|
BlueBayou posted:Did my first cold water dive yesterday. In my (limited) personal experience, you get used to the pressure on the neck. The fact that in the water (when the neoprene gets a bit softer) you felt OK, probably means that if you stick with it it will get easier. I dive in Sydney and it's pretty cold (15 c) and at first the hooded vest made me feel like I'm going to die, but now I wouldn't want to dive without it.
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2013 01:57
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 17, 2024 20:52 |
|
|
I'm doing my first dive post-open water certification on my own (no buddies going with so I'll have to make a friend on the boat) in Catalina on Sunday. I picked up some DAN insurance because I get paranoid about poo poo like that, I'm getting rental gear from the shop, same place I got certified at. Got my gloves my boots my mask and snorkel. Got my card (cert and DAN card), my logbook. Anything I'm missing that the instructors usually handled that I'm forgetting? 
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2013 19:32
|
|
|
BotchedLobotomy posted:I'm doing my first dive post-open water certification on my own (no buddies going with so I'll have to make a friend on the boat) in Catalina on Sunday. Talk with your buddy beforehand, make sure they know your comfort level and that your plans for the dive align.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2013 20:17
|
|
|
BotchedLobotomy posted:(no buddies going with so I'll have to make a friend on the boat) in Catalina on Sunday. As a SoCal native, feel free to shoot me an email (st9494 at gmail) anytime you want to go diving. I'm mainly a shore diver, but seriously need to make it out on a boat to Catalina this summer. If you haven't seen Laguna yet, we could hit up Crescent Bay once the conditions improve.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2013 20:17
|
|
|
Mr.AARP posted:As a SoCal native, feel free to shoot me an email (st9494 at gmail) anytime you want to go diving. I'm mainly a shore diver, but seriously need to make it out on a boat to Catalina this summer. This is my first time diving outside the class, the two trips in the class were also at catalina. I jumped on a promo at the dive shop for boat out with 3 dives and all rental gear for $100. I'd do shore dives but I don't really have the space to own my own gear so I just hop on promos like this one.  I'll let you know next time for sure though!
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2013 20:36
|
|
|
macado posted:Dont give up on it just yet. Sounds like your gloves were too small. A properly fitting 7mm with a normal 5mm hood with bibb can be great this time a year. Yeah i want to get a drysuit eventually, since that will also make it easier to sail in the wintertime. But man, I felt so constricted and claustrophobic in a full, thick wet suit with hood and gloves as compared to the little shorty I wore in Mexico. Also, how in gods name do you catch lobsters? Tricky little buggers always seem to get away from me. Crabs on the other hand, were easy to pick up and sometimes wouldn't let go.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2013 21:40
|
|
|
BotchedLobotomy posted:I'm doing my first dive post-open water certification on my own (no buddies going with so I'll have to make a friend on the boat) in Catalina on Sunday. Cru Jones posted:Talk with your buddy beforehand, make sure they know your comfort level and that your plans for the dive align. Make sure to work out hand signals ahead of time, too. They're usually consistent, but it's best to double-check if you haven't dived with them before.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2013 22:15
|
|
|
Good tips, thanks everyone. Oh boy how exciting to dive and not have to do drills at the bottom of the ocean. 
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2013 23:23
|
|
|
Mr.AARP posted:As a SoCal native, feel free to shoot me an email (st9494 at gmail) anytime you want to go diving. I'm mainly a shore diver, but seriously need to make it out on a boat to Catalina this summer. Do let the thread know when conditions there are good, I'd probably be up for it. I have a conundrum, normally I have no interest in purchasing gear from Sport Chalet, but I have a 20% off* coupon and they have the tank I'm considering getting (Steel HP 120). The problem is the discount is in the form of a gift card and I am not sure I can find $80 more stuff I want there.
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2013 00:11
|
|
|
BotchedLobotomy posted:This is my first time diving outside the class, the two trips in the class were also at catalina. I jumped on a promo at the dive shop for boat out with 3 dives and all rental gear for $100. I'd do shore dives but I don't really have the space to own my own gear so I just hop on promos like this one. The most important thing post-class is just to keep diving  Aquila posted:Do let the thread know when conditions there are good, I'd probably be up for it. Good choice, I have an HP100 myself. You could always grab a few backup lights (do you night dive?) and air cards, etc. to spend $80 on.
