Any Certified Scuba Divers Here On CP?
 

Just wondering if there are any certified divers here on CP?

I'm PADI Open Water certified and am about to make my yearly visit to the Bahamas on Memorial Day weekend to go shark diving.

Where do you guys go diving, any good lakes up where you live.

Here on the Gulf Coast we can get a round trip airfare from Hou/Bahamas for a few hundred bucks on Continental/United.

Snorkeling is a blast but never have scuba dive. That would be fun too would love to do it.

No, but I'm a Master SNUBA diver.

If you ever go to Cancun skip the scuba diving unless you like seeing dead coral.

It's pretty awesome.

I'm only certified to go down 100 ft.

It does take an act of faith once you go underwater to realize the only thing keeping you alive is your regulator and air tank.

Before I got certified I've seen lots of people chicken out on their initial dives even though we were only going down 10-15 ft.

PADI and this is where we've been going the last 2 weekends:
26° 45.937N, 82° 50.756 W and 26° 45.938N, 82° 50.783W

AJ's and Grouper all day long.

I got my Advanced Open Water Certification about 7 years ago. Got it when I started travelling down to Cancun/Cuba/Dominican every winter.

Did a few nice dives in Mexico at "The Island of Woman" and Cozumel. Would have really liked to do a wreck dive but the bastards wanted me to cough up an extra $60 for a "refresher" course since I didn't have any dives the past six months.

Can't blame em though.

It's an extra 60.00 but I guess they don't want you dead.

I initially got certified to go shark diving in the Bahamas when they feed the sharks.

You should try that, it's crazy. When the boat shows up about 100 reef sharks appear from nowhere to feed, just like stray cats.

Sharks are flying everywhere trying to get that food. The yellow tuna and the sting rays are more aggressive than the damn sharks though.

I eventually want to go white shark cage diving in South Africa or Guadeloupe Island in Mexico.

Not certified and likely never will be, (I don't think I would do it enough to justify the cost/ time to do the training) but I did a beginners dive this past January in Cozumel and it was one of the coolest things I've ever experienced.
We had about a 30-40 minute class and then another 20 minutes or so in shallow water and that was it and we went on the "dive". For the "dive" itself, I don't think we ever got more than 30' below the surface (the guide said about 40') but it was a complete different world.

You went on what's called a "resort dive".

They teach you enough so that you can make the initial dive. I'm surprised that they you went down 30' feet though, most resort dives are only 15'. That's still plenty though.

Something about being down there.

The Bahamas are so crystal clear, guess Cancun and other places are the same.

I love taking pictures down there.

I got certified a long time ago, did all the specialties needed for Master SCUBA from PADI, but never sent in the form to complete and haven't really done any since then. It was alot of fun. Wreck diving in Lake Michigan is the best. There are so many and from 1700s to 1900s.

Bonus... no sharks! I know people love going to see sharks underwater, but not me. I live in California and SUP surf, and if I never saw a shark in my whole life it would be awesome. Dolphins are a good shark warning system and we have lots of dolphins in Southern California.

Exactly that.
I only took a handful of pictures, but it was amazing. I think the weirdest thing to me was that the sound of my own breathing seemed to amplify x100. That coupled with the fact that my Mrs who isn't a very good swimmer was off like a fricking fish were the biggest surprises.

I was certified with YMCA/PADI in 1980 because I loved the ocean and wanted to be an oceanographer. Unfortunately you make no money being an oceanographer so I became a union pressman instead.

Best places I dove are in order:

• The Cayman Islands twice-the amount of large fish you see is incredible and swimming through "Tarpon Alley" at 80 feet with 250 or more 40-50 pound tarpon slowing gliding in place side to side was incredible
• Maui, Hawaii-saw so many turtles and rays plus variety of beautiful fish
• Cairns, Australia at the Great Barrier Reef-MASSIVE schools of smaller fish. I was surprised that there were not many large fish but the color and vast size of the reef was impressive
• Malolai Fiji-tons of sharks and the coolest water color I've ever seen.
• Bora Bora Tahiti-lots of Angelfish and Octopus where I dove plus a nasty reef tip shark that stalked us for a while
• Haiti-I have an underwater photo of around 20 lobsters all huddled together under a rock outcropping. Lots of flourescent squid
• Cozumel, Mexico-super clear water and lots of fish.
• Jamaica-Tons of VERY LARGE moray eels that the divemaster played with and fed by hand plus a nice assortment of fish
• Bahamas-Nice assortment of fish and good visibility. Easy to find lobsters for dinner
• British Virgin Islands-dove the wreck of the Rhone where the filmed the movie "The Deep" but it was low visibility that day.
• New Jersey shore-dove for lobster several times on wrecks and I've never gotten good weather or visibility or else this would be ranked higher.

