February 2010 >> Archives
Caribbean Diving – No Passport Required
| In this issue... | FEBRUARY |
Upcoming FUN!!
We're into our busy Winter season and there's plenty of things to do (besides snorkel and dive...)
16th Annual Pigeon Key Art Festival
Feb. 6 - 7 th at the Marathon Community Park
The oldest juried art festival in the Keys featuring 85 nationally selected artists.Live music, food, raffles and prizes - not to mention amazing art for sale and on display!
26th annual Winter Star Party
FEB 8-13thHosted by Miami Southern Cross Astronomical Society
Astronomers from all over the world come to the Lower Keys to take advantage of our unique and amazing star gazing conditions.
Check out these links to even more FEBRUARY events in Key West, Marathon, and Big Pine Key
REMEMBER - Monday February 15th is President's Day
Come visit the Fabulous Florida Keys for a long (warm) weekend! Check out Looe Key Resort room rates.NEW!
Looe Key Dive Center on FACEBOOK
Photos, events, discussions. Are you a member yet? Join us and Dive in!
LOOKING
for a dive buddy?
Join the Middle Keys Dive Buddies
Kokomo says... "Happy Valentine's Day!"
BEST Tiki Bar in the Florida Keys (maybe the entire world...)
Live music 7 days a week (band schedule.)We've added a steamed clam and a fried soft-shelled crab appetizer. Delicious!
see MORE...Food & Bar Specials
The Keys sunshine is great. 20% off all
wetsuits - even better!
Learn to dive in your jammies
PADI now offers ONLINE instruction for
That's right - do the classroom work at your convenience, from the comfort of your home.
- Open Water Diver
- Advanced Open Water NEW!!
- Enriched Air Nitrox NEW!!
Learn more about
Gear Meister answers your gear questions...
A warm diver is a happy diver
Warm and DRY
You can only wear so much neoprene and still move. So, as the water temperature gets colder, there’s a point where a wetsuit just isn’t going to keep you warm. That is when it’s time to shift to a drysuit.
When I reached that point, I stuck it out for another year so I could be “one with the water” (as I felt that first icy finger down my back!) After those dives, I would watch my drysuit dive buddies get out of the water - nice and warm - rinse their drysuit in the beach shower, then peel out of it (still toasty warm and dry) while I shivered. I decided they might be on to something...
As you recall from previous columns, a wetsuit keeps you warm by holding a layer of water against your body and allowing your body to warm it up. The insulation is provided by that layer of water and the neoprene (which gets thinner – and less warm – with increasing depth and age.)
Drysuit diving, on the other hand, uses a layer of air to keep you warm. The air trapped by the undergarments is better at keeping you warm than the water trapped by a wetsuit (remember - water conducts heat away from your body faster than air.)
A drysuit actually has two parts - an outer shell and insulating
under garments. The purpose of the shell is to keep water out and allow venting of trapped air. What makes the suit warm is the undergarments. The more undergarments you add, the greater the insulation (and warmth.) And the opposite is true as well. In warmer water, those insulating layers can be reduced or even eliminated to keep the diver at a comfortable temperature. Versatility!
Drysuit diving
A dry suit is essentially a closed environment filled with air, and we know what happens to air as we descend – it compresses, vacuum packing the diver. This is a form of squeeze and can be
severe enough to prevent movement or even leave welts and bruises. To alleviate this problem an additional low pressure hose is added to the regulator first stage leading to an intake valve usually mounted on the chest of the suit (red arrow.) As the diver descends, small bursts of air are added to the suit to counter the compression and maintain the insulating qualities of the air layer on the inside. On the ascent, all the air you added will expand and needs to be vented in order to prevent a too rapid ascent. This is usually accomplished by valve located on the upper shoulder (yellow arrow) which allows the expanding air to vent out either automatically or manually.
Safely using a dry suit is more complicated than a wetsuit. It is well worth getting some training in how to safely use a dry suit as there are several big differences in their operation and emergency procedures. All major training agencies have classes to get you started, usually involving a hour or so in the pool and then some open water experience. This is highly recommended before going to open water.
Materials and Features
All dry suits have some common features such as watertight seals for the neck, wrists, and possibly ankles. Good seals are important since they keep the suit DRY.
Other common features include the intake and exhaust valves and a waterproof zipper for entry. A zipper in good working order is crucial in keeping water out of your suit. Replacing a damaged zipper can cost in excess off $100.00! Cool fact: the waterproof zipper was developed in the space program.
Drysuits come in a variety of materials, each with advantages and disadvantages.