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2013 00:57
|
|
|
Aquila posted:Do let the thread know when conditions there are good, I'd probably be up for it. Things for 80 dollars eh? Looking at their website and assuming this is 80 bucks to burn. JBL mini speargun for 96 bucks. Dive alert for 90 (these things are awesome) If you have an Iphone, a watershot housing to make it an underwater camera. A dive knife you'd never spend the money on. Akona mesh bag for 60 bucks New fins New mask Spare parts kit Scuba tool kit Dry Boxes Random rear end small nick nacks
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2013 01:25
|
|
|
BotchedLobotomy posted:I'm doing my first dive post-open water certification on my own (no buddies going with so I'll have to make a friend on the boat) in Catalina on Sunday. Water as staying hydrated is a thing, or so I've been told.
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2013 07:16
|
|
|
I have to get Hollis regs serviced. One DC1 first stage and two 212 second stages. $135 labour plus parts ($60 per service kit x 3) = $315. Stupid Australia 
Finch! fucked around with this message at 08:56 on Jul 19, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2013 08:40
|
|
|
I burned through this thread over the past couple of weeks, but I'm really enjoying it. I'm a rescue diver out of southeast New Mexico, and thinking about doing a DM internship soon. I leave December 9 for Navy bootcamp, and I'll be in San Antonio, Texas all spring/summer for hospital corpsman school. I plan on doing plenty of diving in the gulf when I'm there, and I'm really going to be pulling to be stationed in Hawaii or Guam. My fiancé just got her PADI OW cert last weekend, and we're going in her first dive outside of class this Sunday in a local lake called Bottomless. Just wanted to drop my name, and see if anyone has any experience diving out of Corpus/Padre islands/Mustang island?
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2013 10:32
|
|
|
So getting my poo poo together for my dive this weekend I've come to realize that while the class I took advertised PADI certification, looks like I am SDI certified. Should I be upset/mad at all or does it not really matter in the long run?
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2013 17:31
|
|
|
BotchedLobotomy posted:So getting my poo poo together for my dive this weekend I've come to realize that while the class I took advertised PADI certification, looks like I am SDI certified. Should I be upset/mad at all or does it not really matter in the long run? Still, that's just strange. How did you it take you until this point to realize that you were in an SDI course and not PADI? Why would they falsely advertise? That's just asking to get the poo poo sued out of them by one or both agencies. If you really want a PADI cert too and -if- your instructor is also a PADI one, you've probably already met all the in water standards for both agencies' open water classes and if can get them to give you the PADI test they could give you that card as well.
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2013 18:13
|
|
|
Bishop posted:Well that's.... really odd for one thing. Your book and other course materials should have had PADI or SDI plastered all over them. If you were trying to go a certain route with PADI then It's a problem but otherwise as long as you are satisfied with your instruction it does not matter. You think I would be able to go from PADI to SSI open water like this?
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2013 18:31
|
|
|
quote:Well that's.... really odd for one thing. Your book and other course materials should have had PADI or SDI plastered all over them. If you were trying to go a certain route with PADI then It's a problem but otherwise as long as you are satisfied with your instruction it does not matter. quote:Still, that's just strange. How did you it take you until this point to realize that you were in an SDI course and not PADI? Why would they falsely advertise? That's just asking to get the poo poo sued out of them by one or both agencies. Probably my bad in this case, I did get in on a special rather than their normal cert class so maybe it was different. quote:If you really want a PADI cert too and -if- your instructor is also a PADI one, you've probably already met all the in water standards for both agencies' open water classes and if can get them to give you the PADI test they could give you that card as wel Later down the road I want to get AOW certification and probably some other cool ones, so if I'm ok to keep doing the SDI path I dont care as long as I dont get screwed in the long run. 
Minty Swagger fucked around with this message at 18:47 on Jul 19, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2013 18:37
|
|
|
Rude. posted:You think I would be able to go from PADI to SSI open water like this? BotchedLobotomy posted:Later down the road I want to get AOW certification and probably some other cool ones, so if I'm ok to keep doing the SDI path I dont care as long as I dont get screwed in the long run.
