SCUBA Diving Thread

Queso · Jun 23, 2006

OK all, having just seen Mudbug's avatar, I'm reminded of something Blue Velvet posted a few weeks ago regarding one of my hobbies. Considering so many of us live near the coasts, how many divers do we have on the board? What sort of diving do you like doing, and whereabouts in the world have you taken the plunge?

To kick things off, I'm a PADI Rescue Diver and NAUI Advanced Shark Diver (all together now, oooohhh!!

) with a couple of hundred dives under my belt. I do wreck diving when in the UK, but have also dived in Australia, Thailand, South Africa, Egypt, Spain and the USA (including Hawaii). Favourite diving area has to be the Natal coast in South Africa. Masses of sharks and even some dolphins

Anyone else? And do you have any diving stories or underwater photos you'd like to post?

iShane · Jun 23, 2006

I've been diving once, and that was while on a cruise to the Bahamas. I really liked it though. It was amazing. My brother took some underwater photos. Maybe I'll try to find them later if I'm feeling ambitious.

medea · Jun 23, 2006

Ummm I've been snorkeling, but it was fun. Cave diving has always sounded interesting.

Queso · Jun 23, 2006

medea said:
Ummm I've been snorkeling, but it was fun. Cave diving has always sounded interesting.

I've always thought cave diving was way too scary. I'll go inside wrecks, but you're really never that far away from getting out again most of the time, and as long as you reel off two lines when you go in, you can always find the exit even if one comes loose. Caving is a step beyond that, and I think I'd just end up getting all claustrophobic.

Sometimes the snorkelling is better than the diving. There's some great shallow reefs in Australia where you never need to go lower than about five metres, and having the extra movement makes the whole thing so much more pleasurable. Where did you snorkel?

BTW, skipskop24, found those photos yet?

Peterkro · Jun 23, 2006

Advanced open water although a beginner to tell the truth,mainly in NZ but the barrier reef as well.Have had Dolphins play with me and 2 others for 20 mins. Which was fairly spectacular(the women with us screaming "that's better than sex" as she got out.I've also got a geeky interest in rebreathers though have yet to get my hands on one.

PADI Put Another Dollar In.

oreomac · Jun 23, 2006

I've only ever done snorkling but I've never been confident enough to go underwater with snorkel, I'm worried I won't be able to blow the water out of the tube.

I'd love to go scuba diving but I don't know when I'd go. There is a place local where you can try for free, which I'm thinking about doing.

medea · Jun 23, 2006

dynamicv said:
Where did you snorkel?

Just in Key West and around Florida where I happen to live.
That is what I like about snorkeling, the freedom. I've tried on the tanks and all that for diving and didn't really feel comfortable so I passed on it. That was quite a while ago though so I'd definitely give it a shot now if the opportunity came up.

Abstract · Jun 23, 2006

dynamicv said:
Sometimes the snorkelling is better than the diving. There's some great shallow reefs in Australia where you never need to go lower than about five metres, and having the extra movement makes the whole thing so much more pleasurable. Where did you snorkel?

I was going to say the same thing. I'd only dive recreationally (only several dives), and didn't even bother with my PADI license (ie: the really basic one that everyone gets in like 3 days) because anyone can do it, and it doesn't really mean anything. Even if you don't have it, you can still go diving on your own after 5 minutes with the "instructor."

And generally, I find that snorkelling gives me as much pleasure as scuba diving, especially in the parts of Australia where the coral is just a 1-2 minute swim from shore, and the coral is literally just 3-5 metres underwater. Love that.

And if I want to take a closer look, I just dive down with my snorkel gear. No biggie, although a bit frightening since I only taught myself how to swim in November for like 8 weeks.

iBlue · Jun 23, 2006

I've done it, once. I was sort of given a crash course and just went for it. I know now that wasn't real bright.

My mother and her husband dive all the time and they make me want to do the same. I'm taking a vacation (of sorts) in about a week and I plan on scuba diving then... got the perfect location for it.

