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Icon Of Sin posted:So, a new coral species was just discovered off of NC! I've seen Blue Ivy Coral on the wreck of the Alexander Ramsey, only 3 miles offshore from Wrightsville Beach, NC. This is my only pic of it, with a photobombing nudi: Wow, that's really crazy to think about
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Feb 27, 2018 20:07
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Is it okay to ask for recommendations in here? I'm traveling to Arusha, TZ for work in early April and I was thinking about taking a flight over to Zanzibar to get my SCUBA certification. I've never done any diving, but I hear that the reefs are incredible (and I really love looking at fish and learning about the ocean) so it seemed like a good idea. I live in Boston, MA and it's pretty cold right now so I'd prefer to not do my open water dives here to get certified before going. I found a few places that are PADI dive shops - should all of them be pretty good for the basic certification? Does anyone have any recommendations for places to go? Am I likely to be able to see cool stuff on the training dives, or should I plan to spend an extra day so I can actually see some cool fish? Thanks in advance!
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Feb 28, 2018 00:13
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Icon Of Sin posted:So, a new coral species was just discovered off of NC! I've seen Blue Ivy Coral on the wreck of the Alexander Ramsey, only 3 miles offshore from Wrightsville Beach, NC. This is my only pic of it, with a photobombing nudi: Well poo poo, dove that 2 years ago, and have pics. Will have to go back and see if I discovered that coral first. 
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Feb 28, 2018 02:51
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Trip report on my scuba cert: The ocean was rough as hell, massive surge, huge surf, coldest temps we've seen in a long while. It was rough, I'd be lying if I said I had fun, but I am certified and certified in conditions way worse than anything I'd ever voluntarily dive in, so I think at the end of the day its a good thing for my confidence.
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Feb 28, 2018 03:16
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Red_Fred posted:This is awesome and exactly where I’m heading. Currently using a single arm with filters. What lumen Solas would you recommend? You'll get good results from anything in the 1-3k range, you can spend more on the "pro" stuff but it wouldn't bring you any value. I have the 1200 and 2500 and they are both good lights, I actually would have gotten another 1200 but they were out of stock and the store sold me their display 2500 for the same price.
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Feb 28, 2018 03:46
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turing_test posted:
Check the fb pages, google reviews, and yelp for a quick read on a shop, but the ideal option is to go to each shop and see which one has staff that you feel most comfortable around. I realize that this may not be something you can't easily do, though. Each shop should be teaching the same standards, but will have their own little differences in how they do things. Some of them may run trips that you can get certified on, we do this a ton in the winter here with trips to the FL springs and other destinations (Keys, Bahamas, etc). On our training dives, how much you get to see cool stuff is largely up to the divemaster, and how comfortable they think you are in the water vs whatever conditions you find yourself in. My own experience has ranged from 'lets stay down until someone hits 700 psi left in their tank, then find the nearest line to ascend for a safety stop" to "this water is loving freezing and I can't see more than 3ft, the students are doing as many skills as we need to do on this dive and then we're popping back to the surface at the 20 minute mark". We try to maximize our time underwater for our students (and maximize their experience underwater), but when the water is cold or the vis is low that obviously complicates things a bit.
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Feb 28, 2018 04:08
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Icon Of Sin posted:Check the fb pages, google reviews, and yelp for a quick read on a shop, but the ideal option is to go to each shop and see which one has staff that you feel most comfortable around. I realize that this may not be something you can't easily do, though. Each shop should be teaching the same standards, but will have their own little differences in how they do things. Some of them may run trips that you can get certified on, we do this a ton in the winter here with trips to the FL springs and other destinations (Keys, Bahamas, etc). On our training dives, how much you get to see cool stuff is largely up to the divemaster, and how comfortable they think you are in the water vs whatever conditions you find yourself in. My own experience has ranged from 'lets stay down until someone hits 700 psi left in their tank, then find the nearest line to ascend for a safety stop" to "this water is loving freezing and I can't see more than 3ft, the students are doing as many skills as we need to do on this dive and then we're popping back to the surface at the 20 minute mark". We try to maximize our time underwater for our students (and maximize their experience underwater), but when the water is cold or the vis is low that obviously complicates things a bit. Thanks for the advice! I'll see if there are any shops that run certification trips. I found a few that advertise trips in addition to the basic certification, so that seems like a good place to start. I'll e-mail a few places to get an idea about what their four required dives look like.
