Question

Have you ever done a night dive? I would be a little freaked out myself, but I know people that do it to get crabs and lobsters, as well as just enjoying it.

Answer 1

We used to night dives off a sea wall in Okinawa.  It was awesome!  The colors and reflections you see are so different and more vivid than doing a daylight dive.  It is also really cool having things suddenly come into your field of vision.  We usually went down to water about sunset and had a light set up on shore.  Because we were at the sea wall, it was always easy to find our way back.

Answer 2

Night dives are great. We usually get in the water just before sunset so your eyes can adjust to the darkness gradually. The Ocean comes alive at night. There's just something about a sunset boat ride and being in the Sea at night, Trilling, try it.

Answer 3

Yes and totally worth it! Just make sure you do it with someone or others who have experience also  preferably a familiar site. Be sure you have all the proper lights glow sticks primary backup etc. Enjoy it! My first time I was actually surprised how well i was able to see with a good light. It was fun.

Answer 4

I took the night and low vis cert course through SSI and it was so much fun. Yes, it is a little scary diving at night, because well, it is dark. But, it is so cool. I did my night dive from a beach near Blue Grotto just around sunset, it was awesome. We saw a nurse shark, and octopus and then when it finally got dark, when you moved in the water, the phytoplankton would glow around you, it was like "pixi dust". I would certainly like to go on a night dive again in the future. Also it certainly helps to be familiar with the dive site during the day so that at night you have a decent idea of landmarks, or things to be aware of. It is something that you should try to experience, at least once.

Answer 5

Sure, night dives can be a little disorienting at first, but as others have mentioned, that's when a lot of sea animals come out of hiding. On one night dive I did in Mexico, I saw my first live crab ("Quick, someone grab dinner before it gets away!"), several lobsters, and two massive turtles that must have been close to 5ft long from head to back flippers.

   And on my most recent night dive, I knew my photographer buddy would be busy taking photos, so I took on the tasks of navigating and air & time monitoring, and managed not to get us lost, LOL! During that dive, we saw SO. MANY. EELS! And lobsters! At one point I signaled to my buddy about a cute baby eel poking its head out of a crevice, and he pointed down urgently; right in front of my hand were two lionfish (oops!). And the best part of that dive was the end: on our way back to the boat, we came across a partially eaten fish carcass on the seafloor... a reef shark swooped in from the darkness over my right shoulder and proceeded to eat it just 3 feet in front of me. Oh, if only my buddy could've gotten it on video!

   Definitely invest in a good light and a backup light. Make sure you dry them off well after the dives and, equally important, test the lights before each dive! I found out on the boat before one night dive that my backup light wasn't working, a bit late to learn that! It could've been dicey if I'd lost my main light too. I'd also recommend a strobe light to attach to the boat's exit line or to place in an exit spot for easier navigation, and a colored light stick to attach to your tank: if you and your buddy are on opposite sides of a coral patch, a light stick attached to your tank will let your buddy know where you are and help the two of you not lose each other.

Answer 6

My only night dive was in a quarry that had about 20 ft viz. Somewhat disorienting! After that, I have not had a strong desire to do a night dive. I have been to the Cayman Islands some now and I am much more willing to try this with 100 viz. Although when you are diving 3 tanks a day, I am pretty tired. I wish they would swap one of the daytime dives for a night dive since they cost extra.

Comments

Oh, definitely try again in better viz conditions like the Caymans! Much nicer when you're not dealing with both low light and bad visibility, plus a lot of great animals come out at night.

Answer 7

Yes, I promised my dive buddies I would try it. I was so scared!! We got in before sunset and I didn't really notice when it got dark. It was a great shore dive. I have done many more since then.

Answer 8

Yes. Several.

There can be startling moments, but the sea is so alive at night!!

Answer 9

Oh, yes! Many. With Jacques Cousteau. Some crazy stuff. Wrecks off Martinique was probably the scariest. Pretty deep, ~ 150 feet. I had to retrieve a few skeletons for a staged burial at sea scene.