D0ct0rteeth · Jun 23, 2006

I've done a few dives and I really enjoyed it.

I thought I would never go again once I moved to Arizona, but AZ actually has the most divers per capia of any state. mest be the lakes and proximity to Mexico/California etc..

Queso · Jun 24, 2006

Peterkro said:
PADI Put Another Dollar In.

In the UK we also have BSAC - Better Send Another Cheque

medea said:
Just in Key West and around Florida where I happen to live.

I did a river dive in central Florida which was excellent. There were these tiny turtles everywhere, and ever so often you'd go over a hot water spring and it was like being in the bath

Kernow · Jun 24, 2006

My girlfriend bought me a scuba diving course for Christmas. I'm just waiting for the weather to warm up a bit as most of it is done in a lake near Croydon, but I can't wait. She learnt to dive in Australia last year and having seen the pictures, it made me want to start too.

Queso · Jun 24, 2006

Kernow said:
My girlfriend bought me a scuba diving course for Christmas. I'm just waiting for the weather to warm up a bit as most of it is done in a lake near Croydon, but I can't wait. She learnt to dive in Australia last year and having seen the pictures, it made me want to start too.

Wise move waiting. I did my open water course in Weymouth in February. The water was 8˚C, which is way too cold when you're just sat underwater in a line until the instructor gets to you. I remember the guy next to me shivering like mad after we came up. Brrrr!

Are you going to be drysuiting it? Lakes can be really cold once you get under.

BTW, I think my adoption of the weather symbol has worked it's magic, so I shall now switch back to my usual 'tar. Thanks for the temporary loan

Kernow · Jun 24, 2006

dynamicv said:
BTW, I think my adoption of the weather symbol has worked it's magic, so I shall now switch back to my usual 'tar. Thanks for the temporary loan

No worries - should be a cracking day whatever the weather.

I don't know about drysuits - a friend did his course in the same place a few weeks ago and didn't mention it, so I assumed that it would be wetsuits. I went surfing on New Years day a couple of years ago - surely it can't be as cold as that

Queso · Jun 24, 2006

Kernow said:
No worries - should be a cracking day whatever the weather.

I don't know about drysuits - a friend did his course in the same place a few weeks ago and didn't mention it, so I assumed that it would be wetsuits. I went surfing on New Years day a couple of years ago - surely it can't be as cold as that

The trouble with the open water course is that you're not constantly moving so you feel the cold quicker. If there's only two or three of you it's not too bad, but any more than four and you'll notice it in a wet suit. Ring the school and find out how many you'll be training with. They'll also advise you on the site and likely water temperature.

We can speak about this later today if you like. I've got lots of RealWorld™ stuff to do this morning if I'm going to be sat in a park drinking all afternoon

Abstract · Jun 24, 2006

dynamicv said:
Wise move waiting. I did my open water course in Weymouth in February. The water was 8˚C, which is way too cold when you're just sat underwater in a line until the instructor gets to you. I remember the guy next to me shivering like mad after we came up. Brrrr!

Are you going to be drysuiting it? Lakes can be really cold once you get under.

BTW, I think my adoption of the weather symbol has worked it's magic, so I shall now switch back to my usual 'tar. Thanks for the temporary loan

No offense, but is there anything to see if diving in the UK?

Doesn't sound like the most obvious place to go for a dive.

And here are some snorkelling photos. No no, they're not diving.

Again, I find snorkelling to be better or almost as good as diving, especially when you only need to swim from the beach for 2 minutes to get to a reef and fishies. However, I haven't been diving for 2 years now. Maybe I should give it another go next time I get the chance.

Queso · Jun 24, 2006

Abstract, those pics are fantastic. Makes me want to head off somewhere with coral reefs. I love turtles especially. Such great creatures to be around.

