Because fat people float

[DebInAntigua]

No, this isn’t a troll. I have a real question and figured this headline will get read. LOL

 

My husband and I are both pretty big people. He wants to do the helmet dive at De Palm Island in Aruba, but it looks like the only thing that keeps you underwater is the weight of the dive helmet on your head. I am seriously wondering if:

 

A) we’ll have problems walking around the ocean floor when our entire bodies really, really want to float!

 

B) will the helmets even be comfortable and make a good watertight seal around fat shoulders?

 

If anyone has done a helmet dive who weighs over 275, or has seen any really big people participate, I’d really like to know if it’s problematic for larger sizes. 

 

Naturally, the only videos I can find online of people doing the helmet dives are skinny  or average sized people. Already tried to contact the owners of De Palm Island to ask, but got no reply. 

 

The shore excursion does not list a weight limit either. 

 

Thanks in advance!

[justcrusn]

Well, no direct experience at this, but i HAVE scuba dived and you wear a weight belt, could that be in play here?

[DebInAntigua]

2 minutes ago, justcrusn said:

Well, no direct experience at this, but i HAVE scuba dived and you wear a weight belt, could that be in play here?

 

Have watched several videos online about it, no one had any weights on. They were in bikinis and swim trunks, so a weight belt or ankle weights would have been obvious. Appears that just the helmet kept them on the seabed. 

[hcat]

Does the excursion description have a weight limit..?   You could try to contact the operator of the excursion

[mom says]

Is this one of the Sea Trek outfits? You can google their website. According to them, those helmets weigh 70 lbs! And you're no more than 30 feet down. Do you think you would need a 70 lb weight belt to stay at 30 feet without a helmet on? I don't dive,  so I have no idea. You'd have to contact the company and ask. 

Edited March 2, 2019 by mom says

[Seville2Cabo]

My daughter and I did the helmet dive in  Aruba.  There were some large (over 275 my guess)  people in our group and no one had issues.  The helmet is about 75 pounds.  Aruba is much better than Cozumel as the current was much calmer.  

btw - Aruba allowed me to take my camera - Cozumel did not.

 

[DebInAntigua]

21 minutes ago, Seville2Cabo said:

My daughter and I did the helmet dive in  Aruba.  There were some large (over 275 my guess)  people in our group and no one had issues.  The helmet is about 75 pounds.  Aruba is much better than Cozumel as the current was much calmer.  

btw - Aruba allowed me to take my camera - Cozumel did not.

 

 

Thanks for the info. Can you also share some details of how you get in and out of the water? I’ve seen videos that seem to conflict. Some have a ladder and some look like you just walk in from the shore near a pier. I worry about my knees going up and down a ladder. Unfortunately due to a fall 20 some years ago and several surgeries, one of my wrists is disabled and I’m not supposed to put more than 20-15 lbs on it. So ladders can be a big problem for me. 

[Seville2Cabo]

12 minutes ago, DebInAntigua said:

Can you also share some details of how you get in and out of the water?

In Aruba you walk into the water next to a pier. When you are in about chest high water they put the helmet on you and you just keep walking down. There is a metal rail you hold on to

[Hatteras51]

40 minutes ago, Seville2Cabo said:

In Aruba you walk into the water next to a pier. When you are in about chest high water they put the helmet on you and you just keep walking down. There is a metal rail you hold on to

I guess it's been about 10 years since I've done the sea trek at Depalm.  When I did it, we climbed down a ladder. So, they've done away with the ladder? I hadn't heard that. 

[Seville2Cabo]

12 minutes ago, Hatteras51 said:

I guess it's been about 10 years since I've done the sea trek at Depalm.  When I did it, we climbed down a ladder. So, they've done away with the ladder? I hadn't heard that. 

I asked the friend that went with me and he said there was a short ladder but then down slope. I don’t remember that. I remember 30 ft ladder in Cozumel was a pain, but thought my feet were in sand when they put the helmet on in Aruba

[Hatteras51]

10 minutes ago, Seville2Cabo said:

I asked the friend that went with me and he said there was a short ladder but then down slope. I don’t remember that. I remember 30 ft ladder in Cozumel was a pain, but thought my feet were in sand when they put the helmet on in Aruba

When we did it, they put the helmets on us while we were standing on the ladder.  I remember it well because we were told to clear our ears first, and I was waiting on the ladder beside my husband,  and he stayed on the ladder for a long time because his ears wouldn't clear. I do recall that it wasn't a long ladder.

[Seville2Cabo]

This is what I remember 

 

https://www.depalmisland.com/signature-experiences/sea-trek/

 

3 ft ladder. Feet in sand when they put helmet on. Hope link works

[OCruisers]

The link works great, Thanks!  

[Hatteras51]

24 minutes ago, Seville2Cabo said:

This is what I remember 

 

https://www.depalmisland.com/signature-experiences/sea-trek/

 

3 ft ladder. Feet in sand when they put helmet on. Hope link works

Thanks.  That's definitely changed since we did it.

[XtaSea]

Don't know about the ladder, slope, etc., but I know a bit about buoyancy. More than your physical size, it has to do with your molecular makeup. I taught scuba for years and had skinny divers float like crazy while larger divers sank like a rock. I was six feet and 175 pounds and was very buoyant. But even with a quarter-inch neoprene wet-suit on (and that really adds flotation), a 16-pound weight belt was plenty to keep me negatively buoyant. I'm sure a 70-75 pound helmet will keep you well planted on the sand.   

[miched]

On 3/2/2019 at 3:58 PM, DebInAntigua said:

 

Have watched several videos online about it, no one had any weights on. They were in bikinis and swim trunks, so a weight belt or ankle weights would have been obvious. Appears that just the helmet kept them on the seabed. 

 

Wouldn’t base the make up of the diving set on promotional brochures.  Look at the brochures that are shown for cruises,  resorts, casinos, etc  compared to what is actuality and realistic.    

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[KurtMo]

On 3/2/2019 at 3:51 PM, DebInAntigua said:

B) will the helmets even be comfortable and make a good watertight seal around fat shoulders?

 

So I've never done a helmet dive before, but I am an engineer and have a decent sense of how things work...  I don't believe there is a need for the helmet to "seal around fat shoulders".  Air pressure inside the helmet prevents the water from pushing into the helmet, thus a tight "seal" is not needed.

Edited March 4, 2019 by KurtMo

[Seville2Cabo]

2 hours ago, KurtMo said:

So I've never done a helmet dive before, but I am an engineer and have a decent sense of how things work...  I don't believe there is a need for the helmet to "seal around fat shoulders".  Air pressure inside the helmet prevents the water from pushing into the helmet, thus a tight "seal" is not needed.

This is correct.  There is no seal and if you tilt your head too far water comes up a little.  It goes away when you straighten up.  The helmet just rests on your shoulders.

[jamacka]

I've never done a helmet dive but I have done scuba. Keep in mind that you will be more buoyant in shallow water than is deeper water simply because of the weight of the water above you. There is a point where you will cease to be buoyant and the weight of the water above you will actually push you down.