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Feb 28, 2018 05:20
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We’re debating options for where to get our 10 year old nephew certified since he loves our pictures and has decided he wants to dive, so we promised him we’d take care of it. We want it to be enjoyable enough to hook him with enough relatively shallow OW areas dives that he sees stuff in addition to his exercises. Also we live in Jupiter FL but he really wants to get and use a passport so we are going to do that for him too. So in no particular order based on places we’ve been and think will work plus have shops we’ve dove with and know people at, Abaco (Green Turtle Cay probably), Belize (Ambergris), Aruba (although I’m not sold there for his depth), Bonaire, St Maarten and Barbados are the ones we’re debating between. Anyone have advice on good places for a 10 year old?
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Mar 6, 2018 04:26
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You could try the Bahamas. I went last year. The reefs were pretty shallow, and he gets to see sharks (nurse, grey reef). There's not a lot to do topside though, and the place is still reeling from the hurricanes in recent years.
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Mar 6, 2018 04:34
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Trivia posted:You could try the Bahamas. I went last year. The reefs were pretty shallow, and he gets to see sharks (nurse, grey reef). Yah, that’s the Abaco option. We’d probably go to Green Turtle Cay and it’s a strong choice. We dove there a couple weeks ago.
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Mar 6, 2018 05:24
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I got my 10yo son certified, a few years ago. Things to consider: 1. Water temp. A little kid isn't going to be able to maintain body heat very well, because he has relatively little mass. My kid's lips turned blue in the 78 degree pool, in a 5mm wetsuit, after an hour. Something to consider. 2. If you're taking the kid out on the ocean, keep in mind that wave action/boat rocking that wouldn't stop an adult from getting back up the ladder is going to beat the hell out of a little kid. 3. The gear is going to be at least 40% of the kid's total body weight. 4. 95% of my diving, that first year, was keeping an eye on my kid. One worries. These are the things I encountered... all surmountable, but keep them in mind.
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Mar 6, 2018 16:56
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If you're going to be diving with a young 'un then it might not be a bad idea to take a rescue diver course yourself.
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Mar 6, 2018 17:34
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I am already rescue, but good advice! And good point on water temps, we were going to shoot for over 80 but didn’t think about how critical it is.
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Mar 6, 2018 19:33
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I don't think I saw it mentioned in this thread, but there is a pretty good documentary that's been put up on US Netflix recently called Diving Into The Unknown. It's about a group of Norwegian friends who cave dive and their plan to go recover the bodies of two of their friends after a mishap in cave system. I would have been interested in more technical detail but then the film probably would have been too dry and detail oriented for a wider audience.
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Mar 10, 2018 17:02
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Zwabu posted:I don't think I saw it mentioned in this thread, but there is a pretty good documentary that's been put up on US Netflix recently called Diving Into The Unknown. I thought I was a very good watch.
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Mar 10, 2018 18:05
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Just on my way back from a 10 day in Raja Ampat. I’ll try to post some photos later when I’m back home - assuming I actually managed to take anything worthwhile. The trip was fantastic, best diving I’ve done by a fair margin - though I’ve only done Aus, NZ, Hawaii so not a huge amount of comparison. Huge schools of reef fish, jacks, barracuda, fusiliers etc. Saw a few mantas, but not many and they were just passing through rather than at cleaning stations - think I’ll have to go to Komodo for those. A decent number of reef sharks, wobbegongs and epaulette walking sharks. Pygmy seahorse less than a cm long, eels, snakes, mantis shrimp and crabs, lots of giant clams, big wrasse and groupers etc etc etc. However, the overwhelming impression was from the vast healthy coral gardens, inhabited by huge schools of reef fish - just life everywhere. Hard coral, stag horn and plating mainly, in the north. In the south a combination of soft and hard corals, huge fans, leathers etc. But all very healthy and covering huge areas wherever we went - no sign of dynamite fishing, bleaching or cyclone damage. Which made a big change from when I went to the GBR a few years ago. The diving itself was relatively relaxed, almost always some current, but only moderate in a few spots, which apparently is quite lucky. Vis wasn’t super amazing 15-25m or so - apparently it had been quite poor earlier in the season but had cleared up a bit. The live aboard I was on only did 4 dives a day, but they were fairly long ones - 60 to 90 minutes, with most being 70 mins. Some time spent in the shallows, but deep enough (25-30m with significant time at 15-20m), that I was right on the limit of my air consumption. The 4.5 to 5h in the water per day was enough. The dives were reasonably diverse, a few muck dives a few jetty dives, one in the mangroves, walls, pinnacles, etc. The above water scenery was stunning, lots of small/medium sized idensly jungled islands, with marine lagoons that we did some visits to. Lots of cockatoos to wake us up, some sea birds but not huge numbers. Boat was very slick and well appointed, but you’d bloody hope so for the price - I’m sure I could have done it for cheaper but I was happy overall - definitely hope to do Komodo and also RA again with them in the future. One of the people on board had done like 8 trips with them. That was the other thing, given the price it was basically all rich older people or kids thereof. That said they were all nice and friendly, and all very good, experienced and serious divers so it went pretty smooth. I stayed one night in Sorong, the base city that the boats go from, and that was probably too much - has very little going for it. Might have been nice to spend a couple of days on one of the small islands to try and see some birds of paradise, but didn’t get organised and was a bit too much time and money. Overall A+, would definitely do again, although maybe Komodo first.
