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Snorkeling question in a SCUBA thread? I'm going to Coron Island in the Philippines in January. I hear the diving is excellent there but I don't dive. Anyone been there and do you have any idea how the snorkeling is? thx
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Sep 11, 2015 17:36
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r0ck0 posted:Snorkeling question in a SCUBA thread? A few of us in the thread have been. Snorkeling is fantastic. Lots of shallow wrecks (lusong and skeleton wrecks are top notch) and coral reefs (siete pecados, coral garden, pass island, banana beach, malcapuya to name a few) to snorkel. Bring bread to feed the fish. You'll have to rent a snorkel, mask, and fins if you don't bring your own. I recommend you rent them from a dive shop and not the boat men (better quality). Have fun.
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Sep 11, 2015 20:45
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Thanks for the info. We already have fins, mask and snorkels. Also isn't feeding the fish a "bad thing"?
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Sep 11, 2015 20:51
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r0ck0 posted:Thanks for the info. We already have fins, mask and snorkels. Also isn't feeding the fish a "bad thing"?
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Sep 13, 2015 07:31
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I went to Coron in December of 2013. There were some excellent snorkel sights (I did a tour with a private boat and two other people). I think it was done through one of the dive shops. Make sure you thoroughly inspect any rental gear, nothing sucks more than getting to a site only to find your snorkel has a hole in it. If you have the time I recommend you get your open water license. There are some pretty cool dive sites there; one that sticks out is the marine lake that was ~40 degrees C (everyone dove in board shorts).
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Sep 13, 2015 13:55
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pupdive posted:Can you 'splain the current NAUI instructor course deal? How long have you been inactive with NAUI?
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Sep 14, 2015 01:29
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A friend and I are thinking about taking a couple weeks this winter to go diving in South Florida. Neither of us have done any SCUBA diving before, but we both work in the marine industry and are comfortable in the water. We want to try and get some formal instruction and maybe work our way up to some wreck diving. Is this something that anyone has experience with? I think we would rather take even the introductory classes in Florida/warm location since we both currently live in New England...
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Sep 14, 2015 02:08
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localized posted:A friend and I are thinking about taking a couple weeks this winter to go diving in South Florida. Neither of us have done any SCUBA diving before, but we both work in the marine industry and are comfortable in the water. We want to try and get some formal instruction and maybe work our way up to some wreck diving. Is this something that anyone has experience with? I think we would rather take even the introductory classes in Florida/warm location since we both currently live in New England... I dove off of Key Largo in March of last year, and it's all pretty shallow with essentially infinite visibility (read: perfect for learning to dive). Lots of reefs, tons of fish, and on a night dive we had some kind of shark scatter a school of fish not 30 ft away from us. That was after seeing a massive sea turtle, a good-sized ray, and having the tiniest squid/cuttlefish (it was the size of my finger) completely flipping its lid at my buddy and nipping at his mask  We dove with Conch Republic Divers, they go out to some of the nearby wrecks but you'll need to be at least Advanced Open Water and Nitrox certified to even get close to some of those.
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Sep 14, 2015 02:17
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My wife and I have started our etraining and ha e scheduled out dice training. I expect we will only be able to dive three weeks a year. We already have a two week trip to Bonaire booked for January. With that information dump in mind should we buy or rent our gear. I would usually never rent safer gear but am getting conflicting information. I can afford to but gear but don't want to waste money either. The dive shop we are taking our training at offers Tusa and Sherwood at a discount. Any suggestions will be considered and appreciated.
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Sep 20, 2015 21:32
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Ropes4u posted:My wife and I have started our etraining and ha e scheduled out dice training. I expect we will only be able to dive three weeks a year. We already have a two week trip to Bonaire booked for January. Three full weeks or weekends? Right now, I'd say buy mask/fins/snorkel and rent to see what you like. Gear is a really expensive investment, so you want to know what you're getting is what works for you.
