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let it mellow posted:Something special.... see if the three seahorses are still there on the return That's the plan. We're gonna drive the park too, probably at the end of the week. Our 12km-on-the-odo JAC truck is hilariously underpowered but it's fun to thrash around in. The brake light switch sticks, so you have to pull up on the pedal when you park or the lights stay on.  I think we'll hit Something Special tomorrow. Today is Tolo and County Gardens. We dove The Lake twice yesterday. First in the usual pattern (counter-clockwise), and then by swimming across the deep side and exploring the backside of the second reef, then crossing the lake near the middle and spending more time in the back reef. Saw a couple of cavorting puffers, a monster green moray, and a bunch of barracuda and a small turtle in the shallows. It was sunset when we exited. A+, would dive again. Icon Of Sin posted:@sharky: you’ll see this when you do a night dive there. The tarpon are going to be borderline brushing you as they use your flashlights to hunt. No concept of personal space, shame, or regret. It’s cool to be that close to a big fish, though
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Nov 19, 2019 12:54
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sharkytm posted:Whatup from Bonaire. It's as nice as everyone says, and everyone should go at some point. Today was day 1, so we slept in, did a buoyancy check and baseline dive at yellow submarine, then went to Bachelor's Beach, driving past about 15 trucks parked at North Belnem, and did a nice 45 minute dive by ourselves. Great vis, a little wave action at the entrance/beach, 88° surface, 84° bottom. I just got back from a short trip to Curacao yesterday. I have a lot of thoughts, but for now: Water was TOO warm, one day it was 86 degrees at 50 feet! If that poo poo continues much longer, bye bye reefs. (30 C at 15 M) I'm scared. Icon Of Sin posted:We had baby green sea turtles ( Oh, I would die for baby turtles, even the enormous ones are cute:  Had some amazing dives, among them a night dive on Piscadera reef (by the fort, what used to be the old Hilton house reef). Saw huge spiny lobster, and had an intense, 5 minute- long encounter with a good sized octopus. He really put on a show, I hope I get some footage from the DM.
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Nov 21, 2019 21:51
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) come see us at Karpata, 1000 steps, and the salt pier. Never did find a seahorse, though 
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Many years ago in Pennekamp I had a small octopus get curious and grab my mask like a facehugger, and then crawl around to hang out on my first stage for the entire rest of the dive. It finally bailed when I headed to the surface. The facehugger part was a little unnerving, because the octopus was just big enough to completely cover my mask and leave me blind, and also wrap its tentacles all the way around my skull. But after that it was kinda neat to have a hitchhiker!
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Nov 21, 2019 22:31
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Kesper North posted:Many years ago in Pennekamp I had a small octopus get curious and grab my mask like a facehugger, and then crawl around to hang out on my first stage for the entire rest of the dive. It finally bailed when I headed to the surface. The facehugger part was a little unnerving, because the octopus was just big enough to completely cover my mask and leave me blind, and also wrap its tentacles all the way around my skull. But after that it was kinda neat to have a hitchhiker! Sounds terrifying, but I'm jealous! So, you were staring right up it's mouth hole? Did you see the beak? I don't think I would mind getting grabbed by tentacles, but for some reason I'm scared of them biting me.
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Nov 21, 2019 22:47
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Squashy Nipples posted:Sounds terrifying, but I'm jealous! I was! I didn't see its beak - they can kinda retract it so that you can't see it most of the time, and the octopus was kind of blocking the light  It moved slowly and gently, and was not behaving the least bit aggressively or scared, so I just held still. My buddy was watching (and recording! I should find the DVD) and would have gently removed the little beastie if I signalled distress. It was one of my most awesome and memorable dives, for sure! Oh, and those grippy suckers? STRONG.
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Nov 21, 2019 23:00
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I'm hoping to book a last min snorkel trip for Christmas. Are there any places that fly under the radar? We're flying out of Colorado..
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Nov 25, 2019 02:38
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deong posted:I'm hoping to book a last min snorkel trip for Christmas. Are there any places that fly under the radar? We're flying out of Colorado.. I don't know about under the radar, but I was just thinking about this the other day. As someone who takes his snorkeling very seriously, where is the best snorkeling? So what makes for good snorkeling? 1 Clear water (good vis), 2 good diversity and density of marine life, and most important, 3 shallow, easily-accessible reefs. So a place like Curacao or Bonaire, which are essentially 100% steep walls, have the first two, but they fail on the third. Great diving, but not as great snorkeling. (sidebar, Curacao is not protected marine sanctuary like Bonaire, that makes a big difference on part 2). In my experience, the best snorkeling is in the Virgin Islands, and not just the BVI, but St Thomas and St John also have some really good shallow reefs just offshore. The USVI National Park maintains a famous, self-guided snorkel tour at St. John. Also lots and great offshore reefs within the boundaries of the National Park are boat accessible. USVI is also good for last minute, because you don't even need passports. Snorkeling in USVI NP I've seen stuff that rivals what I've seen diving! Squashy Nipples fucked around with this message at 02:52 on Nov 25, 2019 |
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Nov 25, 2019 02:50
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deong posted:I'm hoping to book a last min snorkel trip for Christmas. Are there any places that fly under the radar? We're flying out of Colorado.. Hello fellow colorado goon. The Florida keys are cheap and affordable, the Maldives are incredible but expensive. How much do you want to spend?
