What types of divers last the longest?

[markmud]

You most certainly do.

Try local diving. It is a totally different world. Local rules, no agencies, hard to get started. Total pain in the a$$ at first. Shoulder the plow, eyes on the ground. At first, you will wish you never read this, but then it starts to grow on you... It will enhance your diving competence in the most surprising ways. You meet very cool, no agenda, no macho, just "Hey let's try to dive this site!" people. Total fun.

This was a bad year for my diving. Married off a daughter, new puppy, staining a huge deck, setting a kid up in business.... Endless drains on my free time and fun money. Tried the Brandywine river out of desperation. *wow* All is well, winter is coming...

Hi LowViz,

Local diving...

I was living in Sacramento. We had local diving in Monterey and Lake Tahoe. Santa Barbara was about 6.5 hours away with excellent diving if I could get on a charter that had experienced divers. Otherwise we were diving 40' deep reefs with no bottom contour to speak of.

I was finding a niche. Dolphin has some good trips and some were for true-AOW divers. Lots of fun. Mike's staff is excellent.

However, local diving now is a 2.5 hour drive to Gilboa Quarry. It is a nice place to do tune-up dives and get the gills wet, but that is it.

I am almost 1,000 nautical miles from ocean diving.

I need a group of similarly skilled divers who want to long-range-plan true advanced recreational diving trips.

Do you have suggestions for that criterion?

markm

 

[lowviz]

local diving now is a 2.5 hour drive to Gilboa Quarry. It is a nice place to do tune-up dives and get the gills wet, but that is it. ...//...

I don't like quarries all that much. Not even a little. Just not me. I like people, though. No figuring...

I am almost 1,000 nautical miles from ocean diving.

Bummer. I'm two hours away, doable in the middle of the night. I Google Earth'ed you. Yeah, sucks.

I need a group of similarly skilled divers who want to long-range-plan true advanced recreational diving trips.

Do you have suggestions for that criterion?

markm

No. My suggestion is to do what I did, walk the local drainage system and look for opportunities. But that is not even close to "true advanced". You are correct, nothing happening...

 

[Nemrod]

Mark, I am a 2 with some 4. But even though I usually bring way to much gear, at least a long time ago I quit wearing it all at once . So I use some one dive and more another, lol.

I did not mean for one to be better than the others, just end points of an odd shaped universe we call the sport of diving or is it a hobby, or maybe a lifestyle, or an avocation, a reason for existence, or well, you get the point.

N

 

[lowviz]

Oh, BTW, I'm a solid 2 with 3 and a bit of 4. Just to help you see where I'm coming from...

 

[markmud]

Mark, I am a 2 with some 4. But even though I usually bring way to much gear, at least a long time ago I quit wearing it all at once . So I use some one dive and more another, lol.

I did not mean for one to be better than the others, just end points of an odd shaped universe we call the sport of diving or is it a hobby, or maybe a lifestyle, or an avocation, a reason for existence, or well, you get the point.

N

Hi Nemrod,

I did not take anything from your post negatively. I am who I am and I like good gear. I don't take it all but I do take a little more than the next guy. Look at my picture to the left, do you see my extra gear? It is there.

markm

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Hi LowViz,

Local diving...

I was living in Sacramento. We had local diving in Monterey and Lake Tahoe. Santa Barbara was about 6.5 hours away with excellent diving if I could get on a charter that had experienced divers. Otherwise we were diving 40' deep reefs with no bottom contour to speak of.

I was finding a niche. Dolphin has some good trips and some were for true-AOW divers. Lots of fun. Mike's staff is excellent.

However, local diving now is a 2.5 hour drive to Gilboa Quarry. It is a nice place to do tune-up dives and get the gills wet, but that is it.

I am almost 1,000 nautical miles from ocean diving.

I need a group of similarly skilled divers who want to long-range-plan true advanced recreational diving trips.

