Scuba Diving (1 Viewer)

[BlueDredSo]

I searched around and didn't see any topics directly related, so does anyone on here scuba dive? I'm just finished up my certification and was lucky enough to do my first open water dive in Jamaica. By the way, someone posted in the Caribbean thread to cross Jamaica off your list in terms of safety - Yeah, maybe if you're wandering around by yourself, but if you stay on a resort, which most people do, you'll be more than safe. Anyway, the dive in Jamaica was ok, but really not much to see on the South shore. We stayed at Sandals Whitehouse (amazing resort). The water was pretty rough as even the Divemaster said so.

Diving in the Bahamas in September. I heard the water and scenery is much better there. There will at least be a few shipwrecks and coral reefs, which seemed non-existant in Jamaica.

I have yet to buy my own gear besides a mask, snorkel, fins, and boots. Rental gear so far has been either free or pretty cheap. Living in Buffalo I'm not in a real hurry to buy my own, especially considering the stuff is expensive.

So, any recommendations, tips, etc? I only know of one girl among my group of friends who is interested in it, and already certified. My wife has 0 interest as she gets claustrophobic, but at least she'll snorkel around above and with me.

 

[MikeIke]

My wife and I tried it out on our honeymoon in Jamaica, really enjoyed it. Haven't done it in 11 years since, but there is a dive school near my house that we've always been interested in trying.

 

[Kal El]

My brother in law has his divemaster certification, and he and my sister go diving on local reefs a lot. I'm going to try and get my dive certification, and maybe pick up some extra cash from that somehow. I've been diving once, and it was lots of fun. My only complaint was that I had a hard time staying at the same depth, but that apparently happens a lot with rookies.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Love it. Been certified since 82 dove all over the world. keep doing it, have fun and I wouldn't bother buying your own equipment unless you're doing a bunch of local dives.

 

[bulldog_guy]

I would consider buying a regulator and possibly fins. But I agree have fun in the Bahamas. Still lots of live coral there but it has seen much die off over the last few years. Plenty of beauty there.

 

[ThreeThousand]

Been certified for > 20 years. Sounds like you've got the basics covered - I wouldn't purchase anything other than mask/fins/snorkel. Way too much gear to lug around on trips, when renting it is like $10/dive, depending on where you are.

Favorite dive spots for me - Bermuda and Grand Cayman. Did the Bahamas once on a live-aboard (Blackbeard's cruises, now defunct IIRC), you are going to love it.

 

[-jb-]

Yep, big diver here. I've logged a few hundred dives over the last nine years...one of my favorite things to do. Regarding gear, I recommend:

• Keep doing it for a while, and see if your interest wanes. For some it, does. For others (me), you're hooked for life.
• Understand what kind of diving you plan to do, and consider the impact of that. If you only plan to dive on vacation (understandable, given your location), you have to consider the logistics of packing your gear, the cost of the airline to check it (typically $25), and the frequency that you will use it.
• If you still want to own gear, do some research. What kind of reg do you like best? BC? Back-inflate vs. jacket, octo vs. air2, etc. Don't be hasty. Great resources are scubaboard,com (FFA for divers), and leisurepro.com (amazon for divers). If you do decide to buy, and are only committed to vacation diving, there are a lot of great travel BCs out there.
• I would absolutely buy a mask, fins, and snorkel, though. You can use them to snorkel with your wife, they're affordable, packable, and can make or break your comfort level when diving. (eta - i see that you already have done this).

As for me, I do own my own gear. I've had the misfortune of diving once with a regulator that had been previously used by a smoker, and once by someone who must have been sick as I came down with a pretty nasty cold shortly thereafter. Dive outfits claim that they sterilize regs in between trips, but my experience proves otherwise. To that end, make sure you test your gear before getting on the boat.

Questions, let me know.

PS - I hear the claustrophobia thing a lot, and don't really get it. Snorkeling is far more claustrophobic feeling than scuba diving. Two dimensional experience vs. three.