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Mar 16, 2018 01:45
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Dive season is starting soon on the east coast (except in Florida, where it never ended). I'm pretty loving ready to get offshore after doing ~25 dives in a row in our local aquarium. Granted, the majority of those were safety dives with the Weeki Wachee mermaids, but I'd rather be offshore looking at sharks and shipwrecks  Now's the time to get your gear ready, make sure everything is serviced properly and within the recommended timeframe, nothing needs replacing (my gloves  ), and check on anything else you need to fix/replace/service before getting on the boat and heading out. Be safe out there, and make sure you don't do anything that makes someone dedicate a reef in your honor (even if that's a pretty loving cool thing to do). I never did hear anything about his cause of death, so that leaves us to focus on the basics of keeping your gear in working order, watching your gas usage, and not getting into things that are beyond your training level. Be safe out there, and come back here to tell stories and post pretty pictures
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Mar 17, 2018 23:44
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Goon dive pros....looking for some help for approapriate dive insurance but when it comes down to it I can't seem to make head or tail of the policies. Currently looking at Dive Assure as DAN AP doesn't provide liability insurance. PADI OWSI in the Phillippines looking for insurance as I am working on a big dive boat and need a good insurance in case I move around. Planning on heading home (to Ireland) in a few months and skip to Mexico. Is there any other companies I should be looking at too that maybe I haven't heard of.....yet?
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Mar 20, 2018 09:33
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SqueakyDuck posted:Goon dive pros....looking for some help for approapriate dive insurance but when it comes down to it I can't seem to make head or tail of the policies. Does Witherspoon offer diving insurance in AP? Too bad DAN doesn't. I have my independent liability insurance through them and it's fantastic.
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Mar 21, 2018 04:34
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Done with my OWD confined water dives. It's still too cold to dive anywhere here so either have to wait or travel somewhere to finish it sooner. Now tell me something straight - is diving a complete sausage fest? I didn't notice at first as there was a woman in our group of 6 but I don't think there was a single one among the other groups at the pools.
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Mar 21, 2018 11:24
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mobby_6kl posted:Done with my OWD confined water dives. It's still too cold to dive anywhere here so either have to wait or travel somewhere to finish it sooner. It can be yeah. One thing I like about the shop I work with right now is that their most active staff are mostly young women in their 20s and 30s. It’s a refreshing change of pace from the normal sausage fest.
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Mar 21, 2018 12:36
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mobby_6kl posted:Now tell me something straight - is diving a complete sausage fest? It can be, and I've certainly encountered my share of macho male divers, but it's far from universal. I got lucky, and did most of my early diving with a LGBT+allies dive club that was pretty well balanced and a really good group.
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Mar 21, 2018 17:30
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Goddamit. It wasn't the goal or anything but I kind of hoped it would be a bit more balanced than my other hobbies like computer stuff, cars or electronics 
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Mar 21, 2018 17:41
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mobby_6kl posted:Goddamit. It wasn't the goal or anything but I kind of hoped it would be a bit more balanced than my other hobbies like computer stuff, cars or electronics It's far more balanced than anything you mentioned.