Aside from dives, once while snorkeling in the Bahamas I nearly ran straight into two GIANT barricudas that were cruising at the surface while my head was down looking at fish. I came within 2 feet and then I slowly swam backwards for 100 yards to shore while they followed me in. It was the most fear I've had diving.

The deepest I ever logged on my gauge was 138 ft in the Caymans.

You dove in some AWESOME places.

Maui OMG.

Yes the water in the Bahamas is unreal, you can see straight down 100 ft.

And yes there are PLENTY of barracudas there.

Depends on the shark.

Most sharks want to be left alone and pretty much keep to themselves.

Bull Sharks are what you need to watch out for. And Hammerheads.

Dolphins are a blast to go diving with. Did a Dolphin Dive in the Bahamas too.

They're so ****ing fast it's incredible and soft like lambs skin.

I am a certified diver. I used to dive all the time off the coast of So. Cal. It got to be where it wasn't any fun. The waters cold and the vis sucks. Made a few trips to Catalina and up to the Channel Islands. Much better diving and visability.

However my best dives have been in Maui and those are the ones that spoiled me and caused me to quit diving locally.

My biggest regret is I didn't get certified while in the Navy. I could have dove some awsome places. Instead I saw some pretty cool bars.

I hear ya.

I got certified in Huntsville, TX in a sand pit with zero visibility. That way you had to use a compass.

But I don't dive locally. The water around here is like diving in a ditch.

I dive in the Bahamas or somewhere like that.

If you can't see what's the use, it's not like you're commercial diving and getting paid for it.

The Bahamas are amazing. I can't wait for Memorial Day.
I usually get at least 2 dives a day in.

I got PADI certified while in Cuba in the 90s, loved it but other than a dozen or so dives I've yet to do it again. Snorkeled in Maui and I bet that would have a plethora of great dive sites. Color me jealous bikemike and scho

If it's that time of the month the shark can be really bitchy! :LOL:

Bull sharks are mainly in the Gulf and I won't dive there-those sharks are NASTY MF'ers and just bit a surfer in Florida last week.

I've seen Lemon, Nurse, Black Reef Tip and White Reef Tip sharks while diving, plenty of rays but no manta ray.

I've never seen a whale, seal, or dolphin while scuba diving. :deevee:

Want to dive in the Galapagos and Baja California next

I saw a 500-600 pound Jewfish Grouper in Caymans and when it opened it's mouth you could see clear into it's body-it could nearly swallow a diver.

Did see many whales during mating season in Maui breaching all over the place and the Jersey Shore in Winter migration.

Seen dolphins too numerous to count at the Jersey Shore and on boats

Never saw any hammerheads or makos or great whites and I'm damn glad for that!

I snuck into Cuba in March 2001 from Toronto and stayed two weeks. It was awesome! Didn't dive but did stay at Veradero for 5 days. The sand there was the softest I've ever laid my feet upon-just like baby powder.

I bet we could tell great stories about our time there.

I did have a couple really interesting dives off of La Jolla Shores one year. The giant squid were spawning and there were millions of them. The tubular egg sacks littered the bottom. This drew in all kinds of other sea creatures to feast. It was the most activity I saw in an area on any dive.

Rays were gracefully swooping around feeding. Sharks, dolphins, sea lions and teams of other fish were darting about. It really was incredible. There is no way I could describe it acurately. The squid were so abundant you could literally swing your octopus around and hit a squid.

Kind of a funny story....

When I was in Cancun doing a two dive tour I had just finished the first dive and come back up to the boat. I was feeling pretty shitty from the night of drinking before and ended up yaking on the boat. I felt better after this so I figured I might as well go on the second scheduled dive. Well I jump back in the water and am about to desend when I yak again but this time with the regulator in my mouth. The puke comes blasting out the valves into the water and provided some nice fish food. I don't think anyone saw me so I let the air out of my BCD and headed down.

p.s. It was a rental

That's awesome! :thumb:

I never dove in CA and not sure why. I lived there for 6 years :hmmm:

Yeah, I went to Cozumel for my honeymoon 20 years ago and the diving was fantastic. We went through there on a cruise last summer and the bottom looked like a moonscape.

