Scuba diving anyone?

[hobiecat590]

My entire family is Padi or about to get it done this spring.

Problem I had at OC is the ones I contacted wanted a minimum # dives with a certain number in recent time. Any boats take beginners? I know visibility would be iffy.

My first dives with the wife was Moorhead NC
Planning a family trip this summer with Diving and maybe thinking the keys?

Anyone dive in Bermuda?

We did Bahamas last summer with Stuart’s Cove. If it was not for my son doing intro dives in the pool the kids who did the resort dives would have not enjoyed themselves. Instead they flew thru the little tests they gave them and had more time in the dive than the others on the boat we were on for that.


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Get the NITROX cert so you can increase your bottom time. You can do it concurrently w/ the Open water/Adventure certs. On deeper dives, you run out of bottom time before you run out of air, especially the women who use much less gas than we do.

 

[Doctor_M]

Been a diver for over 20 years. Used to do some scientific diving but I'm too expensive to do anything fun for work anymore. Did a couple of reef dives in Jamaica this spring. I need to blow bubbles more often.

 

[eruby]

Been a diver for over 20 years. Used to do some scientific diving but I'm too expensive to do anything fun for work anymore. Did a couple of reef dives in Jamaica this spring. I need to blow bubbles more often.

That's what bubbles said

 

[Squaregrouper]

Been a diver for over 20 years. Used to do some scientific diving but I'm too expensive to do anything fun for work anymore. Did a couple of reef dives in Jamaica this spring. I need to blow bubbles more often.

 

[PapiBarcelona]

Local Diving was baller in the 90's until like 2010, nowadays it's pretty shit. We had a choice of Bainbridge, Dutch Springs, Hydes, Guppy Gulch all within half day-ish trips now all gone.

Lake Allure near SLCFSA and Willow Springs are the only local (to me) places left catered to diving/training that any random diver can show up pay/dive.

 

[jc1240]

Local Diving was baller in the 90's until like 2010, nowadays it's pretty shit. We had a choice of Bainbridge, Dutch Springs, Hydes, Guppy Gulch all within half day-ish trips now all gone.

Lake Allure near SLCFSA and Willow Springs are the only local (to me) places left catered to diving/training that any random diver can show up pay/dive.

One of my last times at Guppy Gulch, getting my c-card to leave the guy asked how my dives went. I said they were fine except this one...it was weird. I felt like it got dark and ominous. After I replied to his question where about in the quarry he laughed and told me they put a sailboat in the water column, and I went right under it. Never saw the thing on that dive.

I'm about 15 minutes from Hydes. Was really bummed when that one closed to divers. I loved Bainbridge (as much as anyone could love a brown bottomed quarry, but it did/does have freshwater jellies, though!) until they priced it right out of value for me. Last time there it was $40. Had I known it was that much I would have stayed home.

 

[PapiBarcelona]

I did a few dives at Juturna in Frederick before the county shut them down, was hoping they'd get funded and open the gates up but it seems like fail there.

Lake Allure in Quarryville is probably the only viable place local to me to do any open water diving, I don't do trips and am really only interested in spending morning/afternoons doing the diving hobby a few times a year at most.

 

[Augie]

Enjoy it, Scuba is a ton of fun, did it for many years, Great Lakes, off Ocean City, North Carolina, Florida Keys, Bonaire, many dives in Bainbridge. Unfortunately I understand a lot of the relatively close quarries are closed now. As far as warm enough for a wetsuit you have to get out in the Gulf Stream from what I remember mainly in North Carolina. Most of my diving around here was a dry suit.
If you have the chance I strongly recommend a week or more in Bonaire, mainly shore diving and if you stay relatively shallow can get 5 or 6 dives in a day, my favorite was going in at the resort dock right before the sun came up and watch the sunrise and reef come alive from underwater.
Some pics from Bonaire back when you had to use film.

 

[P-12 Norm]

Read the whole thread. Didn't see one post where any one found all the guns that members here lost in tragic boating accidents over the years. You folks gotta expand your search radius!

 

[VRC Racing]

I just love warm water diving

 

[Jake4U]

I really need to check out some of the Great Lakes wrecks. Some are remarkably intact. My first wreck dive was the USS Nina, a navy tug that sank off Delaware/md in 1910. Looked like a pile of rocks and seaweed. I was expecting something that resembles a ship.

Second this. Wrecks off Kingston, CA are amazing.

And to the original poster's questions ... It's worth it to learn how and invest in a dry suit if you plan on diving anywhere in our area or north. You can change up the thickness of the undergarment depending on the water temp and, IMHO, way easier to put on than a wetsuit. Usually don't need as much weight either.

Or you can buy a submersible and stay dry the whole dive. :-)

 

[John from MD]

Enjoy it, Scuba is a ton of fun, did it for many years, Great Lakes, off Ocean City, North Carolina, Florida Keys, Bonaire, many dives in Bainbridge. Unfortunately I understand a lot of the relatively close quarries are closed now. As far as warm enough for a wetsuit you have to get out in the Gulf Stream from what I remember mainly in North Carolina. Most of my diving around here was a dry suit.
If you have the chance I strongly recommend a week or more in Bonaire, mainly shore diving and if you stay relatively shallow can get 5 or 6 dives in a day, my favorite was going in at the resort dock right before the sun came up and watch the sunrise and reef come alive from underwater.
Some pics from Bonaire back when you had to use film.

View attachment 447668 View attachment 447669 View attachment 447670 View attachment 447671

Nice pics. I have a bunch that are on slides.

 

[Augie]

Nice pics. I have a bunch that are on slides.

Thank you, have a bunch of prints, it was tough back then, you only had 36 shots on each dive and was happy to have 10 nice ones when they were developed. I would usually get the first roll developed on Bonaire just to make sure the camera was working, would love to dive again with a digital set up.

 

[John from MD]

Thank you, have a bunch of prints, it was tough back then, you only had 36 shots on each dive and was happy to have 10 nice ones when they were developed. I would usually get the first roll developed on Bonaire just to make sure the camera was working, would love to dive again with a digital set up.

I got a nice pic of a stargazer one dive in its natural sand bottom camo. Till this day my wife says it's BS and there is no fish in the pic.

Cameras were so damned bulky back in my day. Today, it would be a breeze to get beautiful pics without feeling you were carrying around an anchor.

 

[yellowfin]

Enjoy it, Scuba is a ton of fun, did it for many years, Great Lakes, off Ocean City, North Carolina, Florida Keys, Bonaire, many dives in Bainbridge. Unfortunately I understand a lot of the relatively close quarries are closed now. As far as warm enough for a wetsuit you have to get out in the Gulf Stream from what I remember mainly in North Carolina. Most of my diving around here was a dry suit.
If you have the chance I strongly recommend a week or more in Bonaire, mainly shore diving and if you stay relatively shallow can get 5 or 6 dives in a day, my favorite was going in at the resort dock right before the sun came up and watch the sunrise and reef come alive from underwater.
Some pics from Bonaire back when you had to use film.

View attachment 447668 View attachment 447669 View attachment 447670 View attachment 447671

Wowie! I've got to get my wife to start diving so that she'll want to go to Bonaire. Being able to rack up that many dives quickly is definitely something i want. She's 100% on board with going to Belize every chance we get because she likes to fish and do other tropical related stuff. It looks like Bonaire is even more affordable and also has bonefish which we both love to catch on fly which is why we go to Belize. Rates I was seeing today make me think we could go every other year or so.