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2013 19:05
|
|
|
Akula Raskolnikova posted:I burned through this thread over the past couple of weeks, but I'm really enjoying it. I'm a rescue diver out of southeast New Mexico, and thinking about doing a DM internship soon. I leave December 9 for Navy bootcamp, and I'll be in San Antonio, Texas all spring/summer for hospital corpsman school. I plan on doing plenty of diving in the gulf when I'm there, and I'm really going to be pulling to be stationed in Hawaii or Guam. My fiancé just got her PADI OW cert last weekend, and we're going in her first dive outside of class this Sunday in a local lake called Bottomless. Just wanted to drop my name, and see if anyone has any experience diving out of Corpus/Padre islands/Mustang island? Yes. There isn't really any shore diving along the Texas coast, but we have a type of diving not a lot of places have. Rig Diving. Charter a boat out to one of the ridiculous amount of oil rigs and dive beneath them. The structure becomes covered with coral/invertabrates and then become home to ridiculous amounts of fish. Its some seriously cool diving and lots of charter companies in the area run rig dives. They are however not beginner dives usually, so you'd definitely need to get your AOW cert at the least. The other big coastal thing off texas is the Texas Flower Gardens Marine Sanctuary. Its a NOAA marine preserve about 70-150 miles of the coast of Port Aransas, and is a straight up coral reef in texas. You can charter weekend long liveaboards out there and get some fantastic diving. I did one and i absolutely loved it. Great boat, great staff, great diving. This is the charter company i used and i loved it http://www.flingcharters.com/ 30 divers on the boat, and they had nitrox onboard which was huge too. Again, not beginner dives.
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2013 19:05
|
|
|
I'm two pool sessions into my open water certification, with I think one more day of confined water. Aside from being surprisingly tired for like a day after each class so far, I noticed that during my last class on Wednesday, my sinuses started dripping mucus like nobody's business. I've been doing well enough at clearing my ears during descents, but especially at the surface, I'd constantly feel gross ick in the back of my throat. I woke up in the middle of the night with a sore throat from nasal drip and clogged sinuses. Since actually getting up for the day, I've had drippy sinuses and an excess of saliva. I took some DayQuil, had soup and spicy food for lunch and have been downing tea all day like nobody's business. Sorry if this is really  but I wanted to be as detailed as possible before I asked - is any of this normal with starting to dive?
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2013 19:16
|
|
|
It's possible that water is being forced into your sinuses somehow, possible from mask flooding, and then leaking out later. Alternatively, the dry air from the tank may be drying out your sinuses, and they're overproducing mucus to compensate.
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2013 22:05
|
|
|
I'm trying to dive the Sheridan/Blackthorn wrecks in the Tampa/Clearwater area tomorrow morning. Anybody done it? Looks like a pretty popular dive site. Any tips?
|
|
#
?
Jul 20, 2013 00:25
|
|
|
I actually got OW certified in Balmorhea, and did some of the AOW stuff while helping a class there, and then did my rescue diver stuff there as well. I've only been diving in 5 different lakes to account for all of my dives, I've had no ocean experience yet. I'd like to get a hefty amount of experience in currents and open water I'm the gulf while I'm in Texas, before I pursue my DM at my first duty station after training. Any recommendations for shops to take some training through, either PADI or more technically oriented organizations, in the SA area? Akula Raskolnikova fucked around with this message at 03:48 on Jul 20, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jul 20, 2013 03:45
|
|
|
BotchedLobotomy posted:I 100% dont care as long as I'm not crippled in the long run with a cert that doesnt hold water. Last thing I want is to go to some fantastic tropical destination, pull my credentials out and then get shut down because its not accredited or something (I have no idea how this works). Will this even be an issue? Yeah you're cool, SDI is recognised worldwide and you can switch between the different bodies like PADI/SSI/NAUI/etc for your Advanced/Rescue courses without issue. My OW/Nitrox cards are from PADI and AOW is from NAUI. I will probably do my Rescue cert with SDI. FIN QUESTION: Hollis F1 vs Scubapro Jetfins vs OMS Slipstreams I'm looking to switch to jetfin style fins for my eventual foray into tech. Currently using Mares Xtremes which i'm finding to be too positively buoyant. Has anyone got any feedback on these? Currently leaning towards the Hollis fins because a) they come with a spring strap as standard and b) have a yellow/black pair instead of the usual all-black design. I want some colour to stand out in the crowd of ninjas.
|
|
#
?