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Sep 21, 2015 00:05
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Squirrelo posted:Three full weeks or weekends? Right now, I'd say buy mask/fins/snorkel and rent to see what you like. Gear is a really expensive investment, so you want to know what you're getting is what works for you. Three full weeks, possibly some weekends when work takes me to Florida. In the next 6 months we have three full weeks of diving planned. And likely another few later in next year. My heart ache is that gear rental in Bonaire is flipping expensive and I could throw that money at my personal gear, maybe I will relax and pay the rental for the first trip. Friends suggested the below and I will likely follow his advice and buy 1,2 and 3 before leaving for Bonaire. 1) Mask, fins, and snorkel. (I bought my prescription mask online from Seavision and am very happy with it.) 2) Dive computer. My wife and I both use a basic $300 model from Oceanic. 3) Wetsuit. You can dive with just swim trunks, but will get cold faster and will end up using more air, which will result in shorter dive times. 4) Regulator. You can easily rent one during your first couple of dive trips. 5) BCD. Also something you can rent at first. Ropes4u fucked around with this message at 02:23 on Sep 21, 2015 |
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Sep 21, 2015 01:53
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Have you dived at all yet? Gear has terrible resell value so I'd avoid buying anything you can until you get some experience and make sure that you want to continue with it. I'd only buy mask/snorkel/fins on your list as mask fit is extremely important, a lot of classes require them, and they are dual use for snorkeling. The rest I'd rent at least for your first dive trip. Computer is probably the next step, but you do need to decide if you want to buy a more advanced model or potentially replace the one you buy later. I would definitely not buy a wet suit until you have experience wearing them and know the thickness you want for the places you plan on diving. If you dive in places with different water temps that further complicates things as you may want multiple wet suits to be comfortable. The timeline to be cost effective for buying gear compared to renting is pretty long as airline baggage fees and maintenance will eat into any savings.
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Sep 21, 2015 06:52
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Bare minimum for taking the classes: mask, snorkel, boots (and a hood if you'll be in cold water). Having your own fins is great, but there are different styles/tastes, so it's OK to rent for a while. Rental boots are nasty, and hygiene wise it's also nice to have your own hood, too. Last year I got a nasty case of this on my left foot from using rental boots in Costa Rica: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinea_versicolor
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Sep 21, 2015 11:45
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Ropes4u posted:Three full weeks, possibly some weekends when work takes me to Florida. In the next 6 months we have three full weeks of diving planned. And likely another few later in next year. My heart ache is that gear rental in Bonaire is flipping expensive and I could throw that money at my personal gear, maybe I will relax and pay the rental for the first trip. That's basically the order I bought gear, so yeah, can't fault that list. But I will stress that you should wait even on the wetsuit before going out and spending the money on your own gear. Bonaire is pretty warm, and if need be you can rent one for your first dive trip. For computer, ebay is your friend. I bought mine after my first 3 post-OWD cert dives, but at that point I knew I was hooked. Basically, it all boils down to you knowing the gear will get use, and if you don't have the dives to know you love the sport and what gear you like, buying gear is a waste of money (save fins/mask/snorkel since you can still use those without diving). Also, don't forget about upkeep costs once you have your own gear.
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Sep 21, 2015 14:46
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Hawaii residents! I MAY be going to Hawaii this late December with 3 other friends, and of course want to do some diving while I'm there. Any recommendations for sites / places to stay? From the sounds of it the Kona area has the best diving, and is pretty laid back. Any other places to recommend? Any leads on cheap hotels (my god they're expensive already). Of course, my alternative desire is to go to Komodo instead. You win some you lose some.
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Sep 23, 2015 01:20
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PADI eLearning is death by power point
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Sep 24, 2015 02:19
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If anyone is considering it, I highly recommend Palau for a week of liveaboard diving. Some of the best sites (and sights) I've ever seen. Sharks and turtles in abundance. Blue corner especially memorable.
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Sep 27, 2015 04:22
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Do your research on the liveaboard before you sign up though. I heard that one of the liveaboards there recently sunk due to storm and has yet to be salvaged. But yes Palau is The poo poo. I've been twice and would totally go back (maybe to do my dive master's).
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Sep 27, 2015 06:28
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Trivia posted:Do your research on the liveaboard before you sign up though. I heard that one of the liveaboards there recently sunk due to storm and has yet to be salvaged. Can confirm this! There was a Danish guy on our boat who was originally scheduled to be on the one that was lost.
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Sep 27, 2015 07:32
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I've just moved back to the UK so it looks like dry suit diving is back on at some point in the near future. I sold my dry suits before I left so need to look at a replacement but I haven't really kept up with things if there have been any changes in quality/pricing. My last suit was a 2nd hand DUI so I'm probably a bit spoiled since I really liked the flexibility of their material along with the membrane style suit. Front entry is a must.
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Sep 27, 2015 07:35
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Why not get a custom semi dry instead? Much more comfortable.
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Sep 27, 2015 07:53
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Cost wise might be similar but for winter RIB diving it's pretty horrible for the surface interval.