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Mar 21, 2018 19:29
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mobby_6kl posted:Goddamit. It wasn't the goal or anything but I kind of hoped it would be a bit more balanced than my other hobbies like computer stuff, cars or electronics It isn't nearly that bad. Just find a group that likes to dive because fish and invertebrates are awesome, and not a group that's hunting, and the ratio won't be that terrible.
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Mar 21, 2018 20:16
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Also, avoid tech and wreck divers. IME, they're usually macho men and really dorky dudes.
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Mar 21, 2018 23:51
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My tech diving group isn't exactly macho. Dorky I'll concede though.
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Mar 21, 2018 23:53
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Collateral Damage posted:My tech diving group isn't exactly macho. Dorky I'll concede though. I swapped the types. Tech is usually dorky, wreck is usually macho. I'll bet the ratio of Doria divers is 25:1.
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Mar 22, 2018 00:03
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mobby_6kl posted:Goddamit. It wasn't the goal or anything but I kind of hoped it would be a bit more balanced than my other hobbies like computer stuff, cars or electronics Oh yeah it's way more balanced and send to be becoming moreso. I was just hanging at my local shop and there was 4 women and two men including myself and we're all under 35.
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Mar 22, 2018 00:43
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Wreck divers in NC tend to be all types, since that’s essentially all we have to dive here Our shop skews towards parity for men/women, but that’s only because we rely heavily on the university’s scuba club. Their president is also one of our DM candidates, as are some other members of their executive board (which probably influences things a bit).
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Mar 22, 2018 03:15
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sharkytm posted:Also, avoid tech and wreck divers. IME, they're usually macho men and really dorky dudes. Hunters are more macho than both, in my experience
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Mar 22, 2018 04:07
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DeadlyMuffin posted:Hunters are more macho than both, in my experience No doubt. Especially vertebrate hunters. Around here, there's a fair number of female lobster hunters.
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Mar 22, 2018 12:06
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There are some Florida Blue Grotto fans, here. Apparently they got hosed by a lot of rainfall, and a wall caved in, or something? Today on Facebook they posted no diving until at least the middle of next week.... which actually could be a problem for me, as I'm renting one of their cabins in 14 days. Anyone local know what's up, there? quote:Unfortunately we have to close the Grotto for a few days. The heavy rainfall washed in a part of the left side wall and broke the pump system. We are working hard and experts will check the safety of the cavern before reoppening. Please share to all friends HAvent' seen any pics yet.
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Mar 23, 2018 01:24
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Update on Blue Grotto:quote:Like to give you the latest update: SO, keeping an eye on it. I'm booked to dive the week after Easter.
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Mar 23, 2018 17:47
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Has anyone ever dove Troy Springs, in Florida? Beginning to think of alternatives if I can't get into Blue Grotto.
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Mar 23, 2018 17:50
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Blue Grotto updated their Facebook with a video of them using a crane to remove the damaged dive platforms, and replace them with a new one. It's pretty neat. They say they're open now.... so I guess I'll be one of the first to dive into the cavern next week and check the integrity of the rest of it....
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Mar 30, 2018 00:47
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GORDON posted:Blue Grotto updated their Facebook with a video of them using a crane to remove the damaged dive platforms, and replace them with a new one. It's pretty neat. They say they're open now.... so I guess I'll be one of the first to dive into the cavern next week and check the integrity of the rest of it.... I’ll be there next weekend!
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Mar 30, 2018 00:58
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Icon Of Sin posted:I’ll be there next weekend! I'm here now! Wifi barely works in the cabins, fyi.
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Apr 4, 2018 23:36
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GORDON posted:I'm here now! Wifi barely works in the cabins, fyi. Solid. We're getting there Friday afternoon. Hopefully in time for an afternoon dive, but we'll be there all day Saturday either way e: any word on if anything fell into the bottom from the nor'easter damage? Icon Of Sin fucked around with this message at 01:12 on Apr 5, 2018 |
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Apr 5, 2018 01:06
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Icon Of Sin posted:Solid. We're getting there Friday afternoon. Hopefully in time for an afternoon dive, but we'll be there all day Saturday either way Big chunk of wall collapsed, and you aren't allowed over in that corner. Also, new platform!
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Apr 6, 2018 00:38
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