Jul 20, 2013 06:02
|
|
|
Akula Raskolnikova posted:I actually got OW certified in Balmorhea, and did some of the AOW stuff while helping a class there, and then did my rescue diver stuff there as well. I've only been diving in 5 different lakes to account for all of my dives, I've had no ocean experience yet. I'd like to get a hefty amount of experience in currents and open water I'm the gulf while I'm in Texas, before I pursue my DM at my first duty station after training. Any recommendations for shops to take some training through, either PADI or more technically oriented organizations, in the SA area? Hahaha balmorhea is a fun dive, but man i didn't need to spend 3 days there diving it like i did. San Antonio, i don't know dive shops. I did my training and 2 years of Divemastering in Austin. Best i can do is say call my old dive shop Scubaland Adventures and as them what they say about San Antonio dive shops? I'm guessing you're spending time in Lackland?
|
|
#
?
Jul 20, 2013 06:40
|
|
|
So I did my first ever dive yesterday with the GF  We went to the lake with a local club for a first time thing, so all material was provided and we were with a cool instructor. He explained how stuff worked etc.. and how we should equip, learned a lot of stuff. As far as the dive in itself, well honestly the first 10 minutes my GF was really nervous, she already told me beforehand that she was afraid and I tried to comfort her saying it would be fine. However I poo poo my pants too a bit  , I had to adjust my breathing and calm down but in the end I got the hang of it I think. The instructor noticed my GF was way more nervous than me so he focused on trying to calm her but as soon as we started moving and he showed stuff around it went fine. We saw little lake fishes and stuff and got to see what the deal is about.We were really happy anyway and enjoyed ourselves a lot. Only little problem is the hurting ears, the GF has one ear that she cannot purge and it was hurting a lot a few hours after the dive, this morning she said it hurts less so it looks like it's getting better. We'll think about how to proceed next, we are going to the Maldives end of august so we'll at least do a dive with instructor there. Maybe we'll do a cert if we really enjoy it, I'd personally be up for it but I'm not so sure about my other half.
|
|
#
?
Jul 20, 2013 09:09
|
|
|
Crunkjuice posted:Hahaha balmorhea is a fun dive, but man i didn't need to spend 3 days there diving it like i did. San Antonio, i don't know dive shops. I did my training and 2 years of Divemastering in Austin. Best i can do is say call my old dive shop Scubaland Adventures and as them what they say about San Antonio dive shops? I'm guessing you're spending time in Lackland? Yeah, I've gone diving in Balmorhea a total of 12 times, and I'll be fine if I never see it again. My dive instructor loves using it over the blue hole in Santa Rosa, so that's where he does all the training he can get away with. My fiancé liked the town and wants to go back just to swim and spend the night there, though. I'll be stationed at Fort Sam Houston, which is right in San Antonio. I used to teach an equivalent level medical program that I'll be going through, so I will have plenty of free time on nights and weekends. Austin isn't too far away, but I'm sure there have to be some quality outfits out of the SA area.
|
|
#
?
Jul 20, 2013 10:46
|
|
|
Crunkjuice posted:Rig Diving.
|
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2013 00:40
|
|
|
Bishop posted:That actually sounds really cool. I'm a bit surprised the companies that own the rigs allow it for liability reasons. I don't think the rigs are active? I'm actually not sure at all the legality or liability issues about them at all. Maybe something in maritime property laws says they don't own the water around their rig? I'd be curious for someone to answer this. Heres a pretty decent video that illustrates rig diving. Definitely a neat dive that is fairly specific to the gulf of mexico. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgiqw-xE-ws Rig diving can get super loving confusing too. Everyone thinks "oh, navigation will be a sinch since i just have to stay within this box". Everything looks the loving same, there are pipes/cables loving everywhere and it all gets fairly disorienting fairly quickly. My buddy and i got super lost, remembered the dive line connected at 45 feet and swam in circles until we found it. The rig i dove was High Island 389a. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHk1cgORSAI Edit: Talked to my instructor. Apparently they are reclassified as artificial reefs and the top structure is generally removed, so they're derelict. Theres a huge stink about removing the structure since every rig created 2-3 acres of habitat for sealife, and theres a big marine conservation effort to keep the bottom structures intact for the eco system. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/18/us/a-fight-to-convert-high-island-a-platform-into-a-reef.html Crunkjuice fucked around with this message at 01:48 on Jul 21, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2013 01:31
|
|
|
Speaking of rigs. I'm currently not that keen on diving at Sipadan, but when i get around to it I want to stay at Seaventures. They towed in an old rig and coverted it to a small dive resort. http://seaventuresdive.com/
|
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2013 02:28
|
|
|
We have a few pretty crazy rigs in Socal as well. My goal is to get good enough with my buoyancy control to go out there around Christmas. drat DIR divers make it look so easy...
