Diving season extension

[m2b]

Yes, before I even ask the question I will give the answer that will come out of everyones mouth, "get a new wetsuit". I will also say, "Money doesn't grow on trees." Enough said. Moving to Florida isn't an acceptable answer either. LMAO!!!

What is another method of extending the diving season when you don't have the best wetsuit in the world, too say the least? To give you an idea of what I've been doing to already try to extend it:

Wetsuit - I've heard it called a shorty, it has cutoff arms but full leg protection, i believe it might be 3mm. I bought it when I got into whitewater kayaking back in 1999.
Dry top - bought it for whitewater kayaking as well.

I put of fleece pullover and toss my dry top on top of that before putting on the wetsuit, or sometimes I used to do that after putting on the wetsuit. Both methods worked about the same. Two years ago I did that and managed to get 15 minutes in the water until early/mid October, err Columbus Day Weekend timeframe. By the time I was getting out of the water I shivering quite nicely, to put it mildly. Definitely helped to wake me up, whether I was tired or not, LMAO!!!

This year I spiced things up a little and I've add another layer. This year I have been starting with full(top and bottom) long johns and then continue with the rest of the setup from two years ago.

Boy, can I hear the flame comments I'm going to hear back about this message. Like I said I know your answer, that't not what I'm looking for, "Money doesn't grow on trees."

Two evenings ago I managed quite nicely, given the time of the year, 67 degree F water temp at surface, 55 degree F 28 feet down. I managed four or five dives over 35-45 minutes. Last night I headed back out, same location, and spent 20 minutes in the water. Heck I couldn't even make it down to the bottom, I blame it on the cold and not anything else. I was colder when I got out last night. The difference between the two evenings, was only a difference of cloudy skies the first night, err humid, and sunny skies last night. The air temperature was pretty much the same both evenings.

Yes, I have noticed that the first dive is crappier than crappy. I have no luck making it much more than 18-20 feet on the first dive anytime I go out. I realize that I'm still getting rid of the air in the gear on the first dive and it is causing me to be super bouyant. After the first dive it becomes much easier to get down. With only 3 pounds I am almost bouyant at 28 feet. Still a slight bit of a rise but I'm guessing I'm neutral at 30-33 feet. Granted given the shallow conditions and everything else I would rather be bouyant at 15 feet, maybe get a chance to actually free fall on the way down sometime. I know I won't dive much deeper than 50-60 feet, even if available, thanks to thermocline, at least not until I can afford a new wetsuit.

What are some other tricks I can try to make the season last longer and to stay in the water longer when I'm out currently. The weather forecast for most of the next week is nice. Granted the weekend is going to be cool, cooler than the current surface water temperature but still its suppose to be good weather. We be nice to make the best use of it before witner sits in.

Ryan

[Jon]

The dry top your using is what's throwing me for a loop on giving any advice- besides simply adding more fleece.

On any kind of a standard wetsuit there were a number of things that I used to do before I found out about freediving wetsuits- which are the bomb when it comes to cold water.


Some things included bringing along a thermos of hot water to flush the suit with before I jumping in and then again throughout the day of diving- works really well for ice diving. Another thing is to fill up with a lot of hot tea before the dive so you can pee in your suit many times while out diving, This does less for actual heat loss than just feeling good while diving- heating up all of that urine takes a lot of calories.

Another thing to do was layer up underneath the suit. Long before anyone ever heard of a dive skin we used to use ladies nylons. These helped to limit the flow of water as well as make the suits slide on easier. For those not secure enough in their own masculinity you could also use plastic trash bags over your legs, but these aren't as comfortable. You could do the same thing on top with a rash guard or a nylon running shirt.

Covering exposed skin in vasoline might help- but this is pretty harsh on your dive gear as it eats away at the rubber.

Duct taping all of the seals on your suit can also help- like around the wrists and ankles to limit water flow.

Having some thick shoes to wear over your wetsuit socks will help keep your feet warm as you walk to the water. I, now, use Croc's for this and it makes a big difference when standing in the snow for any length of time.

My favorite thing to do is eat- the more candy the better when diving in cold water. Licorice whips seem to be easy enough to carry along and don't get all soggy like candy bars seem to do. I would also make sure your taking in enough fluids while your out diving. Even drinking cool water will help by keeping your blood volume up and optimizing your heat carrying capacity- peeing will dehydrate you and diminish this quite a bit.

You could also try to layer up old wetsuits, but try to make sure it doesn't restrict blood flow when you do this because t can actually make you colder if you cut off circulation.

I hope that some of these ideas will help.

Jon

[efattah]

My recommendation is to dive without any wetsuit at all. It is much more enjoyable, with no buoyancy change.

To do so, make sure you follow cold water no-suit rules:
1. Keep core temperature high before getting in, preferably measure it with a thermometer (oral)
2. Get out before you shiver
3. Once out, dry off and put warm clothes on quickly, then don't move much to avoid dangerous after-drops
4. Always have someone with you!

This method works down to about 41F water.

Personally, I would get about 3 long dives in 67F, dropping to one good dive in 41F.

