Is there a cold limit?

[hteas]

I just bailed on a practice dive. The weather at my house is -14F (-25C), and is likely to be well below zero F at the dive site (Whittier).

What is the minimum safe temperature for freediving? (if there is one)

We have a shack available about 200 m from the water. It has electric heat that keeps it above ambient, but well below comfortable.

I also had to consider that one of the divers going is brand new to diving, another is learning, and the other two are very experienced scuba divers who are just learning freediving?

Things I considered are the experience level of the others, general safety (turning a diver into a solid block of ice), and possible effects of really cold air being sucked into lungs after a long dive. Water temperature is not an issue. Liquid water can only get so cold. We dive in 36-38F (2-3C) seawater, overlain by a freshwater lense right at freezing, all winter, so I know that is not an issue.

So, what are the limits for northern divers?

 

[Jon]

I would have still gone out with the experienced scuba divers, but left the other two at home. The scuba divers should know about cold water and not be effected by it too much.

I know that I've been able to freedive when the air temp was -44F, with the wind chill. I've scuba dove in colder than that, but I was doing a salvage job and most things ended up freezing by the end of the dive. Freediving is almost easier because there are no valves to freeze up. Today the water was 34F and the air was 0F with the windchill. I think it was around 12F without the windchill when I hit the lake. Things were certainly a lot cool a year ago when I was diving, but the water temps are always the same.

The main thing is surface protection- which you seemed to have covered by the warming house. Sometimes we set up tents on the ice with heaters in them, but a hut close by works out even better. Other times I just drive home in my wetsuit and take it off in the shower at home.

One of the nicest set-ups I've gotten to use was when I was teaching and ice (scuba) diving class to a group of fire fighters and they has these massive resuce vans with mega-heaters in them for changing and warming up in after the dive. That was some pretty easy diving- especailly since they cut all of the holes for me.

The other great set-up I was lucky enough to use was the science lab that Ted (unirdna) works in right on the lake. We could open up the garage door and zip out in a boat to go diving. When we got cold we could zoom back and go take a hot shower in the basement of the lab and then repeat. Nothing like being able to flush some nice hot water through your suit while in the shower to make you diving day last longer- especially when that shower is 10' from the lake! The place was like diving out of the Batcave because of the remote controlled garage door that open right out into the lake.

I think that as long as you have the surface stuff planned out there really isn't a temperature that I wouldn't dive in- at least in Wisconsin. I guess if it were really cold you could just get a really big ice shanty and dive through the whole in the floor.

Jon

 

[Kars]

Well I could answer with:

Until your feet freeze on ice the way to the water,

or,

Until your lips freeze to your snorkel,

or,

You fail to return,

or,

Sealhunters club you on the head when you surface in the hole in the ice,

or,

You wife feels alienated by your cold sex-change.

or,

You start learning Wim Hof's techniques in order to extent your season to full year:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUQwFZ_xFdM]The Ice Man takes a cold dip - Inside the Human Body: First to Last - BBC One - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Simos]

I don't have much to add to the discussion as I have not experienced such low temperatures but just wanted to go on record and say that I will never complain about the pool temperature again

 

[hteas]

Kars and Jon,

Thank you for the responses.

Simos, maybe you should try it! IT isn't like anything that most divers experience.

One way I can tell it's time to get out of the water is when I can no longer keep my snorkel sealed when I clear it after a dive; lips simply don't work. Another is when I can no longer figure out where the ground is because my feet are so numb.

 

[Kars]

Having warm pasta or rice inside helps to keep a nice inner fire. A thick suit and face mask helps.

Furthermore I like quality, so I rather have 15 minutes of great dives, then 2hours of average and poor ones.

I remember diving no suit in a German lake, and I'm a skinny,dry and tall guy, surface temp of 17c, first termocline at 12c at -5m. And I must say that I enjoyed 15 minutes of cool and nice freediving. The same thing freediving naked in a mountain river. One just needs some time to allow the skin to tense up and form that protective insulating layer by getting slowly in. The UFC competition in Sweden was also very nice to do. I think I've reached about -25m CNF there, with great sensations. Now I like to think I can go much deeper It would be interesting to see how deep we can get naked.

The limits you describe seem reasonable

Love, Courage and Warm Water,

Kars

 

[otrebor]

...We dive in 36-38F (2-3C) seawater, overlain by a freshwater lense right at freezing, all winter, so I know that is not an issue....

2-3 °C?!?!?!?!? You're supermen!

 

[MartinTee]

Think I should be donning the three wetsuits I own, one on top of the other now and brave the colds of the north atlantic Minch where my parents live.

 

[Erik Skoda]

When you start shivering or a buddy tells you you look cold an tired, it's definitely time to get out.

Have fun. Have some hot tea ready as well

 

[hteas]

""When you start shivering or a buddy tells you you look cold an tired, it's definitely time to get out.""
Nah! It's time to get out when your shivering bites through the snorkel or your lips turn such a dark shade of blue it looks like the night sky, or when your fingers no longer work well enough to squeeze your nose to clear your ears, or when you are doing 20-25 m dives and suddenly you realize that you can't get down to even 5 m because you are already out of oxygen because your shivering is burning up so much oxygen that you have nothing left over for metabolism or swimming.

My wife still remembers the time she was at the beach with me and saw me pull my 7 mm socks off. She was so thoroughly impressed with the color of my feet-blue like the deep ocean on a sunny day- that she still reminds me about it.

 

[budleigh spearo]

that is vary crazy

 

[martin366]

I've fished several times in 1-3°C water for 2 hours. Thats not so bad like it feels actually
Beuchat Mundial Elaskin 7mm
3mm undervest
7mm socks
7mm 3-finger mitts
2mm full face neoprene mask

One big trick is to use warm water when putting wetsuit on
Even better is to put wetsuit on at home with warm water
And take some hot drink with thermos with you!

Good luck!

 

[hteas]

2 hours? That is impressive!!

Do you find fish when it is that cold?

The fish we hunt in Alaska go deep and hide out for the winter, so no spearing for much of the year.

 

[martin366]

That was in January, in Estonia
Outside was -2°C and somewhere about 1cm ice
I have pretty good cold tolerance, like snowman.
Ofcourse equipment is also good for cold water

There was no fish for me this time, it was windy. snowy and high water level due big snows and water was like tea, max 1m of vision. When i saw a fish, then it was late

Cant wait for spring, when ice is gone! Gun is already hot and loaded rofl
Few weeks back was here up to -35°C !!! Thats nuts, really :duh

But winter is very good time for training in pool, static and dynamics

All good to you!