|
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2013 05:56
|
|
|
raffie posted:Hollis F1 vs Scubapro Jetfins vs OMS Slipstreams As far as colors go, go hog wild. People have to put their initials on their fins using white out or something because on certain boats it's all jets or dive rites and we would all accidentally walk away with each others fins. I saw a dude with all pink jets recently and that was awesome. Beyond the inertia of people buying them because that's what they think they're supposed to do when getting into tech, here are the main things some of these fins do for you that make them good: Stiff means power, you can generate a lot of power when you need to. Stiff also means that you can do fine tune kicks while barely moving your legs, a very nice thing to have in overhead. Also I'd hate to try and do a back kick in floppy split fins. Spring heels are very nice because they're less likely to break on you and easy take on and off.
|
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2013 16:51
|
|
|
Yesterday I bought a new HP120 tank from Sport Chalet. It's a very new location (dtla) so most of the staff had basically no idea about things like visual inspections and such. Luckily both the managers were from other stores and they got all that sorted. Mr.AARP posted:We have a few pretty crazy rigs in Socal as well. Rig dives here in socal are something I'd like to try, but not for a while. Bishop posted:Also I'd hate to try and do a back kick in floppy split fins. I am getting tired of my floppy split fins. If only I'd known anything about this sport before I knew anything about this sport.
|
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2013 20:53
|
|
|
^ Let me know when you want to break in that new tank. I'm doing a night dive at Redondo sometime this week so I'll report back on just how terrible the vis is.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2013 00:22
|
|
|
Le0 posted:We'll think about how to proceed next, we are going to the Maldives end of august so we'll at least do a dive with instructor there. Maybe we'll do a cert if we really enjoy it, I'd personally be up for it but I'm not so sure about my other half. I went to the Maldives a couple years ago. The main island of Male is pretty small, you could seriously see most of it in a day. Even then there's not much to do. If you're staying on a resort you'll have access to more entertainment (probably), as well as alcohol. No booze on the main island though. When I went it was part of a liveaboard dive package. I went in December so the currents were a little strong, and as such a few dives had poor vis. It was however awesome. Swam with manta rays and whale sharks, and even saw my first octopus. I highly recommend you go dive while you're there.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2013 02:38
|
|
|
Dives 7-9 completed on Catalina island today.  Fuckload of Spiny Lobster at bird rock, easily saw hundreds, ended up seeing one of these guys:  which is neat since a lot of the stuff around catalina are fairly drab neutral colors (aside from the garibaldi and a couple other things) Probably going to go back next Sunday and take the Catalina express out there; just do some dives off the shore into the parks. Is there anything else other than lovers cove and the casino park to check out? Is it worth it at all? Once I get my AOW I'd love to join on some beach dives too, but I feel like at that point I should get my own set of gear so 1 off dives don't bankrupt me.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2013 03:39
|
|
|
Does anyone know of any good diving in Punta Cana/The Dominican Republic? I'll be going with my girlfriend next month, and was curious if you guys have any "Must dive" sites
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2013 15:04
|
|
|
Hello, Im currently in Utila doing my open water dive course. I just have 1 dive left until I get certified but im extremely nervous about taking off my mask as part of the skills. Once I get water in my mask or take it off I start trying to breathe through my nose and then I panic and hold my breath. How can I get used to only breathing through my mouth/regulator and stop panicking?
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2013 18:41
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 17, 2024 20:52 |
|
|
murt posted:Hello, Im currently in Utila doing my open water dive course. I just have 1 dive left until I get certified but im extremely nervous about taking off my mask as part of the skills. Once I get water in my mask or take it off I start trying to breathe through my nose and then I panic and hold my breath. How can I get used to only breathing through my mouth/regulator and stop panicking? Do you have your mask/snorkel with you. If so, in your tub/sink/resort pool just practice snorkeling and breathing with your face in the water. When you are comfortable with that, take your mask OFF and continue to breath with your face in the water and force yourself through the panic. It is a weird sensation having those cold bubbles bounce around your face but its something you just gotta get used to. If you can do it in a controlled environment like your sink/bathtub for a few minutes, it'll help boost your confidence with the skill. Another thing is to remember the mask is not a piece of surivival gear underwater like your regulator/tank are. Yeah you'll have poor vision/salt water to deal with, but losing your mask (what these skills train you for) is not a life threatening emergency. Its definitely awkward, but something you'll get used to with a little practice. Good luck!
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2013 18:51
|
|