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Sep 27, 2015 10:17
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MrNemo posted:I've just moved back to the UK so it looks like dry suit diving is back on at some point in the near future. I sold my dry suits before I left so need to look at a replacement but I haven't really kept up with things if there have been any changes in quality/pricing. My last suit was a 2nd hand DUI so I'm probably a bit spoiled since I really liked the flexibility of their material along with the membrane style suit. Front entry is a must. I have a Santi eMotion dry suit that I like a lot. It is a front-entry dry suit, and has a trilaminate membrane. I think I've got about thirty dives in it so far, and I am still nice and dry. I'm adding a dry glove solution with KUBI rings, as I was never too impressed by the other dry glove solutions out there. Santi makes their kit in Poland, so they are way closer to you than DUI in the event you need a repair or replacement.
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Sep 27, 2015 16:58
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So, what is the appeal of a Liveaboard vacation? I get that it maximizes your dive time, but it just seems like... a crappy vacation. I feel like I'd get claustrophobic being on the boat for a week straight, and frankly, I really like hotel amenities like full-sized beds and full-sized toilets. I'm not pissing on the concept, I just feel like I'm missing something here.
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Sep 27, 2015 18:10
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Squashy Nipples posted:So, what is the appeal of a Liveaboard vacation? I get that it maximizes your dive time, but it just seems like... a crappy vacation. I feel like I'd get claustrophobic being on the boat for a week straight, and frankly, I really like hotel amenities like full-sized beds and full-sized toilets. I absolutely love liveaboards. I like the adventurous aspect of being on a vessel and being able to go wherever we want. We are not tied to dive sites that are 20 minutes from the resort so you can places that are much farther out and don't have a lot of traffic on them. I've done Blackbeard's five times and that is about as close to roughing it as you can get. One of my fondest memories is being moored in the southern Exumas at night looking out over the Atlantic Ocean. It was two in the morning and I was sitting on the bow with rum drink in my hand. I was the only person awake and the only sound was the ocean lapping against the hull. The sky was full of stars that were reflecting on the water. It was such a clear night that looking at the horizon I could to tell where the ocean ended and the sky began. I am not religious in the least but it was a truly spiritual experience for me. I never would have gotten that staying at a resort. Blackbeard was a bit too roughing it for my wife so I doubt she will ever go back but we have a trip scheduled on the Aquacat next year. I'm sure it will be great but I love the adventurous aspect of the Blackbeard boats. I have a group there now and it bums me out that I am not there with them. I am leaving for Tortola on Thursday though so I don't feel too bad about it though.
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Sep 27, 2015 18:51
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Squashy Nipples posted:So, what is the appeal of a Liveaboard vacation? I get that it maximizes your dive time, but it just seems like... a crappy vacation. I feel like I'd get claustrophobic being on the boat for a week straight, and frankly, I really like hotel amenities like full-sized beds and full-sized toilets. In general liveaboards are only to be considered if the reason for you trip is going diving. You're right that you lose out on some of the nice things about vacations and you cut your options down pretty much entirely (it's really not good form to tell everyone on the boat you're bored after 3 days and want to get back to try some different restaurants). However you cut out pretty much all the normal travelling times diving involves from a land base. You go straight from the boat wherever you are and you finish the dive back where you were, there's not 25 minute boat trip to the dive site and back. You also know exactly where all your fellow divers are and all the equipment is right there so no getting stuff back and forth from the boat. The result of this is that it's pretty easy to manage to do 3 or 4 dive days, if that's the reason for your holiday it's a good thing. The other, and I would say bigger, reason is that without the back and forth travel time you have the opportunity to hit up a wider range of the best dive sites in a big area. When you're diving from an island you will pretty much be diving sites that are within an hour or so journey of that island. If you want to do somewhere further out it will usually involve finding enough other people that want to do it, getting up super early and maybe only doing 2 dives that day. There will be sacrifices and additional logistics involved. You can also have some really magical moments simply because you'll be spending evenings out in the middle of a sea or ocean without being able to see land. It's awesome but you don't necessarily need a liveaboard for that. It's also worth bearing in mind that the quality of liveaboards can vary quite a bit, some of them are pretty luxurious and do pretty good food. I'd say that in terms of amenities they'd be as good or better as most islands in Thailand or similar. What you miss out on though is the opportunity to explore a new place and severely reduce socialising opportunities. Like I said, I'd only consider it if my reason for taking the holiday was diving. Hell most of the diving holidays I've taken have been limited in those terms. Spending a week in a rented cottage in Scotland with people from my diving club meant an hour and a half drive to the nearest proper town so we were pretty much just stuck in the cottage. It was not that different from being on a liveaboard. Edit: Also Mandibular cheers for the Santi recommendation. They're one I was looking at but I don't know anyone who's got one and they're not cheap. My other current thought is Otter suits simply because nearly all of the ones I've known and have been good (aside from 1 person's) and they're quite a bit cheaper. Guaranteeing being dry might be worth the price though... MrNemo fucked around with this message at 21:09 on Sep 27, 2015 |
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Sep 27, 2015 21:04
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Fairly passive posted:Why not get a custom semi dry instead? Much more comfortable. Just to point this out to people: A semi dry suit is just a properly made and fitted wet suit. People get so used to the basically functionless wetsuits available in rental that they don't realize properly fitted neoprene, with proper seals is very warm. It's also going to last about a tenth as long as double fabric coated neoprene, and it's a pain to get on and off, which is why we use fairly crappy suits in rental departments.