Do you have suggestions for that criterion?

markm

Yes.
Find a group that is willing to spend a week up in Norcal abalone diving and tank diving off the beaches.
Tons of fun, no schedules, no divemasters, just pure adventure all on your own terms, plus a chance to camp, drink some beer, sit around a campfire at night, and have a blast.
It's about the cheapest diving fun you can have. Besides, it already sounds like you are used to cold water, and you know your way around CA.
I'm talking about Mendocino.

 

[markmud]

Yes.
Find a group that is willing to spend a week up in Norcal abalone diving and tank diving off the beaches.
Tons of fun, no schedules, no divemasters, just pure adventure all on your own terms, plus a chance to camp, drink some beer, sit around a campfire at night, and have a blast.
It's about the cheapest diving fun you can have. Besides, it already sounds like you are used to cold water, and you know your way around CA.
I'm talking about Mendocino.

Hi Eric,

Thanks for the tip.

However, if I am going to fly my gear to Cali from Ohio, I may as well go dive SoCal's channel Islands. There are a few advanced recreational groups that frequently charter live aboard boats for trips to the Channel Islands.

You have pushed me in one direction...I need to start communicating with Finstad's Worldwide Diving and Powers Scuba to sign-up for one of their trips.

Or, I can fly someplace tropical.

My favorite diving is Channel Islands diving and tropical diving.

thanks,
markm

 

[chillyinCanada]

Yeah!! We just did that in order to be able to dive a lot in warm water. I'm not sure what's going to happen if / when we move away from wonderful diving. It's so much easier and more fun & relaxing when you do it on a regular basis. Even after just a few weeks off, we get the jitters when going in for the first time.

- Bill & Emily

I get the jitters with a few weeks off too but not the way you do. Heehee I get to jonesin' to dive. I've been out of the water for a few months longer than usual this time. I feel withered ip and mildly depressed. Only 6 or so weeks to go to the Red Sea and after Xmas back to SE Asia where I hope to dive until I'm sick of it. As if that could happen. . .more likely to put my back out first.

 

[chillyinCanada]

[QUOrkmud, post: 7799086, member: 198391"]Hi LowViz,

Local diving...

I was living in Sacramento. We had local diving in Monterey and Lake Tahoe. Santa Barbara was about 6.5 hours away with excellent diving if I could get on a charter that had experienced divers. Otherwise we were diving 40' deep reefs with no bottom contour to speak of.

I was finding a niche. Dolphin has some good trips and some were for true-AOW divers. Lots of fun. Mike's staff is excellent.

However, local diving now is a 2.5 hour drive to Gilboa Quarry. It is a nice place to do tune-up dives and get the gills wet, but that is it.

I am almost 1,000 nautical miles from ocean diving.

I need a group of similarly skilled divers who want to long-range-plan true advanced recreational diving trips.

Do you have suggestions for that criterion?

markm[/QUOTE]

Try singledivers.com. it's not a dating group, it's a dive travel group for those without regular buddies or non-diving partners. They have great trips to somewhere every month or more!

 

[markmud]

[QUOrkmud, post: 7799086, member: 198391"]Hi LowViz,

Local diving...

I was living in Sacramento. We had local diving in Monterey and Lake Tahoe. Santa Barbara was about 6.5 hours away with excellent diving if I could get on a charter that had experienced divers. Otherwise we were diving 40' deep reefs with no bottom contour to speak of.

I was finding a niche. Dolphin has some good trips and some were for true-AOW divers. Lots of fun. Mike's staff is excellent.

However, local diving now is a 2.5 hour drive to Gilboa Quarry. It is a nice place to do tune-up dives and get the gills wet, but that is it.

I am almost 1,000 nautical miles from ocean diving.

I need a group of similarly skilled divers who want to long-range-plan true advanced recreational diving trips.

Do you have suggestions for that criterion?

markm

Try singledivers.com. it's not a dating group, it's a dive travel group for those without regular buddies or non-diving partners. They have great trips to somewhere every month or more![/QUOTE]

Hi,

Singledivers.com? I would have sworn that was for single people who were interested in diving, drinking, and thirdly, split-sheet diving. Then, repeat the next day with someone new.

I will try it.

markm