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got a hole in my drysuit patched and I have to say, I'm an idiot. Why was I diving a leaky suit for months?
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Mar 5, 2024 00:50
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ploots posted:got a hole in my drysuit patched and I have to say, I'm an idiot. Why was I diving a leaky suit for months? Because it’s drat hard to tell sometimes! I’ve done the same. Is it a leak? Is it condensation? Is it just the normal amounts of water that come in? 
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Mar 7, 2024 03:49
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Oh I knew for sure it was a leak. It was on the back of a boot, I was worried the shop would tell me I had to send it back to the manufacturer. So instead I just got one really cold wet foot on every dive for months
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Mar 7, 2024 05:49
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I saw a very weird thing on a dive this afternoon: a snail with its foot way out, using it kind of like a sail as it floated along in the current, 3-4 ft off the bottom. I also found a young giant pacific octopus in its den, looking forward to visiting it over the next few months. The spot it picked doesn't have many options for dens as it grows, so I have a good chance of being able to keep an eye on it if it stays in the neighborhood. e: somebody tell me if this snail is dead or what https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBHtR06jgNc ploots fucked around with this message at 03:02 on Mar 12, 2024 |
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Mar 11, 2024 04:34
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Anyone have suggestions for dive shops and/or worthwhile dive sites in the St. Petersburg/Tampa area? I got PADI certified about 6 months ago in Mexico and have only done a handful of dives, and my buddy is a lot more experienced than I but hasn't done any diving for a couple years. We're flying down to St. Pete in two weeks to spend a few days with the intention of just doing some chill, easy dives to make sure we're both comfortable with everything and with diving together before we plan a more exciting dive trip. We were also trying to decide if it's worthwhile to rent or charter a boat or just get some recommendations from a shop for where to go dive off the beach.
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Mar 25, 2024 15:44
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At the end of last summer I went through all my SSI training (classroom, pool) but I couldn't fit a checkout dive into my schedule before the local shop stopped for the winter. They're starting back up and have two checkout weekends in April and May, but I'm traveling to Costa Rica in early June and wondering about getting certified there (and doing some diving). I see a few SSI shops around where I'll be (Papagayo) but I'm wondering how much of a logistical problem this might be. Has anyone done this (training in the US, then cert dive overseas), particularly with SSI? Thanks for any advice. Jato posted:Anyone have suggestions for dive shops and/or worthwhile dive sites in the St. Petersburg/Tampa area? Looks like you did something similar with PADI--how did it work for you?
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Mar 27, 2024 17:24
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I did the entire training in Mexico with the dive shop there, so it was a bit different. We didn't do any classroom or pool practice, just the online coursework before arriving, followed by two days of diving with an instructor in the cenotes and one day in the ocean. I believe that if you reach out to an SSI shop down there and share what you've done so far they'd be happy to schedule an instructor-supervised dive with you that would fulfill the requirement.
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Mar 27, 2024 17:44
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Jato posted:or just get some recommendations from a shop for where to go dive off the beach. I have tons of shore dives, but at your level of experience I can't recommend doing it without a local guide. You don't have to charter a boat, you can hire someone for guided shore dive, which tends to be cheaper.
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Mar 27, 2024 19:32
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Jato posted:Anyone have suggestions for dive shops and/or worthwhile dive sites in the St. Petersburg/Tampa area? I worked for a bit with Florida Fish & Wildlife in St. Pete and we got our tanks and gear serviced at Bill Jackson's in Pinellas Park. You can rent gear there. There's not a ton of good shore diving in the immediate area, but if you don't mind doing a bit more driving, Venice Beach is about an hour down the road and is all right. There are some artificial reefs just offshore where you get snook and groupers hanging out, plus it's known for the fossil shark teeth you can find in the sand. I think when we did it back in 2016 we hit up Service Club Park but that was just something we picked without too much local knowledge.