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Nov 25, 2019 04:29
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Ropes4u posted:Hello fellow colorado goon. I got drunk with my brother and we bought San Juan..  We're going to try to do both sides of the island over 9 days. Hoping it'll be rad. I have a companion pass, so SWA is the main limiting factor. Trying to use the fucker
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Nov 25, 2019 06:25
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PR is super cheap! I've never been (except for flying into the US VI, when I was a kid there wasn't a real airport on St. Thomas). Let us know how it goes. EDIT: This web page is very enthusiastic about PR quote:The main island offers good snorkeling spots, but in case you didn’t know Puerto Rico possesses offshore islands with some of the best snorkeling beaches in the Caribbean. quote:The offshore island of Culebra has been included on “best snorkeling islands in the world”. Between the Navy possessing parts of the island for decades, low development and protection laws, it has helped preserve the coral reefs in great condition. Both the main island of Culebra, Culebrita and the offshore cays will give you weeks worth of excellent snorkeling experiences on the clearest waters Puerto Rico possesses. https://islandsofpuertorico.com/puerto-ricos-best-snorkeling-beaches/ poo poo, now I want to go. I wonder how the diving is? Squashy Nipples fucked around with this message at 12:14 on Nov 25, 2019 |
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Nov 25, 2019 12:08
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Kesper North posted:Oh, and those grippy suckers? STRONG. I've heard! Anyway, three and a half minutes of octopus: https://gofile.io/?c=GoJw4v A few things: -I was the first to come near it, and at first it was posturing at me defensively. When the video begins, he realizes he is surrounded and starts trying to escape. -Several times, he cycles through 3 or 4 color schemes in less then a second! without freeze frame, it's almost like he is flashing. -I've never seen an octopus ink before, I was expecting a much bigger cloud. -Compared to natural sunlight, their camouflage is not as convincing under the harsh glare of LEDs
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Nov 25, 2019 23:34
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Ok, that file service sucks, my apologies. Here is a real Youtube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46OWkWQmcx8
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Nov 26, 2019 16:45
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What do I need to get started with underwater photography? Seems like I need a rig with some flashlights as well as a camera.
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Dec 10, 2019 19:38
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I’d start with a buoyancy class. You need that to be a solid habit (and a good habit) before doing something else that’s going to be taking up some of your attention underwater. Past that, you get what you pay for with underwater cameras. My first was a Hero3 on a selfie stick, and I graduated up to a Hero5 on a tray with broad-beam flashlights acting as flood lights. That kind of setup would probably run around $750-1,000, depending on the lights you get and the model GoPro you pick up. Everything I’ve ever posted in this thread was gotten by rolling video and pulling stills, but if you’re looking for something better there are a ton of other cameras that take better stills than a GoPro (which I’m sure someone here will chime in about their own personal rig).
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Dec 10, 2019 20:17
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My first underwater rig was just a GoPro with the underwater housing. Later I jury rigged a light for it by finding a piece of L shaped plastic and sticking one of the adhesive mounts to it, then attaching a cheap backup light with a hose clamp on the other end. It was janky as gently caress but worked surprisingly well. Really you can't go wrong with starting out with a GoPro. You can upgrade it gradually with lenses and lights as your needs evolve and budget allows. But as Icon says, equipment is secondary to skill. You should be comfortable enough in the water that you can maintain good buoyancy without having to think about it.
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Dec 12, 2019 13:05
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I dove for 25 years before I finally bought a camera last spring. I still only dive about half the time with it... I don't want to focus my diving on picture taking. And yeah, I'm glad I waited, I've got the buoyancy and dexterity skills to get close enough to stuff, stay there long enough to get the pics, and do it without damaging anything. I've still got plenty to learn about underwater photography, but at least my mind isn't occupied with the basic things. So yeah, if you just want a jiggly record of stuff, buy a Go Pro and stick it on your helmet. But if you want to learn to take good pics, start by watching and learning; when you dive with someone who has a nice camera and knows how to use it, study them and how they do it. I bought the Olympus TG5 with a case. I like it because I can use the camera without the case for swimming and snorkeling, and then set it up and go diving. I've taken a few cool shots so far. 