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Sep 28, 2015 01:04
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Squashy Nipples posted:So, what is the appeal of a Liveaboard vacation? I get that it maximizes your dive time, but it just seems like... a crappy vacation. I feel like I'd get claustrophobic being on the boat for a week straight, and frankly, I really like hotel amenities like full-sized beds and full-sized toilets. Not everyone likes boats, so that's a thing to keep in mind. But the idea of a liveaboard is removal of transportation time and gear handling time from planning. Going on an unlimited diving boat allows things like 10 dives a day. Of course that depends on the boat, since some restrict diving to certain arranged times, either for keeping track, or because they move the big boat and dive off rubber boats. Or actual middle of the night diving. Almost every who does night dives is forced by logistics to do dives at what basically amounts to dusk. The ocean at 2 AM is as different from the 8 PM Ocean, as the 8 PM ocean is from the 2 PM ocean. Seeing schools of fish asleep just on the sandy bottom is pretty cool, and while you can see it earlier, it took having my own boat to dive after midnight to see it regularly. Having my own boat also allowed me to do ten dives a day, but without a compressor, I had to own a lot of tanks. And diving solo off you own boat, or at least without a captain looking out, and everyone in the water has its own interesting logistics concerns like when the anchor drags on a night dive.
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Sep 28, 2015 01:15
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A lot of liveaboards also have nice accommodations. Some are pretty cramped (mainly the bedrooms) but the living and dining areas can be surprisingly spacious. I would mainly recommend them for places that don't offer a lot topside, or for those that want to dive off the beaten path so to speak.
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Sep 28, 2015 03:51
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My liveaboard in Maldives was amazing, easily one of the best vacation I've taken. It ended up costing not too much considered, about $300 a night, apparently it's easy to spend alot more for a room at a resort in Maldives, and tough to spend much less. The dive crew was excellent, site selection was amazing, etc.
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Sep 28, 2015 06:24
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Liveaboards are often not much more expensive than staying in a hotel. Of course you miss out on topside activities like so many have suggested, but the cost of a liveaboard includes accommodation, three meals, and often 3-5 dives a day. Some of them are also short, as little as 4 days 3 nights.
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Sep 28, 2015 08:44
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I think between 4 and 9 days is about right. I find it takes at least two days to really get into the routine of things on a liveaboard, 3 day trips often feel a bit short and I'm usually raring for more. That said, I don't think I could go a full two weeks, too fatiguing. Nitrox helps. I'm thinking of getting my own analyser for nitrox dives, no more waiting for others to take their turn.
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Sep 28, 2015 10:15
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Any recommendations for fins and basic computer? My wife and I are currently driving to Florida to wrap up open water certification.
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Sep 28, 2015 21:59
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Liveaboards are the only way to see a lot of the best sites. I've been lucky enough to do three in the past year and change. In case anyone is interested on my reviews: - In the Galapagos, the best diving far and away is at the remote islands of Darwin and Wolf, which are an overnight boat trip from the bigger islands and not accessible by any other means. But you will to see thousands (literally) of hammerheads and multiple whale sharks per dive! Plus play with sea lions, seals, and dolphins. Stayed on the Galapagos Sky, which was tremendous in every way but insanely expensive. Also the only vessel licensed for diving at Punta Vicente Roca, a mola mola cleaning station. Highly recommend, once in a lifetime trip. Doubt I will ever find better diving anywhere (unless I go back, which I plan to!). - The good sites in the Great Barrier Reef are Osprey reef, Ribbon reefs, etc. which are all too far from the mainland for day trips. Stayed on the Spirit of Freedom which was excellent, both in terms of accomodation, food, and value. The diving is as good or better than any I've done aside from the Galapagos, certainly better than any other tropical diving. The reefs in the remote sites are incredibly vibrant, plus we got a visit from a small pod of Minke whales at the end of what was already one of my all-time favorite dives. The crew are really great as well. - Day diving in Komodo is feasible but the sites are 2-3 hours from the main town, so it's not great. Plus by the time you get out there the sites are crowded. Liveaboards get to the better sites and are first in line for the closer ones. Went with Divine Diving which was pretty good. The vessel and divemaster were meh but the price was low low low. If you go here you should push for the sites in the south of the park, which are supposedly much better for macro and interesting stuff than the north. We went to the north of the park, which has great reefs (and lots of reef sharks if you care about that), but was honestly not really any better than most of the house reef-type sites around Mabul in Borneo (I know Trivia has gone there). Except for the night dives, those were truly amazing, much better than any others I've done. Overall I'd look into Raja Ampat instead if you have enough time for a 7-9 day liveaboard (I didn't, we did only four days). Non-liveaboard question: Thinking of going to Southeastern Africa this coming summer. Some combination of Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Madagascar. Anyone been diving in that region? I guess the diving is mostly in Mozambique and Madagascar, although supposedly there's interesting fresh water diving in Lake Malawi. Oakland Martini fucked around with this message at 23:51 on Sep 28, 2015 |
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Sep 28, 2015 23:47
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I'm thinking of hitting up Komodo this December. How much was the liveaboard? How long were the excursions? I'm only at preliminary planning stages so nothing is decided yet.
