many divers struggle in cold water.

Yes, it's primarily an equipment question, but there is more to it than that:

You need more exposure protection. But that involves more weight, and more weight makes trim and buoyancy (two subjects that are rarely mastered in BOW courses) more difficult.
You need sealed regs. But you can still have free-flow, and while most BOW courses spend 30 seconds 'sipping' off a free-flowing reg, many divers forget, and many of those who don't would blow through all their gas anyway. Hardly any BOW divers learn to feather their free-flowing reg to conserve gas.

Etc., etc.. Just like a cave diver may not be well advised to penetrate a wreck without training and vice versa, there are many skills that could be brushed up on before going from warm to cold.

 

[Twistedarts]

As Dokie mentioned a great deal of it has to deal with the gear for cold water. However, i would add that since the gear is different it requires a modification of skills in addition to some other "cold water" skills that you just do not use diving the bathtub. Should it be a course, no, but it should be covered somewhere. I purposely did my checkouts in a cold quarry for this reason. Adding skills and practice never hurts, only helps.