devolution365
Contributor
Hey everyone! I've been lurking for the last few days and am really enjoying the site. The information is overwhelming, the pictures stunning, and Wonder Boy's story (http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=61189&page=1&pp=10) is making me feel really bad that I've been certified 7 years now and haven't dove since my open water dives! 
My story: I've always been interested in marine life, but the intrest grew exponentially when my Dad took us to John Pennekamp State Park on a family vacation while I was in high school. We rented a boat and motored out until we lost site of land. (That made my Mom pretty nervous.) My Dad found the site, tied the boat up and we all put on our masks, snorkels, and fins. Then we just sat there looking at each other. Everyone was afraid to be the first in the water. We're from Chicago, so we start thinking about the differences between the ocean and Lake Michigan back home (mainly sharks). My Dad's the big Marine, so he took charge and stepped out onto the platform. Just then we see a flash below the surface of the water. We found out a day or two before that fish do that when they're in danger -further enforcing in our minds the possibility of danger (sharks) down there. My Mom at this time starts taking her gear off saying that she's gunna stay put and watch the boat.
My Dad then took a deep breath and jumped in (no guts, no glory style). As soon as his head bobbed back up to the surface he said we ALL (including my Mom) were to get in the water -we wouldn't believe it. So, once again we all look at each other thinking Dad's okay, but who's next? I ended up taking the plunge next. It was amazing! A site I will never forget. The first thing I saw was a school of black and white fish with bright yellow fins, then the coral, the deep blue color of the water, then more fish -all shapes, sizes, and colors.
So, in college a friend looked into SCUBA lessons, and I scraped up the moey to go along. When it came time for the open water dives he decided he'd do his in Floriday. Well, I didn't have the means to go along, so I procrastinated until October and then did my dives in ice cold water, but hey -I was certified! Then, my friend moved away permanently and I had no one to dive with.
What brought me back to diving is my fiance. We've taken a couple cruises together and they've resulted in a couple of really nice snorkeling tours. While planning our wedding (to be held on a cruise in January) my fiance said he wanted to get SCUBA certified so we can go diving instead of snorkeling on this trip. Well, he didn't have to ask me twice -I called the nearest dive shop and he was enrolled right away (and I enrolled in a refresher as well). He'll do his open water dives this weekend, and I'm going along too for the practice.
So, that's my long intro. If you got through all of that and have any advice for me -we're trying to decide whether to dive in St Thomas or Nassau on our wedding cruise. We'll most likely go through the cruise line for the dives (Royal Caribbean). We can do one island or the other, so which is recommended? My fiance, Ed, is very interested in the "tongue of the ocean" thing, but we have so little time in Nassau (1pm-7pm vs 8am to 6pm in St Thomas). I'd be interested in hearing your suggestions on where to dive...
My story: I've always been interested in marine life, but the intrest grew exponentially when my Dad took us to John Pennekamp State Park on a family vacation while I was in high school. We rented a boat and motored out until we lost site of land. (That made my Mom pretty nervous.) My Dad found the site, tied the boat up and we all put on our masks, snorkels, and fins. Then we just sat there looking at each other. Everyone was afraid to be the first in the water. We're from Chicago, so we start thinking about the differences between the ocean and Lake Michigan back home (mainly sharks). My Dad's the big Marine, so he took charge and stepped out onto the platform. Just then we see a flash below the surface of the water. We found out a day or two before that fish do that when they're in danger -further enforcing in our minds the possibility of danger (sharks) down there. My Mom at this time starts taking her gear off saying that she's gunna stay put and watch the boat.
My Dad then took a deep breath and jumped in (no guts, no glory style). As soon as his head bobbed back up to the surface he said we ALL (including my Mom) were to get in the water -we wouldn't believe it. So, once again we all look at each other thinking Dad's okay, but who's next? I ended up taking the plunge next. It was amazing! A site I will never forget. The first thing I saw was a school of black and white fish with bright yellow fins, then the coral, the deep blue color of the water, then more fish -all shapes, sizes, and colors.
So, in college a friend looked into SCUBA lessons, and I scraped up the moey to go along. When it came time for the open water dives he decided he'd do his in Floriday. Well, I didn't have the means to go along, so I procrastinated until October and then did my dives in ice cold water, but hey -I was certified! Then, my friend moved away permanently and I had no one to dive with.
What brought me back to diving is my fiance. We've taken a couple cruises together and they've resulted in a couple of really nice snorkeling tours. While planning our wedding (to be held on a cruise in January) my fiance said he wanted to get SCUBA certified so we can go diving instead of snorkeling on this trip. Well, he didn't have to ask me twice -I called the nearest dive shop and he was enrolled right away (and I enrolled in a refresher as well). He'll do his open water dives this weekend, and I'm going along too for the practice.
So, that's my long intro. If you got through all of that and have any advice for me -we're trying to decide whether to dive in St Thomas or Nassau on our wedding cruise. We'll most likely go through the cruise line for the dives (Royal Caribbean). We can do one island or the other, so which is recommended? My fiance, Ed, is very interested in the "tongue of the ocean" thing, but we have so little time in Nassau (1pm-7pm vs 8am to 6pm in St Thomas). I'd be interested in hearing your suggestions on where to dive...
And that flying feeling is neat, isn't it. Be careful in the Carrib, tho - rules are only suggestions down there... :11:
