Anyone SCUBA?

[HawkeyeFLA]

So about a year and a half ago give or take I had a chance to do SCUBA assisted snorkeling at EPCOT here in Florida which helped me get used to breathing through a regulator. Last year I found a Groupon for a PADI Discover SCUBA here in Orlando and did that. Was a pool dive and I started feeling comfortable completely submerged, but we didn't go very deep of course, since we were in a pool, but I had a blast. This past December I was on a cruise that stopped in Cozumel and they had a "beginners SCUBA" which was again PADI's Discovery program, but this one was an open water dive in the Caribbean off the CZ coast. To call the experience amazing would be an understatement of course.

Now that I'm vaping and will hopfuly start saving some money, I plan to go for full certification. (See how I was able to link this back to vaping? ). My hope is to do classroom/pool work locally here in the Orlando area, then head on down to Key West and find a dive shop to do my open water referral dives. As long as I get it done by December, my open water dive from Cozumel will still count as one of the 4 open waters for certification.

So yeah, anyone else dive?

 

[Iffy]

Yepper...

Can hardly wait to get back down to da Keys for some serious buggin' in July!

When I smoked, I went thru air like my regulator had a bad leak. Now... mucho more bottom time!

 

[HawkeyeFLA]

Yepper...

Can hardly wait to get back down to da Keys for some serious buggin' in July!

When I smoked, I went thru air like my regulator had a bad leak. Now... mucho more bottom time!

I haven't had a chance to do any kind of diving since I switched, but I know when I was on the open water dive in CZ last year, my tank definitely had less air in it at the end than the others. And sure enough as soon as I was out of the harness, I was firing up a cigarette. Hmmm ... now how to make a mod that is integrated with an air regulator. (Admit it, you've probably thought about it yeah?)

 

[Iffy]

(Admit it, you've probably thought about it yeah?)

Absolutely! 'Bout a year ago I posted just such a wish.

Being 65, my toughest challenge is gettin' back into da boat...

 

[HawkeyeFLA]

Absolutely! 'Bout a year ago I posted just such a wish.

Being 65, my toughest challenge is gettin' back into da boat...

Hmmm, I'm sure the technology could be adapted to make it work.

 

[Iffy]

Hmmm, I'm sure the technology could be adapted to make it work.

PLEASE tell me you're talkin' 'bout re-boarding, AND vaping!

Kinda surprised that we're not gettin' much SCUBA feedback...

 

[HawkeyeFLA]

Guess there aren't many divers on here. :\

 

[markfm]

I'm a divemaster, took it up about 6 years ago, love diving! I haven't had a chance to do much recreational open water in a couple years, between home projects and other things, though I assist in classes frequently. Going to Alexandria Bay this weekend, on the St. Lawrence river, just cleared to return to diving after cataract surgery

 

[bassnut]

I was certified way back in the early 70s through NASDS.
My father and I both got certified and spent some quality time together doing a few dives.
I never explored it further after I left home although I really enjoyed it. My certification dive was in Monterey Bay CA.
That was some cold water!

About 12 years ago I was vacationing in Bali, Indonesia and ran into a PADI instructor slumming on the next island over taking people on dives. My certification card had been lost long ago but I convinced him that I was safe in the water after answering some basic questions like expelling air on ascent etc. It was an amazing dive in warm tropical waters. Tons of sea-life.
A couple of years ago my wife and I were in Thailand and I had an opportunity to go diving but I had to pass a basic two hour course including all the math which I found a bit difficult but I had another amazing dive afterword. I really love it.
I've very relaxed and comfortable in the water and can make a tank last a long time.

I guess the next step is for me to get re-certified. My wife has expressed some interest too.
Then there's all the equipment to buy....

 

[HawkeyeFLA]

I was certified way back in the early 70s through NASDS.
My father and I both got certified and spent some quality time together doing a few dives.
I never explored it further after I left home although I really enjoyed it. My certification dive was in Monterey Bay CA.
That was some cold water!

About 12 years ago I was vacationing in Bali, Indonesia and ran into a PADI instructor slumming on the next island over taking people on dives. My certification card had been lost long ago but I convinced him that I was safe in the water after answering some basic questions like expelling air on ascent etc. It was an amazing dive in warm tropical waters. Tons of sea-life.
A couple of years ago my wife and I were in Thailand and I had an opportunity to go diving but I had to pass a basic two hour course including all the math which I found a bit difficult but I had another amazing dive afterword. I really love it.
I've very relaxed and comfortable in the water and can make a tank last a long time.

I guess the next step is for me to get re-certified. My wife has expressed some interest too.
Then there's all the equipment to buy....

I'm not certified yet, but last year on a cruise stop in Cozumel I did one of the PADI discover SCUBA open water dives. Down to maybe 20-25' total. Was an amazing experience. So now that I am slowly saving money I plan to get fully certified. Ideally do the classroom / pool work here in Orlando and go referral and do the rest of my open water work in the Keys. As long as I do it all within 12m of my dive in Cozumel, that dive counts towards certification. In December this year I am donig a 14n cruise from LA to Miami, I wanna dive the ports of call.

I agree it is so amazing tranquil and peaceful underwater.

