Carribeandiver
Guest
This was a weekend of firsts for me. First time in a quarry, first time diving in a drysuit. The DUI Rally was terrific, they had tons of suits, undergarments and misc related stuff for everybody without any waiting around.
People gawking at a drysuit for the first time - like me - were given the opportunity to ask questions and get great answers from people in the know.
I got there early with a list of suits I wanted to look at and test dive. I was fitted for the seals, sized up for undergarments, asked questions about my tendencies to get cold easily or not, then given boots(socks), the underwear and suit. People were there to help us don our self donning suits and to insure we did it correctly.
I got suited up, felt like a marshmellow man and waddled over to the table where my rig was ready. Opps, fins wont slip over the drysuit. NO problemo, DUI had tons of fins in assorted sizes and I was promptly given fins - Jets with super duper size slots for my booted up feet.
I then put on my rig, hooked up my harness, grabbed my mask and fins and walked down the steps to the dive area. I quickly learned that this drysuit meant I needed weights and DUI was right there with people prepping weight belts and handing them over.
Next, I stepped into the water. Having only dove with wetsuits, I expected my feet, then legs to start getting cold as the water creeped in but Noooooooo, this drysuit thing is all right, I was dry, warm, not feeling the cold water. Woohoo, there just may be something to this dry suit diving afterall.
Now confidently, I stepped out onto the platform, about waist deep. I was greeted by an instructor and we talked about my experience level and what I wanted to do with my Test dive.
We went down and swam along the wall, probably about a 20-25 minute dive, no deeper than 55 feet although, I was really just paying attention to the fact that the only thing wet was my hands. I couldnt feel water on my face and head and rarely ever do even when wetsuitting it. Man, that quarry water is cold. I wasnt cold but I could tell it was chillybean. My hands got pretty cold but not intolerable. I think the water temp was 54F at the coldest which is a new world record low for me but I realize that is nothing compared to you TRULY dedicated divers of from the frozen north and northwest.
Ok, my first quarry. Guys, what do you see in a quarry? Some fish, like trout, catfish and some perch? An old car, some culverts, a schoolbus? Pardon me but whoopie doo. I guess if I lived close by, I would dive the sucker all the time but since I am far away, I can say it is not a good dive site. However, the key words are "dive site" and that sure beats the bath tub doesnt it?
My first drysuit dive was,, umm, ahem, well, not ideal. I was afraid of putting too much air in the suit so I hardly put any which meant I was squeezed all over like an orange in the juicer. Not unbearable but definitely noticeable.
Then I did another dive, forget the list, I used the same model suit. Much better this time. Oh, so this is how it feels with air in it? hmmm, not bad when you take out the squeezing. Still, I found it very restrictive but that could be because I am not used to the suit or the suit was not ideally fitted for me.
DUI was terrific. They gave us test divers hats, answered our questions, had every kind of suit available for demo dives and even had reps around to measure us in the event we wanted to be fitted.
Plus, and here is the kicker, I got a coupon for a free signature series upgrade and a free sports package if I buy a suit within the next 6 months. That gives me 6 months to beat on my dealer for that 'special' price.
I met some great people. Put some faces to some ScubaBoard names, got a cool looking hat, test dove some dry suits and experienced a quarry. What a weekend!!!
Only one thing,, the hat Reads, DUI Test Diver. I can picture some cop stopping me and seeing me wearing that hat. His eyes are gonna see DUI Test DRiver and think I am a drunk driver and proud of it. I can see me trying to explain what DUI is and that it says Test DIVER, not DRIVER all the while he is clubbing me. I can only hope the cop is a diver.
Really good weekend, Excellent opportunity to experience some firsts. Worth every minute. Thanks DUI, thanks to all of you who I had the privilege and pleasure of meeting - and you know who you are.
People gawking at a drysuit for the first time - like me - were given the opportunity to ask questions and get great answers from people in the know.
I got there early with a list of suits I wanted to look at and test dive. I was fitted for the seals, sized up for undergarments, asked questions about my tendencies to get cold easily or not, then given boots(socks), the underwear and suit. People were there to help us don our self donning suits and to insure we did it correctly.
I got suited up, felt like a marshmellow man and waddled over to the table where my rig was ready. Opps, fins wont slip over the drysuit. NO problemo, DUI had tons of fins in assorted sizes and I was promptly given fins - Jets with super duper size slots for my booted up feet.
I then put on my rig, hooked up my harness, grabbed my mask and fins and walked down the steps to the dive area. I quickly learned that this drysuit meant I needed weights and DUI was right there with people prepping weight belts and handing them over.
Next, I stepped into the water. Having only dove with wetsuits, I expected my feet, then legs to start getting cold as the water creeped in but Noooooooo, this drysuit thing is all right, I was dry, warm, not feeling the cold water. Woohoo, there just may be something to this dry suit diving afterall.
Now confidently, I stepped out onto the platform, about waist deep. I was greeted by an instructor and we talked about my experience level and what I wanted to do with my Test dive.
We went down and swam along the wall, probably about a 20-25 minute dive, no deeper than 55 feet although, I was really just paying attention to the fact that the only thing wet was my hands. I couldnt feel water on my face and head and rarely ever do even when wetsuitting it. Man, that quarry water is cold. I wasnt cold but I could tell it was chillybean. My hands got pretty cold but not intolerable. I think the water temp was 54F at the coldest which is a new world record low for me but I realize that is nothing compared to you TRULY dedicated divers of from the frozen north and northwest.
Ok, my first quarry. Guys, what do you see in a quarry? Some fish, like trout, catfish and some perch? An old car, some culverts, a schoolbus? Pardon me but whoopie doo. I guess if I lived close by, I would dive the sucker all the time but since I am far away, I can say it is not a good dive site. However, the key words are "dive site" and that sure beats the bath tub doesnt it?
My first drysuit dive was,, umm, ahem, well, not ideal. I was afraid of putting too much air in the suit so I hardly put any which meant I was squeezed all over like an orange in the juicer. Not unbearable but definitely noticeable.
Then I did another dive, forget the list, I used the same model suit. Much better this time. Oh, so this is how it feels with air in it? hmmm, not bad when you take out the squeezing. Still, I found it very restrictive but that could be because I am not used to the suit or the suit was not ideally fitted for me.
DUI was terrific. They gave us test divers hats, answered our questions, had every kind of suit available for demo dives and even had reps around to measure us in the event we wanted to be fitted.
Plus, and here is the kicker, I got a coupon for a free signature series upgrade and a free sports package if I buy a suit within the next 6 months. That gives me 6 months to beat on my dealer for that 'special' price.
I met some great people. Put some faces to some ScubaBoard names, got a cool looking hat, test dove some dry suits and experienced a quarry. What a weekend!!!
Only one thing,, the hat Reads, DUI Test Diver. I can picture some cop stopping me and seeing me wearing that hat. His eyes are gonna see DUI Test DRiver and think I am a drunk driver and proud of it. I can see me trying to explain what DUI is and that it says Test DIVER, not DRIVER all the while he is clubbing me. I can only hope the cop is a diver.
Really good weekend, Excellent opportunity to experience some firsts. Worth every minute. Thanks DUI, thanks to all of you who I had the privilege and pleasure of meeting - and you know who you are.