 

[Chaos Commish]

Love it. Been certified since 82 dove all over the world. keep doing it, have fun and I wouldn't bother buying your own equipment unless you're doing a bunch of local dives.

Speaking of local dives, I've dove the kelp beds and the canyon at La Jolla a few times, but I've never gone out anywhere in OC. I'll probably have a few opportunities in the next couple weeks. Suggestions?

 

[bulldog_guy]

Yep, big diver here. I've logged a few hundred dives over the last nine years...one of my favorite things to do. Regarding gear, I recommend:....

As for me, I do own my own gear. I've had the misfortune of diving once with a regulator that had been previously used by a smoker, and once by someone who must have been sick as I came down with a pretty nasty cold shortly thereafter. Dive outfits claim that they sterilize regs in between trips, but my experience proves otherwise. To that end, make sure you test your gear before getting on the boat.

Yep had a similar experience and it was not pleasant. That is why I recommended a reg.

And yes snorkel, mask and fins are worthwhile buying as your first purchase for snorkeling.

Also I highly recommend a live aboard if you really enjoy diving. You can get 3-4 dives a day for multiple days on these trips. I did my first live-aboard in the Bahama's and that trip took diving to another level for me.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Love it. Been certified since 82 dove all over the world. keep doing it, have fun and I wouldn't bother buying your own equipment unless you're doing a bunch of local dives.

Speaking of local dives, I've dove the kelp beds and the canyon at La Jolla a few times, but I've never gone out anywhere in OC. I'll probably have a few opportunities in the next couple weeks. Suggestions?

Crystal cove, major hike in and out though. And there's lots of great little coves in Laguna. 1000 steps is pretty cool, when the elevator works. I've done most of my diving while traveling however. Let me know when you go, maybe I can meet you.

 

[BlueDredSo]

My wife and I tried it out on our honeymoon in Jamaica, really enjoyed it. Haven't done it in 11 years since, but there is a dive school near my house that we've always been interested in trying.

Nice. I'm not exactly sure when the next time I'll get out there will be after this Bahamas trip. There are actually a few spots around WNY and Canada that I've heard are pretty cool. Obviously nothing tropical, but a lot of wrecks and whatnot.

Funny your username is MikeIke. My Twitter handle is mike_or_ike because 1/2 my friends call me Mike and 1/2 call me Ike.

 

[BlueDredSo]

My brother in law has his divemaster certification, and he and my sister go diving on local reefs a lot. I'm going to try and get my dive certification, and maybe pick up some extra cash from that somehow. I've been diving once, and it was lots of fun. My only complaint was that I had a hard time staying at the same depth, but that apparently happens a lot with rookies.

Yeah, it's tough at first getting your buoyancy under control, and can be frustrating. Over time your breathing will become easier and as a result your buoyancy gets better. Going up and down a little bit with every breath will happen to everyone though. Staying exactly neutral will a long time to master.

That being said, I've only been in open water once so far...

 

[BlueDredSo]

Been certified for > 20 years. Sounds like you've got the basics covered - I wouldn't purchase anything other than mask/fins/snorkel. Way too much gear to lug around on trips, when renting it is like $10/dive, depending on where you are.

Favorite dive spots for me - Bermuda and Grand Cayman. Did the Bahamas once on a live-aboard (Blackbeard's cruises, now defunct IIRC), you are going to love it.

Yeah, I guess there is a dive shop right across from Atlantis on Paradise Island. They charge $10/ea for a regulator and BCD, and another $15 for a computer. I'll gladly pay that rather than $800+ for my own gear that's not complete crap.

Thanks, it's pretty awesome that I've had the opportunity to go down there twice in my rookie year. Only thing is it's going to spoil me as I definitely won't like the waters around here as much.

 

[-jb-]

Yep, big diver here. I've logged a few hundred dives over the last nine years...one of my favorite things to do. Regarding gear, I recommend:....

As for me, I do own my own gear. I've had the misfortune of diving once with a regulator that had been previously used by a smoker, and once by someone who must have been sick as I came down with a pretty nasty cold shortly thereafter. Dive outfits claim that they sterilize regs in between trips, but my experience proves otherwise. To that end, make sure you test your gear before getting on the boat.