The diving in the UK is mostly wreck based, although the water off the coast of Scotland is really clear and you get a lot of soft corals and seals. We also get a lot of warmer water fish off the south coast that come up the Gulf Stream from the Carribean and can't get back (I've even seen parrotfish on one occasion, which was a bit of a surprise

). If you go down to Cornwall and the Scilly Isles (extreme south-west of England) during the summer months you'll also see basking sharks, although the viz tends to be quite bad when they're around as they only come when there's a plankton bloom on.

I suppose your perspective on how good it is depends on what you're used to. Down in Oz you're spoilt by just how amazing the sealife is, so a lot of Aussies that go diving in the UK don't rate it. However, if you like to mix a bit of history in with the sea life, the UK is one of the best places to dive IMO.

ejb190 · Jun 24, 2006

Living near the coast to be a diver? Nah, I'm about two hours from Chicago. Lake Michigan isn't too bad to dive. I love cold water diving. I used to do a lot of quary diving when I was in Pennsylvania. Some really awsome places out there. Not to say I haven't enjoyed diving the wrecks off of North Carolina. Tiger Sharks are impressive creatures!

I am a NAUI Open Water, Advanced, and Rescue Diver and have PADI Nitrox certification. I have about 120 dives in, plus a ton of pool time.

medea · Jun 24, 2006

What camera did you use Abstract? Those are beautiful.
Makes me want to go out snorkeling today.

stubeeef · Jun 24, 2006

Did some a decade ago, was living on Guam, lots of good wreck dives there, then did the Barrier Reef, and Palau. Got to take the wife to JellyFish lake.

Being a pilot, diving was a pain, not literally thankfully, but scheduling. I stopped flying for a living last fall, and went to PR last week. Was gonna scuba but ended up snorkeling.

Sounds like you have lots of interesting dives and locations. ENJOY, it can be a blast.
Saw some wild cave diving using rebreathers the other night, hours of dive time and miles in the caves. WAY to scary for me!

Dont Hurt Me · Jun 24, 2006

Stu your a diver ? Iam certified also have all my own gear but I live in area where the water is very murky and doesnt seem to clear until you get about 20 miles offshore so I havent dived in sometime. I need to sell all my dust collecting gear

cruxed · Jun 24, 2006

I'm a diver! I'm 15 and have am a PADI Advanced Open water diver

. Hong Kong is suprisingly good for diving, especially boat diving. About 30 mins from Sai Kung, NT, there are beautiful coral sites.
I'll post some pictures from my dives later on when I find them, though I'm not much of an underwater photographer haha!

stubeeef · Jun 24, 2006

Dont Hurt Me said:
Stu your a diver ? Iam certified also have all my own gear but I live in area where the water is very murky and doesnt seem to clear until you get about 20 miles offshore so I havent dived in sometime. I need to sell all my dust collecting gear

My brother got into it BIG years ago, now has thousands of dollars of equip collecting dust. (lives in Colorado)
It can get expensive if you are a toy lover, lots of accessories, can make golf look cheap.
I still want to do one more dive trip, Galapagos live aboard diving. That is one of the top things I want to do prior to the big sleep. (View a total solar eclipse, go to patagonia, dive galapagos, a total luxury alaskan cruise)
I was only NAUI openwater II, but had lots of fun on Guam. My neighbor and I would go on quick dives after work, we kept our gear in our trunks. It was a great time.
The best part of qualifing on Guam, my instructor was a SEAL, and a corpman (medic).

Dont Hurt Me · Jun 24, 2006

Diving is a great sport if you live in good areas. Anyone want to buy a near new scuba tank?BCD?fins?weights?

floriflee · Jun 24, 2006

The hubby and I are SCUBA divers. He got me to get certified a couple of years ago. Sadly, the only places I've dove so far are inland in Salt Lake City and the Bahamas. Got to see a couple of sharks in the Bahamas so that was cool.

Now that the baby's coming it'll be a while before another dive takes place.

He's been to Crater Lake, UT, San Diego, Cozumel, and the Bahamas (that I know of).

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