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Dec 12, 2019 14:49
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That Olympus model is what I see everyone use. We use it for work and I've seen customers bring that model about as much as GoPros. It's nice because it has a built in compass, as well as a very necessary white balance. The picture quality is great too. I've seen one of the other staff here outfit it with a couple of strobes and take some amazing shots.;
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Dec 12, 2019 15:01
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I have an Olympus epl5 and the housing plus lights. My wife has a hero7 with the filter set/handle and a flashlight. Her average shots are better than my average shots but my great shots are better than her great shots. Also I average a hell of a lot less great shots than she does. Everything besides average and great is better for her GoPro. And mine takes a hell of a lot more maintenance and room on flights. But I can change to macro lenses and fisheyes if I want... but I never do because I’m never focusing on a single shot when I dive. I’m thinking about a GoPro. And the advice about buoyancy and control is spot on - get comfortable inching up to turtles and seahorses without a camera before doing it with a camera.
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Dec 17, 2019 04:49
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Trivia posted:That Olympus model is what I see everyone use. We use it for work and I've seen customers bring that model about as much as GoPros. It's nice because it has a built in compass, as well as a very necessary white balance. The picture quality is great too. I've seen one of the other staff here outfit it with a couple of strobes and take some amazing shots.; Oh yeah to add to what I already said, I have to post process my pictures to white balance them. But the GoPro? Nope. Damnit
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Dec 17, 2019 04:54
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let it mellow posted:Oh yeah to add to what I already said, I have to post process my pictures to white balance them. But the GoPro? Nope. It really depends on what you want to do. I love my epl5, but I process my pictures and spent a lot of time getting the lenses and setup I want. To be honest, I've never seen really impressive stills off a gopro
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Dec 17, 2019 05:01
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DeadlyMuffin posted:It really depends on what you want to do. I love my epl5, but I process my pictures and spent a lot of time getting the lenses and setup I want. Really impressive is the key term! The pictures that we turned into wall art were all from my epl5. But the average just show it to people on a monitor or tv or phone? Effort vs result rewards the GoPro.
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Dec 17, 2019 05:42
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While we're talking about processing, Dive+ and Photoshop Express have been my go-tos. Dive+ leaves an annoying watermark though, so cropping (in another app) should be one of the last things you do 
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Dec 17, 2019 12:48
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This is a super edge case, but because GoPros are so small, I think they get cold and drain their batteries more easily. I was helping on a project last January doing photo quadrats off the coast of New Hampshire, and the GoPro they planned to use went from full charge to zero after literally just a handful of pictures. I have a Panasonic point and shoot in a housing and that seemed to have enough thermal inertia to keep chugging along. Not an issue if you aren't planning to do any diving in almost-literally-freezing cold water, though! 
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Dec 17, 2019 17:59
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Timmy Age 6 posted:This is a super edge case, but because GoPros are so small, I think they get cold and drain their batteries more easily. I was helping on a project last January doing photo quadrats off the coast of New Hampshire, and the GoPro they planned to use went from full charge to zero after literally just a handful of pictures. I have a Panasonic point and shoot in a housing and that seemed to have enough thermal inertia to keep chugging along. Not an issue if you aren't planning to do any diving in almost-literally-freezing cold water, though! Nice pictures but to hell with that
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Dec 20, 2019 06:04
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It's REALLLY quiet once you get in there... someday I hope to rich enough to extreme-cold water dive with a rebreather.
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Dec 20, 2019 14:18
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My wife and I would like to get a scuba trip in soon. Southwest flights to San Diego are really cheap for us, but will it be too cold to dive comfortably in February? We did our certification in Santa Rosa Blue Hole so we've done chilly dives before, but much colder than that would probably be unpleasant.
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Jan 4, 2020 17:43
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Pham Nuwen posted:My wife and I would like to get a scuba trip in soon. Southwest flights to San Diego are really cheap for us, but will it be too cold to dive comfortably in February? We did our certification in Santa Rosa Blue Hole so we've done chilly dives before, but much colder than that would probably be unpleasant. What wet suits (or dry for there in February) will you have and what are you comfortable diving? Nobody can answer that question except you - it’s going to be cold from my perspective but I’m cold at 78 with a 3.5mm full in 78 so
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Jan 5, 2020 04:44
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let it mellow posted:What wet suits (or dry for there in February) will you have and what are you comfortable diving? We'd be renting suits. I believe we did Blue Hole in 5mm suits. Maybe I'll roll into the local shop and chat with them too.
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Jan 5, 2020 05:01
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This pro diver got swept away by strong underwater currents and floated for 4 days before rescue. https://youtu.be/aEVQdtpJ4tg How rare are these currents? And is this a one out of a million kinda situation?
