skills developed in poor conditions

[alfie227]

I'm fairly new to these forums but in the short time I've been here I've stumbled across a lot of people making comparisons between diving in poor conditions, UK for example, and warm clear blue holiday diving. This gave me a few questions,

1. What specific skills are developed diving in poor conditions, low viz, strong currents etc.
2. Is it possible to develop these skills in good conditions in preperation for future dives back in the UK ( I currently like in South America ), if so, how?

And on a slightly seperate note, I'm returning to diving after a bit of a lay off. Other then diving as much as I can what would you say are the things I can do to in order to make me a better/safer diver.

Cheers guys
Alfie

 

[Scubanoobi]

I guess it depends on how many poor conditions you're used to diving in. I do most of my diving in a cold (depending on the time of year), poor viz river doing drift dives requiring a compass to get back to my home country (literally). I've dove in the carribean and Hawaii and those conditions are so easy in comparison.

It would have been a big challenge if I had started my diving in clear warm waters, both ends of the spectrum are fun though.

btw - it's the St. Lawrence Seaway I typically dive, head north and I'm back in Canada, head south and I'm in the USA, if I make it past the freighters.

 

[Nwcid]

As posted above it is not always different skills but how they are performed. We mostly dive in the NW USA where it is cold and dark but is also lots of fun. You have to wear thick layers of exposure protection which can limit your movement. You have thick gloves on which makes using your equipment harder as you can not feel it as easy. It is generally darker so we used lights on all dives, this is not to say it is so dark you have to have one but makes the dive much better. Again as posted above the visibility is generally much less where 25 feet or more is considered great so your navigation needs to be better.

This means when you go to warm clear water you still need to do all the same skills but you can move easier. You can actually feel your equipment to use it. You can much easier see from point to point at further distances to do visible navigation. We have only done about 6 dives in those conditions so far. We are headed for a week in Hawaii soon and I can not wait to do it again.

I am not sure what the weather conditions are like in the UK. One easy way to compare this is to doing things in the summer vs winter. In the winter to drive you have more things to be cautious of. In the winter say you are doing an outside project, now you have wear more clothes and gloves.

 

[endurodog]

I like to think the biggest thing is confidence. When your in a full wet suit and have 4 feet of viz and you run through your skills it's different. Your acsent and descent rates your visual references change from bottom and surface to bubbles and how much light is above. Your buoyancy skills usually have to step up also as many poor enviros have muddy/silt bottoms you don't want to be stirring up but you can't see the bottom as well. Just a few things there

 

[Peter Guy]

Your first question is really too general to answer in any relevant way. But, to give a slight go at it:

The big difference in diving training based on geography is probably warm vs. cold and then clear vs. murky -- and these two often go hand-in-hand.

Starting with warm vs. cold -- The big difference, of course, is in the exposure protection needed for diving in cold water vs. warm water. The need for significantly more and heavy duty exposure protection in cold water results in a significantly increased amount of weight and an often significantly decreased amount of flexibility and dexterity due to the stiffer and bulkier exposure protection (whether wet or dry). For an example of the difference, the loss of dexterity due to exposure protection and cold can make even the easiest task, finding and inflating/deflating your BCD, much more difficult than when bare handed in warm, tropical water. If one thinks about it, being able to comfortably handle your gear with significant loss of dexterity is likely to make handling one's gear with lots of dexterity trivial -- a reason why those who learn in cold water find warm water diving so much easier.

Another factor, resulting from the significant difference in weight needed, is that one may find that one's bouyancy control suffers in cold water, especially if, as happens way too frequently, the beginning diver is overweighted, in part to compensate for the extreme amount of exposure protection. Even if properly weighted, one needs to use the dry suit or BCD to do more compensating for the loss of buoyancy as the exposure protection compresses which is something that is often trivial in warm, tropical water.

