New in California!!!

[mazen]

Hey,

I'm Mazen and I'm going to be at Berkeley for almost 2 months (August and September). I wanted to ask if there is a place for renting scuba gear (everything from the mask to the fins) and meet up with cool people to have a dive or more during those 2 months.

[beaverdivers]

Welcome to SCUBAboard!

[fisheater]

Welcome.

You should check out Monterey. Any of the dive shops there can do you right.


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[Peter_C]

Welcome to NorCal :)

As suggested above Monterey holds some of the best diving around and there are plenty of shops to set you up with gear.

The water is cold, so a drysuit would be ideal, although any shops that rent drysuits will require a c-card to do so. Every shop rents wetsuits. 14mm at the core isn't enough for me, but might work for you.

[mazen]

Thanks, I will check it out. By the way can they buddy me up with someone like if there are tours or something?

[timten]

I had a great expierence with Seven Seas Scuba. Seven Seas Scuba - Monterey, Dive Tours, PADI Dive shop, Dive Certifications, Scuba Lessons, Dive Gear, Equipment Service (http://sevenseasscuba.com/monterey/index.htm). I was unable to find a last minute dive buddy for a tue dive. They provided a guide with very little notice, and everyone was supper nice. Since its a new store all there gear is in great condition.

[Chavodel8en]

For finding buddies, you can post here and sometimes you'll get response.

There is also The Greater Bay Area Scuba Lovers Meetup (Santa Clara, CA) - Meetup (http://www.meetup.com/scubadivers/)
That is the meetup for scuba in the bay area. if you're familiar w/ meetup, it's a way for folks to organize "meet ups" for all kinds of activities (hiking, biking, etc.) including diving.


For renting gear, there are a number of dive shops in Monterey (just do a google search), where you would likely be diving. There are also small shops in Oakland & Alameda.

Happy diving!

[Chuck Tribolet]

There's a list of dive shops and clubs at
http://www.garlic.com/~triblet/ba_diving/

The clubs are a good way to meet folks.
Also read the two sections that start "Information".

I suspect you don't have a lot of (any?) cold water experience. The water is cold,
but the invert life is world-class.

The Monterey shops all do tours. My recommendation would be to talk to
Aquarius on Del Monte (not the same as Glenn's Aquarius II at the breakwater)
and get a tour with Bruce.

You probably want to buy a mask so you have one that you know fits.
And if you wear glasses, you can get prescription lenses in the mask.

Chuck