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Jan 7, 2020 20:20
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It's pretty rare. If you're concerned you can also mitigate risk by carrying a mirror and if you're really concerned a beacon.
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Jan 8, 2020 01:36
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But it's another argument for always carrying an SMB and a light.
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Jan 8, 2020 11:12
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Back home (NC), it was a requirement for some boats that you have at least an SMB. Having had to legit use mine before, I always carry one no matter what. Even if you're in a quarry, being able to create an ascent line on-demand is fairly valuable, especially if you're far enough down that you could lose both the surface and the bottom while ascending. I had to use my SMB when I lost a weight pocket after a giant stride into rough seas. Boat couldn't have seen me otherwise, and I wasn't going to be able to descend with the rest of the group, so either I was going to bob awkwardly and potentially not get picked up...or wave my SMB at the boat whenever I was riding the top of a wave and hope that they saw me.
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Jan 8, 2020 12:25
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If you are on a boat, there is no reason to not carry a SMB. Icon Of Sin posted:I had to use my SMB when I lost a weight pocket after a giant stride into rough seas. Boat couldn't have seen me otherwise, and I wasn't going to be able to descend with the rest of the group, so either I was going to bob awkwardly and potentially not get picked up...or wave my SMB at the boat whenever I was riding the top of a wave and hope that they saw me. The only time I've ever really "needed" it was a similar situation, except that I was a jackass and jumped in without my weight pockets. The only downside to integrated weight pockets is that it's possible to forget them.
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Jan 8, 2020 13:33
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Getting swept away by currents is somewhat rare, but it happens. The ocean is unpredictable. The people are usually found floating on the surface... usually. Anyway, I bought this emergency GPS radio thing: https://www.leisurepro.com/p-aqunlmr/nautilus-life-line-marine-rescue-gps I bring it if we are going to be having any currents, or if I'm diving alone. I clip it to my BC on a leash, and tuck it into the vest velcro strap (opposite my inflator hose).
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Jan 8, 2020 13:37
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Squashy Nipples posted:If you are on a boat, there is no reason to not carry a SMB. If the boat is going to be doing live pickups I prefer to use an smb so the boat isn't relying just on my bubbles for location. I don't want to get run over.
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Jan 8, 2020 19:54
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Turned on my Zoop for the first time in 18 months yesterday in preparation for a refresher I'm doing this week and it looks like the depth sensor is broken. It immediately thought I was in a dive and at 12m while standing in my third storey apartment. Then Suunto's repair form on their website didn't like my post code so now I'm waiting for a call back  Is it just me, or has their quality really declined recently? Also it turned out a set of regs have quite a few o-rings: 
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Jan 19, 2020 02:20
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Anyone have a recommendation for BCD? Mine has p much had it. I work as an instructor so dive every day. Any issues with using a back inflate or wing? I have a jacket style right now but wouldn't mind switching.
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Feb 2, 2020 10:11
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I’ve heard from some of the pro staff I used to work with that back-inflates will frustrate an instructor, because they’ll try to tip you forward into the good horizontal trim position...which can suck if you’re trying to read a slate while kneeling in front of students. I love my back-inflate, but I was just a dm hovering behind the class. Most of our instructors had a jacket-style bcd of some type, they said it was easier to stay vertical and not have to fight with it while you’re trying to read a slate and keep an eye on students at the same time. My bcd is starting to struggle too, I need a new zipper for the weight pocket. It’s only 4 years old and has ~300 dives on it (and who knows how many pool sessions), so I think I got my money’s worth. It’s a sad faded pink, but started out as the deep Hollis red 
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Feb 2, 2020 14:24
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Yeah, I love my back inflation, but I have to admit that it's awkward on the surface, specially when it's choppy. A regular diver like me can minimize time spent on the surface, but if you are teaching, then that's not really an option. If I had to spend time bobbing on the surface while fiddling with newbie's gear, I would definitely go back to the old jacket-style. As for back inflation BCDs, I love love love my Scubapro Nighthawk. The newer Hyrdos Pro has a few improvements (like removable integrated weighting), but it's hard to beat the reliability of the Nighthawk. I've got about 120 dives on mine, and it's just now starting to look a little used. I may have to replace the bungee soon, but only because I got it caught on something and stretched it out a bit. If not a one-piece wing BCD, I would go full tech and get a separate wing and backplane design.
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Feb 2, 2020 14:51
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Yeah I've been reading that backinflate/wings are a bit annoying at the surface. Problem is that I may have found a used BCD that's a fraction of the price. Instead of a new one at 600 I've found one for 250 practically used. I don't do THAT many courses honestly, and using shop BCDs is a potential option. I also typically carry a lot of poo poo so wonder if lack of pockets will be a hindrance. I'll see if I can't try one out before I buy.
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Feb 2, 2020 16:15
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