Almost OW certified...Lake Travis, TX

[msfunsun]

Yahoo! My daughter Heather and I certified OW yesterday! It was pretty nice at Mansfield with viz anywhere between 5-16 ft. Maximum depth we went was 40 ft. Saw an old tv and radiator plus a catfish and few perch. It was a much better experience than OW dives 1 & 2 at a different location on Lake Travis. That water sure was cold at 40 ft!!

---------- Post added July 27th, 2013 at 03:31 PM ----------

The Comal has a current, which when diving you will learn several new skills. Who is your instructor?

Daniel, our instructor is Karen Erickson. She is awesome..so patient, kind, and laid back with A LOT of experience. Her husband was Ralph Erickson, co founder of PADI. She has over 6000 dives. Wow!

 

[chrpai]

Congrats. Hit me up whenever you want to go diving.

 

[msfunsun]

The countdown is on....7 days til I'm in the warm gin clear waters of the Abacos!! It's gonna be awesome to scuba in water with such incredible visibility. My husband and oldest daughter are supposed to finish OW Cert on Thursday. They like to wait til the last minute. I do believe diving will become another one of my addictions. I've been reading forums and viewing YouTube videos on diving but nothing compares to the real thing and I'm so excited we will get to experience it all soon!! We've purchased basics..snorkel, mask, fins and booties plus one used dive computer. We will rent the rest of the gear until Birthday Bunny & Santa deliver the goods. Ha! I was able to get in one dive after certification and that was great. Viz was good..anywhere from 5-15 ft depending on depth. It made me feel a little more comfortable to have a "fun" dive and not pressure of doing "skills" dive. I hope to get in at least 5 dives on vacay but snorkel every day since the reef will be right out our back door. Yes, about ten feet from the door, not a boat ride away! Cool beans, right?! If we didn't have to pay for rental gear, then I'd be diving every day. But holy cow, it all adds up! Since I live in TX, diving the Clipper down in South Padre is on my bucket list over the next year or so. Has anyone done it? Also, I'd like to dive Flower Gardens. A whole new world has opened up......

 

[chrpai]

Have you seen this video yet?

[video=youtube;CeOgMjAl5bE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeOgMjAl5bE[/video]

 

[msfunsun]

I haven't but it is a good one! Thank you for sharing! True that with experience, one becomes better and more comfortable at any skill!

 

[guruboy]

I dove the Clipper recently. Some fish (and also a stingray) but not exactly a colorful dive. Pretty neat if you like to see wrecks though and the various things growing on the ship itself. There are a number of swim throughs you can do also.

I went with American Diving and Tim runs a nice operation. Getting on/off the boat is easy and getting down to depth was simple enough. Not a hard swim once you get down there either. The boat ride out can be a little rougher than average though, based on what others on the trip said.

 

[chrpai]

I'm going to South Padre very soon but don't think I'll make the clipper. It looks fun but it's expensive for what might end up being 2 30 minute dives if you get partnered up with the wrong instabuddy.

 

[msfunsun]

Not very colorful? I would've thought so. What is the depth? I'd like to swim around the wreck but not confident enough to swim through anything.

---------- Post added August 7th, 2013 at 09:41 AM ----------

I'm going to South Padre very soon but don't think I'll make the clipper. It looks fun but it's expensive for what might end up being 2 30 minute dives if you get partnered up with the wrong instabuddy.

Chrpai, Do you ever take the dive trips sponsored thru the local dive shops? I hear that you can get a much better deal to places than on your own. Plus it's a group of divers in your area whom you can meet and befriend for local dives. Do you belong to the Lake Travis Scuba Club? So how expensive is the Clipper trip?

I'd like to dive Travis with you sometime but I'd have to rent the equipment. I've been purchasing/renting from Dive World on 620. I really prefer diving Mansfield since viz is better than anything over in Lago due to less boat traffic and deeper depth. Just snorkeling off our dock with my 7 yr old was ridiculous last week. I couldn't see past 3 ft! I was trying to keep an eye on her and give her some experience snorkeling before we go on vacay. However, she was doing more skin diving than snorkeling because that's what she's used to. lol

 

[guruboy]

The fish were mostly around 60' I think. Most were above the ship. I easily went to 100' during the dive.

The swim throughs I did were very open. I wouldn't worry about it.

---------- Post added August 7th, 2013 at 10:39 AM ----------

Clipper is about $200 for two tanks.

You can also dive rigs there.

 

[chrpai]

Chrpai, Do you ever take the dive trips sponsored thru the local dive shops?

I've always booked my own travel. My trip next month is an exception as I booked it online through Scuba Toys. I don't know one or the other is cheaper, it's just I always travel solo doing my own thing.

I have a facebook group called Lake Travis Divers. I also dive with Lake Travis Scuba and another boat and several other groups of people that I know. Get active diving locally and you'll meet all of these people in no time flat.

American Diving has a site on clipper pricing. It starts at a couple hundred if you are already there for something else. Travel expenses go up from there.

Hit me up whenever. I have some gear you can borrow if it helps. Water temps are great so you don't need a wetsuit currently. The vis gets better as you go deeper.