[m2b]

Originally Posted by efattah

My recommendation is to dive without any wetsuit at all. It is much more enjoyable, with no buoyancy change.

This method works down to about 41F water.

Personally, I would get about 3 long dives in 67F, dropping to one good dive in 41F.

Is this figuring a swim out and back in to the dive site or a boat ride out and back in. Granted I hit 28 foot deep water with onyl a 4-5 minute fin out. Another 1-2 minutes to hit 40 foot deep water.

I've seen a couple of other guys mention about not using a wetsuit in cold water. How do you do it??? Two thumbs up on making it through the initial temperature change. It's hard enough to get in the water when it's that cold, without a wetsuit on, yet alone think of dropping down into water that's even colder.

Jon,

I know the dry top isn't dry but it is an extra layer up top and since I bought it for water purposes, kayaking, I figure I might as well us it for other water purposes.

The ladies nylons is an interesting idea, hadn't seen or thought about that one.

Ryan

[harbour seal]

hello md2,

don't ovelook the benefits of eating a proper diet for countering the effects of cold. i dove much of the summer in 16-18 degree water with a 2mm vest and hood. if i didn't eat well in the preceding days then my time in the water was cut significantly (usually by at least a third).

it is very important to load up on both high quality fats and carbohydrates in the days before the dive. for maximum benefit, i find that i need to eat good oils for a couple days prior and definitely a big carbo load the evening prior to the dive. for winter dives a high quality meal in the hours before is very important as well. i am vegetarian thus to get enough good fats i eat lots of avacados, raw pumpkin and sesame seeds and take both flax oil (with lignins) and hemp seed oil by the tablespoon (during a meal!). salmon would also be an excellent source of good oils. additionally, i eat a big whole-grain pasta feast the night before diving.

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Here are the differences as well as the best food sources of these healthy fats:

• Monounsaturated fat remains liquid at room temperature but may start to solidify in the refrigerator. Foods high in monounsaturated fat include olive, peanut and canola oils. Avocados and most nuts also have high amounts of monounsaturated fat.
• Polyunsaturated fat is usually liquid at room temperature and in the refrigerator. Foods high in polyunsaturated fats include vegetable oils, such as safflower, corn, sunflower, soy and cottonseed oils.
• Omega-3 fatty acids are polyunsaturated fats found mostly in seafood. Good sources of omega-3s include fatty, cold-water fish, such as salmon, mackerel and herring. Flaxseeds, flax oil and walnuts also contain omega-3 fatty acids, and small amounts are found in soybean and canola oils.

taken from:
Dietary fats: Know which types to choose - MayoClinic.com

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a couple of great db articles on cold water diving by peter scott:
When the Weather Outside is Frightful - Part I by Peter Scott on DeeperBlue.net - Fanatical About FreeDiving, Scuba Diving, Spearfishing & Technical Diving

When the Weather Outside is Frightful - Part II by Peter Scott on DeeperBlue.net - Fanatical About FreeDiving, Scuba Diving, Spearfishing & Technical Diving

cheers,
sean
vancouver, canada

[rslomkow]

On the cheap but not free end of things.

Neoprene is very easy to work with you don't want anything too fancy. It wasn't that long ago that people made wetsuits from kits. I know NH is not a diving paradise, but there still may be some bits of neoprene to be had for cheap at yard sales or second hand shops. You just need some Urethane glue to keep it together.

As john mentioned nylon stockings. This can be extended into a variety of tight fitting plastic clothing if you don't mind a little cross dressing. Some leotards are made of 100% nylon and are very stretchy so they fit over a decent sized guy. Just getting the water flow of you skin should help some, and something stretchy won't add to your drag as much a jacket and probably have similar heat retention underwater.

My preferred technique to acclimatize myself to cold water for no suit.

1) Jump in so the whole body goes in at once
2) Do some really vigorous exercise for a minute so you cannot notice the cold. I like to do about Butterfly swimming stoke which warms me up pretty fast. Or when backpacking and I know I need a shower and all I have is glacier fed creek, I do push-ups in it.

That just gets you over the psychological problems of going into something cold. Then you can start relaxing and dive down.

Be careful doing this because you can reach physical cold (hypothermia) and not recognize it. Make sure you have have dry warm cloths on the shore and preferably somebody to watch you.

[jome]

I'll still say get a proper wetsuit.

Eric's school aside, that is the single most important piece of equipment for a freediver. Much more worth investing a little in than mask, fins, weights or any of that stuff.

You can get very decent FD wetsuits for a little over and under 200e. The trick is to know what to buy. You can also get very bad ones for 300+...

[Fondueset]

Originally Posted by efattah

My recommendation is to dive without any wetsuit at all. It is much more enjoyable, with no buoyancy change.

To do so, make sure you follow cold water no-suit rules:
1. Keep core temperature high before getting in, preferably measure it with a thermometer (oral)
2. Get out before you shiver
3. Once out, dry off and put warm clothes on quickly, then don't move much to avoid dangerous after-drops
4. Always have someone with you!

This method works down to about 41F water.

Personally, I would get about 3 long dives in 67F, dropping to one good dive in 41F.

!!!
!
It's on now Eric.