Got certified in the cold water

[Oldsboy455]

I finally got my cert this weekend in Haigh quarry Kankakee IL .Water surface temp was 56 and 50 down at 42'. Air temps were 71 on Sat and 59 on Sun. Wore a 7 mil suit and all the other goodies. Only got cold on the last dive and that was probably from staying up to long in the 59 degree wind. All in all was a great weekend with great instructors and great buddy divers. Guess I'm hooked.

[coyote]

Congrats! Haigh quarry was really nice this last weekend. I noticed lots of people braving the cold water to get certed.

[DOWNDEEP73]

Congrats! I can't wait till july to check out Haigh Quarry for myself!

[JimHar99]

Congratulations on your certification.

I did my OW and AOW certifications in cold water (7mm suit with gloves and hood). Now I do most of my diving in warm water.

Man, the first time I dove with only a 3mm suit and no gloves or hood and half the weight was great. I felt so free, and the vis was probably 80' compared to about 15' in the quary.

[navyhmc]

Nothing wrong with cold water-heck most of my diving is in cold water. I'd say at lest 75% of it. Of course, I was surprised at the drop in my SAC rate when i wasn't having to fight the wetsuit and all. But still, anyone can dive in warm, clear tropical waters, the real fun starts at 58F and 20' visib.

Congrats on your OW cert!

Now you can come join us in the DDCN (Deep, Dark, Cold and Narc'd!)

[fisheater]

Way to go!

Welcome to the world of cold diving. It's a challenge and it's fun. When you're dive vacation to warm tropical waters finally comes, you'll find that all of your cold diving has made you a really good diver, especially when compared with those don't dive in the cold.

Keep on diving.

[navyhmc]

BTW, as for your cold due to surface conditions; It's very important to keep up on your energy when doing multiple cold water dives. Having a warm wrap to put on when you hit the surface helps too-Polarfleece is your friend here. I know that I have worn a fleece jacket even when the temps are high enough that I would usually not wear a jacket. Conserve your bady heat!

A good balanced snack with fats, carbs and protiens is very important as is hydration. I also down a few banannas between dives to help avoid muscle cramps caused by the cold water, an extra dose of multi-vitamin and vitamin C seem to help too.

[ChrisA]

Originally Posted by Oldsboy455

I finally got my cert this weekend in Haigh quarry Kankakee IL .Water surface temp was 56 and 50 down at 42'. Air temps were 71 on Sat and 59 on Sun. Wore a 7 mil suit and all the other goodies. Only got cold on the last dive and that was probably from staying up to long in the 59 degree wind. All in all was a great weekend with great instructors and great buddy divers. Guess I'm hooked.

Now you've got all the gear to come out here and dive in california. Temps are abuot the samehere in the air and water right now. Pick up one of those knee length dive jackets that are cut oversize so you can put them over a wetsuit. Use that between dives and you don't get chilled from the water evporating from the wetsuit in the wind. When I bought one I kicked myself for not getting one earlier.

Now you have to make a point to just keep diving. try to dive every weekend, at least.

[Foo2]

brrrrr! Kudos to the cold water divers out there. I've been there and done that(with not near enough neoprene) and I'm not so sure it's for me.

[huvrr]

if you do it right the only part of you that is cold is usually your lips and not much worse than skiing.