Local diving is not the reason that most people certify, but there is some real value to local diving. Most lakes and reservoirs will be cooler than the Caribbean and have limited visibility so there are some uncomfortable considerations but lakes and reservoirs are a great place to practice skills you already have and master new skills. Lakes and reservoirs don't typically have current or surge, they have an actual bottom to limit any uncontrolled descent, and they are a great place to practice navigation because you can't cheat. If you can become comfortable diving in lakes and reservoirs, you will have a much easier time in the Caribbean (or other dive destinations).

Local diving also becomes more interesting if you consider the historical importance of your local body of water. For instance, the nearest dive site to Albuquerque is a natural cold-water spring called the Blue Hole of Santa Rosa. On face value, you have a hole in the ground with cold water, about 8 fish and sometimes a few hundred crawfish. If you consider the history, you have a natural phenomenon that is more than 10,000 years old. One cave in a series of underground waterways. A place where dinosaurs came to drink. A place where Native Americans would have come for water; and Spanish conquistadors, and westward settlers and (most likely) even Billy the Kid.

And here is one of the many reasons to own your own gear, unless you really think the gear is getting properly cleaned (or you just enjoy the thought of breathing through some strangers vomit reg).

p.s. I'm certified through Rescue Diver and I've been to: Bonaire, California (San Diego), Cancún (including the new underwater sculpture park), Cenotes, Costa Rica (Pacific side), Cozumel, Jamaica, New Mexico (Blue Hole, Conchas, Perch Lake, Elephant Butte, Navajo Lake, Rock Lake), Nicaragua (Little Corn). Panamá (Coiba), Saba, St. Kitts.

There are flooded mines in SE Missouri where you can cave dive. I always thought that sounded interesting but never made it over there to give it a try.

Too bad you can't dive in Pearl Harbor.

How strange that would be.

I did that. Got certified while attending DCA School in RI. Have dove for lobsters in water so murky could not see my outstreched hand.

Coolest dive was the wall off the back beach at GITMO when my ship was in RefTra. The ship's chart said the dropoff was from 60 feet to 2000 fathoms (12'000').

Sky yes, water no.

Off the back side of Molokini in Maui there is a drop off like that not sure how deep but the vis was so good you could really see the dramatic chang. You drop in at about 60 feet and follow along the bottom at about 120 feet it just drops away into the Abyss.

I used to skydive as well for a very brief time. Never got fully certified. I was just getting out of the Navy and I had made about 10 jumps. I was working my way up to the 60 second freefall. I started looking at parachute colors and designs thinking I would by my own gear once I was certified.

Then I found out my wife was pregant and I had not secured a job out of the Navy. It didn't take long to get the job but then I had to worry if the new insurance would cover the pregnancy being a pre existing condition and all.

For some reason I let the new baby and responsibility stop me from any further jumps. I should take it back up again, There is nothing like freefalling and then flying under canopy.

I understand, priorities change. I hope you make it up to jump out of a perfectly good airplane again at some point. :)

Open Water, Advanced Open Water and Special Response Diver here.

Dove Fiji and the Key's, the best two places I've dove.

Recovered over 90 vehicles in Miami one month with the Miami/Dade PD... had a couple big scares with 'gators. Swam with a few sharks in Fiji, but nothing too scary.

Next on my list is the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Can't wait. Hope to hit it in 2014.

You have to hit the Blue hole in Belize as well at some point.

I had a chance to go skydiving once with a radio DJ friend of mine. The whole jump was free too.

Had it all set up to jump out of a little Cessna type plane but I chickened out at the last minute.

I have no problem diving down 100ft with sharks but I'm scared as shit to jump out of an airplane.

I'm afraid I might piss or shit on myself.

How was your first jump????????

**** that Dolphins are little rape machines! Bet they thought your skin was soft like a little sheep too!lambs:hump:

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It was awsome. I started out on the static line. Once you jump out the rip cord is pulled for you so no free fall just flying the canopy down. After doing a couple static line jumps simulating pulling the rip cord, ( I acutally pulled a handle that wasn't attached to anything and I had to have it in hand when I landed.) I progessed through what they call hop and pops (no static line but no delay in pulling the rip cord either) to a few seconds of free fall I actually got up to 10 seconds.

Once you progress up to the 60 second freefall you were then required to do manuevers in the air. I never made it that far before I quit jumping.

My wife recently did a tandem jump that was a gift from her sister. She kept trying to get me to do it as well. I was not really interested in jumping with someone strapped to my back. Also I am the kind of person that when I get involved in things I usually go all out buying equipment and spending all my free time doing the thing until the next thing comes along. So I opted not to get hooked on skydiving.