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Mar 28, 2024 00:56
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Phil Moscowitz posted:At the end of last summer I went through all my SSI training (classroom, pool) but I couldn't fit a checkout dive into my schedule before the local shop stopped for the winter. They're starting back up and have two checkout weekends in April and May, but I'm traveling to Costa Rica in early June and wondering about getting certified there (and doing some diving). Haven't done this myself and no experience of SSI but as long as you have some proof that you've done the initial training, a lot of places will be perfectly happy to do the practical element/open water dives. They might require you do a bit of a check out in a pool or similar beforehand just to confirm you haven't forgotten anything or had an incompetent instructor. In general, be safe and contact the place ahead of time to make sure they're happy to do that.
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Mar 28, 2024 01:23
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What you're asking about is called a referral. It's not uncommon for people to do this, though it's generally considered a crapshoot by the destination dive shop. The reason is that there's no real way of knowing how the training went (or it's quality) since you did it with someone else. The first time your instructor sees you will be in the open ocean, and depending on shop and locale, can be difficult. PADI and as far as I know SSI have procedures in place for referrals. Email and ask. If you did your study using e-learning, they can check your product code and confirm you've finished the theory. They may still give you a short quiz on arrival however.
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Mar 28, 2024 03:37
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I don't recommend diving as a buddy team until you have at least 50 dives experience under your belt. As a general metric. Besides, a guide is great because they'll show you things and places you wouldn't know anything about. They're also an added layer of security. After being shown the site, then it's safe(r) to do it as a pair. As for places that allow rentals and diving sans guide, go to Bonaire. It's almost all shore diving and guides are optional. Or so I'm told.
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Mar 28, 2024 03:43
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Squashy Nipples posted:I have tons of shore dives, but at your level of experience I can't recommend doing it without a local guide. You don't have to charter a boat, you can hire someone for guided shore dive, which tends to be cheaper. Seconding this. Don't even feel like you have to find someone who gets paid to guide. An experienced local diver might be down to just show a newbie around, I certainly would. If you offer to pay for gas or buy lunch that's awesome. Trivia posted:I don't recommend diving as a buddy team until you have at least 50 dives experience under your belt. As a general metric. If someone is looking to dive where they live, then I think they may be better off tracking down local divers than paid guides. At least around here guides are probably *less* experienced than the serious local divers, and it also introduces the diver to a community of people to dive with for fun, rather than a business transaction. DeadlyMuffin fucked around with this message at 03:51 on Mar 28, 2024 |
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Mar 28, 2024 03:45
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Very good points all around. If you're new, then that guide, either professional or local, is going to be doing work when they take you diving. Buy them lunch and a beer at the least ya.
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Mar 28, 2024 03:55
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Trivia posted:As for places that allow rentals and diving sans guide, go to Bonaire. It's almost all shore diving and guides are optional. Or so I'm told. Bonaire really is that fantastic, I finally got to go last spring. Its just super easy diving, no currents, and all of the sites are well-marked. Literally just get in your truck, drive around, find a yellow rock, scout the entry point, put your poo poo on and dive. It really is as awesome as it sounds. DeadlyMuffin posted:If someone is looking to dive where they live, then I think they may be better off tracking down local divers than paid guides. At least around here guides are probably *less* experienced than the serious local divers, and it also introduces the diver to a community of people to dive with for fun, rather than a business transaction. Yeah, look for a local dive club! I'm a member of the South Shore Neptunes (Quincy MA), and we are part of the Mass Bay Council of Divers, an umbrella group for all of the local clubs. Open invitation to any goons in this thread, come up to Boston and The Neptunes will take you diving. Free lobstah! (must be prepared to dive cold water, either a dry suit or layers upon layers of neoprene)
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Mar 29, 2024 15:36
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Squashy Nipples posted:Bonaire really is that fantastic, I finally got to go last spring. Not no current. We dove at Red Slave with some goon-friends, and the current was ripping. I've heard the same for dives in the Park up north. That said, the diving was amazing and my wife and I had a blast on our own.
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Mar 29, 2024 16:40
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Yeah diving with a buddy and no guide really just hits different.
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Mar 30, 2024 00:49
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Ok, no current compared to Aruba.
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Mar 30, 2024 12:27
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I've never been to Bonaire but I've done hundreds of dives next door in Curaçao. There are a lot of sites that have no current 99% of the time and then on that other one percent they really take you by surprise.
