Truth Aquatics for Newbie?

[onebadasslass]

Hi folks
I'm a new diver (14 dives) and am considering a 5-day liveaboard trip with Truth Aq. Anyone have feedback on how it is to be a new diver on one of their trips? I have seen high ratings by experienced divers, but not so much by new ones.
Thoughts?
Lisa

[fisheater]

Call them and discuss that voyage's itinerary and chartering group. A lot will depend upon where they're going and what kind of diving their going to do. They are very friendly and want everyone on board to have a fun and safe trip.


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[merxlin]

Some of the diving can be at an advanced level (i.e. deep, cold), but if you are used to Monterey, it will be a bit easier for you. Do you have a dive buddy that wil be going with you, or will you need a buddy? That could be a challenge is the rest of the group are all advanced divers. As far as the boat and crew go, they are typically top notch.

[onebadasslass]

Thanks for the replies, fisheater and merxlin.
The plan was to call in the a.m. I've been invited by an experienced diver who knows I am a new one and he would be my buddy. I'm glad to hear your endorsement of TA.
But I have only dived tropical waters...so this will be an adjustment for me! I am not used to the temps or all of the extra equipment, and will be renting everything but a mask.
Lisa

[fisheater]

Have a great trip, but MY GOD! You call yourself "OneBadAssLass" and you don't dive at home in Monterey, the home of some of the best diving on the planet?!?!?

Seriously, you've got world class diving right on your doorstep that many of the rest of us drive hours to get to. Take advantage of it and become a great diver worthy of your screen name.

Take a scuba refresher or guided tour there to get some experience with cold water and cold water gear and then DIVE. There are lots and lots of Monterey-area divers that will be glad to "show you the ropes." Just ask.

[onebadasslass]

Thanks, Fisheater, for the encouragement and the chastisement, hehe. (I didn't say I was a badass DIVER, I said I was a badass LASS! Sheesh.) Workin on the diver part. I have been doing tropical dives till I feel really comfortable with everything (i.e., equalization, my nemesis), before I move to complicated gear, colder water, etc. So I will do some guided touring here.

And, until recently, I have only heard negative things about diving here, primarily that visibility is awful. But apparently it's worth going down. You won't have to tell me twice!
Thanks!
Lisa

[fisheater]

Yeah!!

(Don't listen to those "warm water wussies.")

Hope to see you out there.

[onebadasslass]

I'll be the one with the sassy attitude and BC on upside down, can't miss me!
Thanks again
Lisa

[merxlin]

Thanks, Fisheater, for the encouragement and the chastisement, hehe. (I didn't say I was a badass DIVER, I said I was a badass LASS! Sheesh.) Workin on the diver part. I have been doing tropical dives till I feel really comfortable with everything (i.e., equalization, my nemesis), before I move to complicated gear, colder water, etc. So I will do some guided touring here.

And, until recently, I have only heard negative things about diving here, primarily that visibility is awful. But apparently it's worth going down. You won't have to tell me twice!
Thanks!
Lisa

Since you have only warm water experience (and not much of that) I would STRONGLY suggest that you get some time to practice in the gear you will need to use for diving the northern islands. Doing multiple dives can really zap your core temp down and being cold on a dive is no fun, and can add to your anxiety, especially if you are a new diver. So you will need adequate exposure protection: at least a 7mil and unless you are particularly warm blooded an additional core warmer/hood. That also means you will need considerably more weight to sink all that rubber. Even if it is in a pool, you should get a chance to see what the thick wetsuit does to your buoyancy, and how your gear feels with that much neoprene.

Too many people take this too lightly, and spend the first several dives trying to work it out, which can really wear you out. If you are not comfortable, and spend all your dives over-weighted, it can make for a long (and somewhat unsafe) 5 days.

Now all that said, I am one of those that thinks our local diving is spectacular once you get used to the conditions.

[covediver]

i think TA are the best boats around. I have been on a couple of their longer trips in the last few years. You will probably see a variety of dive sites and conditions. When I was on, the crew was pretty good about decribing the site and the level of difficulty, but on that boat the decision and responsibility are yours and yours alone (as it should be).

With this in mind, some of the questions you may want to ask yourself based on condiitons I had on last year's trip:
Are you comfortable wearing a 7mm suit with full gear and appropriate weights?
Do you have bouyancy control and the skill to hang on an anchor line in 15 feet of water (assuming you can navigate back to the anchor) in a pretty good current?
How comfortable are you swimming through kelp?
Do you handle low visibility conditions well?
Can you sit out a dive that may be marginal for your skill level when the conditions indicate despite everyone around you enthusiastically gearing up?

If the response to any of these questions is "no" or "I don't know" you need to ask yourself is this a trip for you. At one point, TA was running boats mid-week to give new divers "experience" in diving California conditions. These were single day boats designed with new divers in mind. A great way to get experience on a great boat with a great crew.