Tolerating low visibility

[erparamedic]

Hi, U4....

In Indiana and surrounding areas, we have only a select few places that EVER have "good vis" (being a relative term). I define good vis as anything over 10 feet.

When I did my OW cert, the best we had was 2 feet, and often it was between 6 to 12 inches. That was a bit unnerving, but I soon learned that a comfort level can be achieved. Now, I find that low/no vis can be, and generally is, a fun challenge.

That said... there's always an exception. This doesn't have anything to do with low vis... but it does have to do with loss of situational awareness. Last year, myself and a buddy (who is also on this board) went diving. It was the first time we had been to this particular place (2nd dive of the day), and (like fools) we didn't take a heading on our entry point. Visibility was quite good... apx 20+ feet horizontally. We decended and met on a platform, then started to explore. We wound up in the middle of "nowhere" with no references at all. We were only about 22-23 feet down, but couldn't see the surface, couldn't see the bottom (and the thermocline was COLD, so we weren't going to the bottom!), and couldn't see anything to the sides of us when we spun around. We'd swim one direction for a bit... find nothing... swim another direction... find nothing. Finally, we hung in place, looking at each other and shrugged our shoulders like "hmm... what now?" Hah! We hovered there, looking around at nothingness for a couple minutes, then we decided to surface. Once on the surface, I found out that I wasn't the only one waiting on the quarry monster to come up and get us! Isn't it amazing what your mind starts to think in those situations? There was no panic at all, but a little "uneasiness".

My recommendations for low to no vis...
--Be within touch contact of your buddy. If you dive with a significant other, hold hands. If you aren't comfortable holding hands with your buddy... one can hold the other's BC at the shoulder. Maybe you could use a small (4 ft or so) rope, each person holds one end.
--Slow down!!! I know several others mentioned it, but it can't be stressed enough.
--Keep at least one arm extended in front of you... that way if you are to run into something, it's not with your head.
--If, for some reason, you still become seperated from your buddy... follow your dive plan to a "T".
--If you become too uneasy, it's better to end the dive, than to become a panicked diver. (There's a fine line between the "uneasiness" that keeps one vigilant, and the "uneasiness" that can turn to panic.

More than likely, you'll soon learn that there really are things to see and do in low vis! I don't mind it anymore... but, I LOVE it when I can see more than 30 feet! It makes tropical diving even more enjoyable!

 

[emcbride81]

I did my first sub 5 ft vis dive a few months ago. I was testing some new gear and I was going down to a platform at 30 ft. One thing I learned it trust your gauges! I knew that as I swam into the deep black if my computer said my depth was getting deeper I was sinking, if it was shallower I was rising. My compass wasn't going to lie to me either. I am not going to lie, I was a little freaked out. I actually forced myself to lay down on the platform once and breathe till I calmed down. After about 10 minutes I was having fun working with my gauges and using no visual reference. Luckily, the vis opened up at 45 feet and I got about 10 feet of vis after that. Heck, 10 feet is all you need!

 

[Blackwood]

How have you folks learned to cope with low or no visibility diving?

Mask off training.

 

[u4ia]

thanks for all the helpful ideas...

it gives me a very health respect for rescue divers. sheesh, I cant imagine diving by feel!

I am hoping that I will get more used to it over time, and will continue to dive and desensitize myself with small doses and build up my brain.
I dont really lose the sense of which way is up or down, I keep my trim horizontal and stay off the bottom, but sometimes when the mind starts playing tricks, it gets hard to trust the compass and I get worried that I am sinking/ascending so have to check my depth gauge obsessively-- I am sure over time and with practice it will get easier. it seems if I start worrying about my depth then there is a tendency for the buoyancy to go off... I try to not move too fast and find something of interest in the small area I can see, but in fresh water there often isnt much to see except silt sometimes! I just cant find much solace in wide expanses of silt.
if the water is really silty, does a hid help much with vis (outside of buddy location/signaling) or does it mostly get reflected back?

 

[Cacia]

I pass

I don't get it if I cannnot see

Diving is visual for me

I can stay home and stumble around blindfolded and save myself the trouble

but I know others feel differently...

 

[Meng_Tze]

I pass

I don't get it if I cannnot see


I can stay home and stumble around blindfolded and save myself the trouble

.

Yeah, but then you would not be wet in a wetsuit, feeling and looking good...

 

[Leejnd]

I can stay home and stumble around blindfolded and save myself the trouble

LOL! That was cute.

Yeah, but then you would not be wet in a wetsuit, feeling and looking good...

Or hearing that awesome Darth Vader sound...

 

[3-Ring Octopus]

They make vis better than 3'?!!

Diving up here, especially on the Oregon Coast, can be challenging like that. Throw into account that we dive sites frequented by large, scary, they-make-movies-about-them sharks, and you can sometimes freak yourself out. But, as has been said, you learn to deal. You learn to appreciate the little kelpfish or greenling or sculpin or nudibranch right in your tiny field of view. And, as has been said, you learn to trust your gauges and occasionally, dive with your hand out in front of you....

And hey...it isn't for some people. If that's the case, sit 'em out until the vis clears or find someplace...even if it's the pool...to keep your skills sharp on a regular basis.

Cheers,
Austin

 

[Kingpatzer]

I really do believe that the folks who dive low vis regularly tend to make for better divers than the ones who don't. It's just a mandate, for example, that you don't kick up more silt in an already cloudy lake. So lessons that "good vis only" divers might not start learning until they take up more technical diving we start learning on our first OW cert dive.

Trim matters more, staying off the bottom matters more, situational awareness matters more, following the dive plan matters more ...

But, coping with it isn't that hard.

And there is plenty to see in low vis as has been said. Finding a 30 lb pike staring you in the face in 2' vis is exciting!

The key really is to know as much as you can about what you're doing as a diver, at whatever level of diver you are. Even if you're just newly OW certified, then be as aware and cognizant of following your training and respecting your limits as you can be.

Psychologically, I think, the trick is to realize that there is pleny to experience even in the worst visibility. Maybe it's not all visual, but that doesn't mean it can't be thrilling!

But most low vis diving isn't zero vis diving (i've only had two of those days . . .). And there is great fun in discovering how much there is to see in the smallest of areas of water . . . it's more than you would expect!

I really do love search and recovery stuff in low vis. It's amazing how big something can be and still you can't find it!

 

[TSandM]

I've done dives where you had to have your nose in the kelp to know where the bottom is, and on those dives, I've really asked myself why I was there. But if you can get a couple feet off the bottom and still see it, you can find a lot of life, at least in our waters. And no question it makes a better diver of you -- Not to mention that, when you get to go someplace where you can see, you appreciate it SO much. (Maybe that's why the crystal clear water in the caves attracts me!)