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Mar 30, 2024 23:35
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Bonaire was great when I went (2019). Thinking about going back with some friends maybe later this year. How’s the coral looking after last year’s bleaching?
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Mar 30, 2024 23:47
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My parents were just down in the Caribbean. Said the bleaching disease is spreading and dive boats are sterilizing gear on the boat immediately after the dive. Situation sounds pretty dire.
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Mar 31, 2024 00:42
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Trivia posted:My parents were just down in the Caribbean. Said the bleaching disease is spreading and dive boats are sterilizing gear on the boat immediately after the dive. This was the situation in Bonaire last spring, the gear bleaching is some scary poo poo. Where are they?
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Mar 31, 2024 00:49
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I can't remember where exactly. They jump around down there quite a bit. Probably was Bonaire.
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Mar 31, 2024 00:54
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We return to Bonaire for the 10th time or so next month it’s everything I could ask for in a dive location but that is changing. Some friend just returned and said the bleaching is definitely worse this year. IMHO the island is losing its charm with the development and flood of non divers but hey at least the Dutch are cashing in, I guess.
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Apr 2, 2024 04:38
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Ropes4u posted:We return to Bonaire for the 10th time or so next month it’s everything I could ask for in a dive location but that is changing. Some friend just returned and said the bleaching is definitely worse this year. That's sad to hear. I was there in 2015 and really loved how it was truly just diving. The diving was easy, and the whole island revolved around it. It seemed like the overhead compartment was 50% regulator bags. I keep meaning to back but time off is limited and it's a big world out there... DeadlyMuffin fucked around with this message at 05:14 on Apr 2, 2024 |
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Apr 2, 2024 05:09
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Squashy Nipples posted:I have tons of shore dives, but at your level of experience I can't recommend doing it without a local guide. You don't have to charter a boat, you can hire someone for guided shore dive, which tends to be cheaper. Thanks to you and the others for the responses. We talked it over and also saw that the conditions are pretty bad right now anyway for diving off the shore. Decided to instead book an Advanced Open Water course with a shop nearby and we'll be doing some lake and grotto dives the next two days for the course and certification.
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Apr 5, 2024 19:09
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Jato posted:conditions are pretty bad right now anyway for diving off the shore. Yeah, knowledge of local currents, tides, and weather is just as important with familiarity with the dive site and it's entry and exit points. If I took you to Lane's Cove to catch lobsters (Rockport MA), I know the current is going one of two directions, plus the tide is going in or out. So I can check the weather report and tide tables, and know what I need to before I even go.
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Apr 10, 2024 16:50
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Yeah, as a newbie to a site you don't know what you don't know. To quote Rumsfeld, an "unknown unknown."
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Apr 11, 2024 03:06
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One of my favorite dive sites in Okinawa (Mermaid's Grotto/Apogama) is absolutely gorgeous and not too tough in the right conditions but in the wrong conditions it is absolutely deadly. Four people died there last year, including one of the students at the university I worked at and the guy who invented Yu-Gi-Oh. The thing that's really nasty is that the "wrong" conditions can actually consist of a gorgeous day but the tide is out and there are (even fairly small) waves coming over the top of the reef. It's just that the topography there is such that it doesn't take a lot of wave action to create a truly impressive rip current.
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Apr 14, 2024 07:19
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Underwater rips are no joke. I got stuck in one with 2 DSD students (both teenagers), definitely ranks as one of the top stressful events of my life. The lifeguards saw me waving an SMB at them and thought “oh, I wonder what he wants? 🤔” Thankfully one of the other divemasters came out to give me a hand pulling back 2 very tired students. We got spat out FAR from shore, but did exactly what you’re supposed to and then made our way back. The sheer power of a rip current was pretty terrifying, the currents chose where we were going and there was no debate, no argument, no option to the contrary until we could break out of it.
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Apr 14, 2024 12:33
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I like to tell my students that the ocean is aggressively indifferent to your existence. You're just along for the ride. Some of them get it. Some require personal experience first.