 

[bassnut]

When I took the course in the early 70s the dive instructor was ex Navy Seal.
He was super strict and constantly hammered us about the dangers of scuba diving.
We learned buddy-breathing, tank ditching and ascent, diving to the bottom of the pool
and putting on the gear there etc. all the while his "minions" would sneak up behind us and turn our air off, or rip our face-masks off from behind, yank the regulator mouthpieces out anything to cause havoc and get us to panic.
Nobody did. We all knew it was coming so there wasn't much of a surprise but it was a little annoying.
It did leave you with a feeling of confidence and accomplishment afterword.

 

[sidetrack]

Been Padi certified since '82 or was it '83...long time ago. With the help of vapeing the older I've gotten the better/less the air consumption has been. Got certified by an ex navy seal in Venice, Fl.......that was interesting. I do suggest you do all your Florida diving first then start going out of the country. Once you dive a few of the premier destinations in the world it's tough to come back here and be impressed by much. Dive with the manatee in Crystal River above Tampa, John Pennecamp state park in the keys is an easy dive, Venice beach is a fun shore dive for petrified sharks teeth. Couple of fair drift dives off Miami/West Palm. Down by me there are a few wrecks with shark(hammerhead, bull ,black tip and scallop), huge grouper(Jewfish) the size of Volkswagens! Every now and then if you are in the right place at the right time a whale shark.
I have been spoiled so about the only continental US diving I do any more is the same a Iffy....buggin'.

 

[bassnut]

Somebody answer me this:
You're down at 100 feet and you're weight belt slips off because you didn't secure it properly and you start to ascend uncontrollably because of your tank, natural body and wetsuit buoyancy like a cork. Your dive "buddy" is oblivious to your situation. Maybe there are even strong currents present as well making it even more difficult to reach the bottom again to retrieve your belt or even grab a rock.
Normally you'd have to make a decompression or normalization stop for a few minutes at around 35 feet (I'm guessing) or risk getting the bends... but you can't stop your ascent. What do you do?

This is not a quiz. I'm asking.
This almost happened to me.

 

[markfm]

That's, in effect, an emergency buoyant ascent. Flare out, maximize your surface area Dump the air in your bcd, keep the button pressed as you rise. Keep your airway open, to avoid a lung over expansion.

Survivable, but, yes, you will almost certainly be needing a deco chamber after.

 

[bassnut]

Ouch. Because of a lost weight belt.
Two mistakes were made hypothetically: I didn't check my gear properly and I lost visual contact with my dive buddy.
..plus when this almost happened to me - I grabbed my belt it as it was slipping and secured it - I may have been miles away from any decompression chamber with no proper transportation to get there in a hurry. The truth is I don't know. Another potential mistake. No emergency plan.

 

[markfm]

That's part of why I avoid weight belts, I use a weight integrated BCD. Even for recreational diving I have enough weight to take tank and pony to empty.

Any time I'm around students I'll tend to carry a couple of spare two pounders, in case they're slightly under weighted or I need to go negative and grab them if ascending too fast. We have a classic post-cert dive where we circuit a wreck immediately off shore. Hard bottom at 65', but shore side of the wreck is 30'. You can count on at least one person not dumping enough as they circle up on the shore side, a good learning experience, no harm

 

[Miira]

I'm actually starting my open water course on the 31st. I just moved to the west coast and have a friend who loves it and convinced me to try it. It'd better be fun, or I'll kill her(well, maybe only figuratively), as the water is cold here.

 

[HawkeyeFLA]

I'm actually starting my open water course on the 31st. I just moved to the west coast and have a friend who loves it and convinced me to try it. It'd better be fun, or I'll kill her(well, maybe only figuratively), as the water is cold here.

It's an amazing experience being underwater. My first real experience with anything similar was a SCUBA assisted snorkel at Epcot here in Florida. Talk about COLD water. But we had wet suits there, so within minutes I was fine. That was my first true face underwater and breathing experience. Once I knew I could handle that, I've moved on to a pool dive experience, and then my open water experience. All 3 combined tell me I can handle open water certification. So I will do it soon. Hopefully before December, so my open water dive from last year will count.

 

[bassnut]

Wetsuits work very well. Notice how surfers are able to spend hours in cold water wearing minimal wetsuit protection. The very thin layer of water trapped between your body and the suit warms in seconds. There is only a very quick initial sensation of coldness which you'll immediately be distracted from as the fun of the adventure becomes the dominate focus.
You'll literally become warm before you know it.

Rented suits work just fine but if memory serves (it's been awhile), it's worth it to eventually get a well fitted suit. Suits "off the rack" can easily be altered to fit your form more precisely with an xacto knife and quick bonding glue by a store expert. Material can quickly and easily be added or taken away as needed while you wait.
Custom tailor made suits can be had for a little more.

I have an aversion to cold myself and wore a secondary inner vest that had a hood attached. A neoprene sleeveless hoodie vest. My ears ache when cold and it spoiled the fun without it. It also alleviated that cold shot down your back when you tilt your head down a little too much to look at something interesting causing a gap behind your lower neck and the suit's collar, then cold water rushes straight down the middle of your back tracking your spinal column.
Not as bad as it sounds. More funny than anything else but it is avoidable.