The whole area of low vs high visibility is another different, but related, topic. Most people, and especially new divers, tend to get more anxious as visibility decreases and anxiety is contra-indicated in diving. In addition, just the plain fact that the water is cold may significantly increase the anxiety level in the diver (I know it does for me at times). Both of these issues are significantly mitigated, if not eliminated, for the warm water tropical diver.

I hope this gives you some insight into the issues you raised.

 

[Damselfish]

Bouyancy control is more difficult in heavy exposure protection, if you do that first then buoyancy control in warm water with little or no suit becomes trivial. Also more difficult to do things wearing heavy gloves, and hoods can be a challenge. You might try diving with at least a hood and gloves (if allowed where you're diving) to get used to doing things with them. Maybe try wearing more neoprene than you actually need for warmth, if it's available and you can do it without melting on the surface. Or even try a tropical drysuit.

Low viz creeps some people out, and can also make bouyancy control hard with less visual frame of reference. Navigation is certainly more challenging. Night diving provides some preparation for low viz, though of course not quite the same. You can make yourself practice with a compass even when you don't need it, though it's easy to cheat at this in good viz even if you don't want to. If you're by any chance used to following a divemaster or letting your buddy navigate, get away from that and get used to navigating yourself.

Not sure how to practice diving in currents without currents, but there are plenty of warm water destinations with lots of current.

 

[TSandM]

I like Peter's analysis, but I'd like to expand on the skills learned in low visibility. One is that the diver has to learn in-water stability without visual references. One has to learn to feel the gear, notice one's bubbles, and eventually to trust that one's position in the water won't change until or unless the diver WANTS it to change. Taking that degree of stability into settings where there IS visual reference makes it very easy. Another is that divers in low viz have to learn a lot about navigation. Many of our sites REQUIRE the use of a compass, and also a lot of natural navigation, because you simply cannot see where you are going.

As far as practicing skills in warm, clear water, to prepare you for cold and murky, I don't think there is a whole lot you can do, but you can practice stability with your eyes closed or with your mask off, and you can wear gloves to practice working your inflator and dump valves while clumsy.

 

[TomZ]

.
When I recertified after a long, long hiatus from diving, it was in an Ohio quarry that had 10' viz. The instructor said "If you can dive here, you can dive anywhere." I inwardly rolled my eyes, and thought "Yeah, right." After diving locally and in the Caribbean, I'll sheepishly admit he was right. Others have given some very specific answers. To me it boils down to task loading/stressors, both physical and mental. Minimize the stressors and diving is much easier. Load up on them and it gets much more difficult. If you can dive well with multiple stressors, you can dive even better without them. The reverse is not true, for me at least.

 

[antattack]

My $.02
The most valuable skill I learn in poor conditions is the development of...

Situational Awareness

This is an important skill that is developed, like muscles, with practice and repetition.

Dive Safe!

 

[DCBC]

Diving in the North Atlantic or North Sea is an altogether different beast and can't be compared in any meaningful way to clear blue holiday diving. I agree with what others have said, but would add the following:

1. I think the first thing that a person quickly understands when diving in strong currents/tides, waves/surf, low visibility is that they cannot have a leisurely attitude. The diver can feel the ocean's presence and you don't have the control you have in ideal conditions. Entry and exit points have to be meticulously planned, the plan has to be updated periodically and underwater navigation is more than 'what's the general direction of the boat?' The diver requires good Buddy skills; as well as the ability to plan gas consumption and maintain good buoyancy.

2. Of course you can develop diving skills in clear blue holiday water. These skills can be applied to diving in your homeland, but only to a degree. The level of fitness and watermanship ability required to dive safely in the North Sea may be many scales of magnitude to what is required down south. The skills you master in an ideal environment are a good starting point for more hazardous environments.

When you get home, I'd recommend that you ask a local Instructor to include you on his next openwater check-out dive. This will usually be done in the most mild conditions your area can offer. This will be an excellent launching point for you to start cold water diving.