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Apr 14, 2024 15:41
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Trivia posted:I like to tell my students that the ocean is aggressively indifferent to your existence. You're just along for the ride. My dive instructor at UC Davis was one of those old dudes who has been around since the early days of SCUBA, and he would constantly say stuff like "you may love the ocean but it doesn't love you" and "never turn your back on the ocean". He was full of stories of people who died while diving, and every lesson we learned from him is burned into my brain because of it. I do love the ocean but I will never not be at least 20% scared of it.
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Apr 18, 2024 01:56
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MrNemo posted:Haven't done this myself and no experience of SSI but as long as you have some proof that you've done the initial training, a lot of places will be perfectly happy to do the practical element/open water dives. They might require you do a bit of a check out in a pool or similar beforehand just to confirm you haven't forgotten anything or had an incompetent instructor. I decided I was better off finishing up with the local shop and I’m very glad I did. Them having all my paperwork and equipment and knowing me and how I did in the class/confined dives made everything very comfortable and friendly. It’s a good group of instructors and spending two days of my vacation in another country exhausting myself doing five dives with a new instructor would have sucked.
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Apr 22, 2024 03:48
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Trig Discipline posted:My dive instructor at UC Davis was one of those old dudes who has been around since the early days of SCUBA, and he would constantly say stuff like "you may love the ocean but it doesn't love you" and "never turn your back on the ocean". He was full of stories of people who died while diving, and every lesson we learned from him is burned into my brain because of it. I do love the ocean but I will never not be at least 20% scared of it. I taught an adult friend of mine how to swim while we were in Aruba, and I remember telling him to stop fighting the waves and to bob along with them. "The ocean will kill you with the flick of her wrist, and she won't even notice."
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Apr 22, 2024 15:49
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You can see one of my seawing fins in the corner of the underwater picture: https://www.facebook.com/puredivingaruba/posts/pfbid02KuhmKqQPwJZ155PbnfMbKhduWvZLid2m4XZjEryuHPaGgBQhSeR3kHx2sLDHu5izl https://depalm.com/submarine-tours/ This was a cool experience, we knew we would be in the same vicinity as the sub on our second dive, as we could see the tender boat when we dropped in. Its a real submarine, 100% battery electric, and it sounds completely alien. As soon as we were on the wall, we could hear it, this eerie whirring of the drive servos. I felt like we were chasing the loving thing for 15 minutes, getting closer and closer, when I realized it was chasing us! It was a fairly turbid day, and suddenly this huge loving thing appears out of nowhere. Moves with speed and agility, and we could see the people inside.
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Apr 22, 2024 16:00
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We got passed by the submarine tour while we were diving YO-257 off Honolulu. It’s kinda surreal seeing something man made that big moving that fast underwater.
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Apr 22, 2024 21:53
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There is a submarine in Cozumel as well. I was glad we never got close to it.
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Apr 22, 2024 21:54
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MrYenko posted:We got passed by the submarine tour while we were diving YO-257 off Honolulu. It’s kinda surreal seeing something man made that big moving that fast underwater. I had a tourist submarine go by me in Guam. I could see vague silhouettes so I waved, and I could see a bunch of people waving back, which was fun.
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Apr 22, 2024 22:22
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I haven't had a close call with a submarine but the goddamn glass bottom boats full of tourists would come and just hover over us while we were working in Curacao and it pissed us off to no end. For one thing it's a safety issue, but for another thing we don't want tourists seeing us catch fish for research and think it's okay for them to do the same. The methods we use (barrier nets, dip nets, and chemicals while on SCUBA) are straight up illegal for anyone who doesn't have special permission. We're also often negatively buoyant and crawling around on the substrate, so it's not even a good example to set for the tourists for how to dive safely/responsibly. Also possibly the most terrifying "I'm going to loving die" moment I've ever had on SCUBA was when one of those fuckers went right over us in barely enough water for us to cling to the bottom and have it go over us. I could feel my whole body thrumming with the vibrations from the engine.
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Apr 23, 2024 00:29
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Squashy Nipples posted:I taught an adult friend of mine how to swim while we were in Aruba, and I remember telling him to stop fighting the waves and to bob along with them. "The ocean will kill you with the flick of her wrist, and she won't even notice." "If I kill you, what business of it is yours? "
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Apr 23, 2024 00:55
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