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Sep 29, 2015 00:00
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I think it came to roughly $1000 total ( so $500 per person) for four days. So pretty cheap as far as these things go. We did the Komodo dragon excursion that everyone does, which is pretty cool. You get VERY close to them. That takes maybe two hours at most. We also took a panga ride to an island where tens of thousands of flying foxes roost and watched them come out at sunset. That one was just 45 minutes.
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Sep 29, 2015 00:53
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How many dives a day on the boat? That sounds pretty comparable to a hotel + diving, so I may very well look into that.
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Sep 29, 2015 01:17
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Oakland Martini posted:. Overall I'd look into Raja Ampat instead if you have enough time for a 7-9 day liveaboard (I didn't, we did only four days). Agreed! Fairly passive posted:Any goons interested in diving Raja Ampat & Halmahera in March 2016? Missing a handful of spots on our 32 person (two boat) roster. These should be gone by end of October. I hope. People join and leave at almost the same rate. Four steps forward three steps back. Organising this trip is a loving nightmare. My giant detailed spreadsheet of divers, flights, payments, notes & preferences is my only lifeline. It should be worth it though. Highest marine biodiversity and a total solar eclipse lasting more than three minutes. Longest until 2019.
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Sep 29, 2015 01:41
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Ropes4u posted:Any recommendations for fins and basic computer? Fins are very personal things. I need light fins because I dive with little flotation in my legs (shorties and no wetsuit) often, and I need something I can grab quickly by the side. Also my kicks are all of them (except flutter) , especially when diving all day, including a heavy dose of back kicks when shooting video. I also need a fin that can be worn wihout booties and with, which is a rare thing in fins I love my fins But they are pricey, and they don't last for poo poo, which is rare for fins. (Fin name redacted, because). But then again 'lasting' is relative 300 dives is more than most people will ever dive. It's a couple months for me. I don't care too much about having to buy new fins/masks a couple times a year because that's just what's needed. Masks break, get crapped out with mold, get eaten by cockroaches. I do go with cheap masks so I don't cry when I have to loan them out and don't get them back. I do not loan out my fins. Get a computer than fits how you like to wear it underwater. If you want to keep it on all week when diving get a watch sized one. If you have to put on a wetsuit anyway so the computer gets put on as part of gearing up, then watch sized (which means a smaller display) is not so important. I still like the second generation of bigger wrist computers that stopped trying to be the same size and shape as the depth gauges in consoles. Mares Puck Pro was the first and Cressi, and Tusa , and others also make them. Oceanic still goes either bulky-ish depth gauge size or slim watch size, but they are probably the easiest to get fixed because everyone' and their mother is an Oceanic dealer. For the computer, get whatever brand your LDS (local dive shop) sells, and choose the shape you want to wear. Because eventually every dive computer will crap out or need the battery changed, and you need a local shop that changes the battery O-Ring and pressure tests the new O-Ring. Suunto is a tricky brand. They no longer allow dealers to change batteries apparently, and they use custom bands that crap out and ruin vacations. I love Suunto computers, but the battery and band choices they have made have made them tricky to count on. If you are thinking about one computer, you need to think it all the way through and buy two *each*, which means you will probably get at least one watch sized dive computer because it takes up less wrist space, and another one. Eventually any dive computer will fail, even if it just because of the battery, and if you are traveling, your day of diving (or your liveaboard trip) is over the minute your computer craps out on you.
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Sep 29, 2015 10:37
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ZoCrowes posted:How long have you been inactive with NAUI? Many years.
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Sep 29, 2015 10:37
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