The Wetsuit Pee – Should You Do It?
Learning to Dive – Part 2
I kicked my husband in the face and I even accidentally sat on a stranger’s head … all of this 12 metres underwater.
We spotted a wobbegong shark, a sea snake, two stingrays, a large yet beautiful dinner plate-shaped fish and countless others of which I have no clue. We missed spotting a turtle by a minute, but more importantly, I passed some more required diving skills and survived to tell the tale.
Thanks Hervey Bay Dive Centre for a great boat trip in which I didn’t throw up or drown, one of which I do regularly when it comes to boats. It’s a huge bonus that the dive site is only 10 minutes from the harbour and Fraser Island does a great job of keeping Hervey Bay’s water fairly mild.
But the further I embark on this adventure of learning to scuba dive, the more questions I have. Such as the wetsuit pee … should one do it? Does everyone else do it?
”Do you pee in your wetsuit?” I whispered to my husband after the first ocean dive. Unlike myself, he has scuba dived before. ”I didn’t need to go,” he whispered back.
He didn’t really answer my question. Typical.
I had an internal debate with myself about it. The family who adventured underwater with us that day clearly had no such debate, they used the toilet on the boat to pee between dives.
To be clear, I’m not talking about peeing in your wetsuit on the boat, I’m talking about peeing whilst in the ocean ….. give me some credit.
I don’t care what anyone says, EVERYONE pees in the ocean…
…The problem with peeing in a wetsuit is that a wetsuit isn’t like bathers. That pee is in there until you let it out.
So I did what countless others have done before me, and when I got home, I googled “Can you pee in your wetsuit?” It turns out many others have pondered this before me as the page filled up with various articles based around the pros and cons of the wetsuit pee.
I went with one from the PADI website on myths and misconceptions about peeing in your wetsuit. It’s basically pro-peeing but gives you some tips for flushing it out so your wetsuit doesn’t get all stinky.
Much like the PADI article, I came to the conclusion that peeing in a wetsuit is OK … but NOT if it’s a rental wetsuit. …or a friends wetsuit. That’s a bit gross. If you’re wearing your own gear, go ahead and let that pee free.
Did I pee in my wetsuit? … I’ll never tell!
Information on Learning to Dive With PADI
For more information or to find your closest PADI dive centre, head to the PADI website. Each dive centre sets its own price and it varies significantly across destinations. Resorts dive centres in sought after areas will obviously be a lot more expensive.
Did you know that kids as young as 8 years old can begin learning to scuba dive? How cool is that!
Kids aged 8 – 10 years can opt for the Bubblemaker and Seal Team experiences. PADI Bubblemaker is a one day program in a pool or confined water with a maximum depth of two metres.
PADI Seal Team is a more extensive pool program for kids 8 and older that covers basic scuba diving skills in addition to fun activities such as taking underwater photos, practising buoyancy and learning environmental awareness.
Kids aged 10 years and over can enrol in the Junior Open Water Diver Course, which can be completed with the parents’ Open Water Diver course. Once junior divers reach 15 years, they can upgrade their junior card to a PADI Open Water Diver certification card.