That time I swore cold water dives were a hoax until a job in Puget Sound changed my mind

I spent my first three years in the Gulf, convinced anything below 60 degrees was just macho posturing. Then I got a hull inspection contract up near Tacoma in January, water temp around 45. First day down there in a wetsuit I lasted maybe 15 minutes before I had to surface, shaking so bad I could barely work the ladder. A older diver on the crew handed me a drysuit and told me to stop being stubborn. Next dive I was down for a full 90 minutes, no issues, just focused on the weld seams. I felt like an idiot for ignoring the cold water gear that long. Anyone else have a piece of kit they brushed off until a specific job forced them to use it?

3 comments

3 Comments

leo6121mo ago

That drysuit story hit close to home. I was doing a bridge inspection in the Columbia River, water temp around 38, and I thought my 7mm wetsuit was enough. First dive I was shaking so bad I couldn't hold the flashlight steady. Switched to a drysuit with a thick wool underlayer and it changed everything. Stayed warm for 2 hours easy, could actually focus on the cracks and welds. Felt like a rookie for fighting it so long. Sometimes you just gotta take the older diver's advice.

parker_park81mo ago

Man that "shaking so bad I couldn't hold the flashlight steady" part hit me @leo612, I read somewhere that hypothermia actually messes with your fine motor skills before you even feel that cold. I almost made the same mistake doing harbor work up in Puget Sound, thought my 5mm was tough enough. First 15 minutes I was fine, then my hands went numb and I couldn't tell if I was actually gripping the ladder or just thinking about it. Switched to a drysuit with a fleece base layer and it was night and day, stayed down 90 minutes easy. Really makes you wonder why we fight the good advice for so long.

murphy.barbara28d ago

...and then you get the guys who swear by their 3mm in the same water and act like you're just being soft. I knew this one dive instructor back in the day, called his 5mm the "cheaters getter" because it was always the guys in thick wetsuits who were cold and distracted. He'd do a 45 minute dive in a t-shirt and shorts and come out shaking, but insisted he was fine. Drove me nuts because he'd never switch, just brag about how tough he was. Took a drysuit rental for a deep wreck dive to finally convince him, and of course he was the one who dropped the light because his fingers stopped working. Still ended up buying one the next week.