Usually the least expensive material is basic neoprene. Since the main source of insulation is from the air layer in the suit, the compression of the neoprene with depth is not important. These suits tend to be very durable, but are heavy, bulky, and slow to dry.
The next material is crushed neoprene. Basic neoprene is compressed until all the inside air bubbles are squeezed out. This yields a durable material with less weight and bulk than a neoprene suit, but it’s still fairly heavy and slow to dry.
On the high-tech end are several types of laminate materials, similar to your BCD material. These suits are not quite as resistant to punctures and abrasions, but are lighter, less bulky, and dry rapidly.
Bells, whistles (and $)
When selecting a drysuit, balance out your budget with the features and materials you need and want. Since a drysuit can add a lot of drag, get one that fits properly (custom fitting is an option). Then you can add abrasion pads to high abuse areas - like the knees and butt - as well as a variety of pockets, pouches, and knife sheaths to support your dive objectives.
The watertight seals on the neck, wrists, and ankles can be made of either neoprene or latex. Neoprene seals tend to be a little more comfortable and more easily repaired, but can let a little more water leak into the suit. Latex seals provide a more watertight seal but are more expensive and prone to damage.
Other options to consider are the type of footwear, if any, that you need. For tropical boat diving, you may not need any boot on your foot, just a good seal around the ankle. For cooler water, you can go with a built-in dry boot complete with a sole for walking on rocks and boat decks. Or you can select a dry neoprene booty designed to be worn under a heavy weight boot.
And for really cold water, you can select dry gloves and a dry hood built right into the suit. For average cold water, most divers are fine with wetsuit style neoprene hood and gloves.
P...
One other option available for men, and being developed for women, is the ability to urinate in a drysuit. The old option was either make a dash for the restroom when you got out of the water or wear an adult diaper. Newer options provide the ability to urinate during the dive, which can be nice on really long dives.
Drysuit Repair
Neoprene drysuits can be repaired with a standard wetsuit repair kit. Laminate suits can be repaired with a BCD-like patch. Latex seals usually have to be replaced. On many suits, these seals are glued in place which necessitates unbonding the torn seal and gluing a new one in place. It can be messy the first time you do it, but it’s not too hard. To make this process easier, some drysuit companies have a system where one seal can be “unzipped” from the suit and a new one “zipped” in. This also makes it easy to switch between no gloves and dry gloves of different weights.
Is a drysuit right for you?
On the downside, a drysuit is usually significantly more expensive than a wetsuit and requires much more care. They also require a little more weight than a comparable wetsuit and are not as streamlined in the water. On the upside, you can dive in more places for more of the year - and be warm and dry when you get out. A drysuit may seem expensive and cumbersome, but, as you can see from the past several month’s columns, if you want to be able to dive all year long or in different places, you’ll need to accumulate a range of thermal protection to be safe and comfortable. Diving is great. But diving warm is even better!
Gearmeister Archives
Boat Diver
Whether you’ve never made a boat dive or you’ve logged dozens, the PADI Boat Diver Specialty course can benefit almost every diver because different boats in different parts of the world do things differently.
What You Learn
Learn the tips, tricks and ways to:
- Dive from boats ranging from small inflatables to giant live-aboards
- how they differ from place to place
- gain experience and training from diving on boats in your local area
- Safely enter and exit the water
- sometimes it’s better to hand your gear up to the crew and then climb in the boat
- sometimes you just take off your fins and weights and walk up the ladder
- Stow your gear in the most appropriate areas
- Use surface lines to initiate or conclude your dives.
- Locate basic boat safety equipment
Prerequisites
Must be a PADI Open Water Diver or Junior Open Water Diver (or qualifying certification from another organization.
The Learning Materials You Need
Diving from a boat is a convenient and fun way to explore the underwater world. By reviewing the PADI Boat Diver Manual and video on DVD, you’ll learn the important do’s and don’ts of boat diving including: boat terminology, etiquette, safety and procedures.
More info at PADI.com
Schedule your class now! Call Looe Key Dive Center 1-800-942-5397 or contact us by e-mail
Horse-Eye Jack, Caranx latus
These silvery fish have yellowish tails with a deep-v cut, and, as their name implies, large eyes. They can be found swimming over reef areas in small groups to large schools, and tend to be wary and move away when approached. Typical size is 12-24 inches (30-60 cm) with a maximum of 75cm (30 inches). Our regular dive site at Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary has a resident school of about 80 fish on the west end of the reef that is very tolerant of divers and snorkelers.
photo by Will Fox