Yep had a similar experience and it was not pleasant. That is why I recommended a reg.And yes snorkel, mask and fins are worthwhile buying as your first purchase for snorkeling.

Also I highly recommend a live aboard if you really enjoy diving. You can get 3-4 dives a day for multiple days on these trips. I did my first live-aboard in the Bahama's and that trip took diving to another level for me.

My only issue with buying just a reg is the hose fitting that connects to the BC for inflation. You're usually okay but can get, uh, hosed so to speak if they're incompatible.

 

[BlueDredSo]

Yep, big diver here. I've logged a few hundred dives over the last nine years...one of my favorite things to do. Regarding gear, I recommend:

• Keep doing it for a while, and see if your interest wanes. For some it, does. For others (me), you're hooked for life.
• Understand what kind of diving you plan to do, and consider the impact of that. If you only plan to dive on vacation (understandable, given your location), you have to consider the logistics of packing your gear, the cost of the airline to check it (typically $25), and the frequency that you will use it.
• If you still want to own gear, do some research. What kind of reg do you like best? BC? Back-inflate vs. jacket, octo vs. air2, etc. Don't be hasty. Great resources are scubaboard,com (FFA for divers), and leisurepro.com (amazon for divers). If you do decide to buy, and are only committed to vacation diving, there are a lot of great travel BCs out there.
• I would absolutely buy a mask, fins, and snorkel, though. You can use them to snorkel with your wife, they're affordable, packable, and can make or break your comfort level when diving. (eta - i see that you already have done this).

As for me, I do own my own gear. I've had the misfortune of diving once with a regulator that had been previously used by a smoker, and once by someone who must have been sick as I came down with a pretty nasty cold shortly thereafter. Dive outfits claim that they sterilize regs in between trips, but my experience proves otherwise. To that end, make sure you test your gear before getting on the boat.

Questions, let me know.

PS - I hear the claustrophobia thing a lot, and don't really get it. Snorkeling is far more claustrophobic feeling than scuba diving. Two dimensional experience vs. three.

Sounds like a good plan. I highly doubt my interest will wane, but can't be too sure. Right now I don't plan on buying my own gear, for reasons you've mentioned.

I've been on scubaboard a lot. Great stuff there. I'll have to check out leisurepro once I'm interested in some more gear. I figured there had to be something like that around the internet. Unfortunately I was burned by a guy on Craigslist on some old equipment, but luckily have managed to make most of my money back while not screwing other people over. I'm definitely keeping my mask, fins, and snorkel. Brand new from my instructor's shop. Pricey, but I've learned you get what you pay for in this hobby.

That's pretty gross. In Jamaica all of the gear was in a sterilization bucket during the boat ride out there, and then we just grabbed it out before we went it. Hopefully they'll do the same in the Bahamas.

I get what you're saying about snorkeling vs scuba, but with snorkeling you're already at the surface. Her fear is that if something happens you're stuck down in 40+ ft of water, even though we all know there are many, many precautions taken to prevent drowning. She's not one who will even risk it, at all.

 

[Chaos Commish]

Love it. Been certified since 82 dove all over the world. keep doing it, have fun and I wouldn't bother buying your own equipment unless you're doing a bunch of local dives.

Speaking of local dives, I've dove the kelp beds and the canyon at La Jolla a few times, but I've never gone out anywhere in OC. I'll probably have a few opportunities in the next couple weeks. Suggestions?

Crystal cove, major hike in and out though. And there's lots of great little coves in Laguna. 1000 steps is pretty cool, when the elevator works. I've done most of my diving while traveling however. Let me know when you go, maybe I can meet you.

I'll be in Laguna all weekend. Family reunion/summer vacation and so not looking forward to the crowds. The best way to work in a dive is to outlast them. I'll be house sitting next week nearby so that's when I should have a couple free mornings. I'll pm this weekend when I have a better feel for a schedule.