Rookie, not even certified yet

[mallbritton]

Hello, everyone.

I've decided that this year I am finally going to get scuba certified, which is something I've kind of, sort of been thinking about doing for many years. Last year I finally went to Rwanda and tracked the mountain gorillas after wanting to do that for many years, so I'm continuing the trend. I'm not certified yet but I plan to take the classes in Sept. or Oct. and start diving as regularly as I can. One of my goals is to dive the Galapagos islands within the next 5 years. Very exciting for me.

Regards,
Michael

 

[TSandM]

Hi, Michael, and welcome to :sblogo:!

You are in a wonderful place to learn to be a diver. Most of the local diving to San Francisco (my favorite city in the world, btw) is in Monterey -- and although I have been a lot of places around the world for diving now, Monterey is one of my absolute favorites. The color and life in the water there is incredible.

Please come back and tell us about your class (and if you want any recommendations for an instructor, feel free to PM me, because I know some).

 

[mallbritton]

Thanks, TSandM. I lurked around on 3 or 4 scuba-related boards for a bit before deciding to sign on with ScubaBoards. The folks here look like they really know they are talking about and safety is a very high priority.

Regards,
Michael

 

[mallbritton]

I am now certified! I did my open water dives off San Carlos Beach in Monterey, CA. and I was a bit concerned about the cold water but I was wearing so much neoprene I looked like the stay puft marshmallow man, and I barely felt the cold after a few minutes.

The first dive on the first day was pretty much a disaster for me, but I stuck with it (obviously), calmed down and thanks to my very patient dive master I was able to complete the day. The second day was much better and I felt much more comfortable in the gear and in the water. As the dive master asked me "where did your evil twin go?"

All in all now I'm ready for the adventures.

Regards,
Michael

 

[ScubaErgoSum]

Welcome to diving fella, fewer gorillas for sure but definitely more fish. If you want my two cents (or pence) worth best thing you can do is get all your own kit then you're only paying for fills. What sort of water temp do you have there in San Francisco?

 

[CKB]

Hi Michael
We thought about it for a few years and finally just finished our certification. Did our four open water in Florida. You are so luck to live in Frisco ...... Beautiful city (kid lives there) and lots of opportunity to dive. Good luck with your certification. We did the whole thing in one weekend ... If you go that way, get lots of sleep before as it's exhausting but SSOO glad I did it!!!

 

[mallbritton]

Welcome to diving fella, fewer gorillas for sure but definitely more fish. If you want my two cents (or pence) worth best thing you can do is get all your own kit then you're only paying for fills. What sort of water temp do you have there in San Francisco?

Thanks! We saw lots of jelly fish in chilly Monterey Bay this past weekend which was exciting once the surprise wore off. They were all over the place. The water was about 50 F (according to my DC).

I so plan on acquiring much of my own gear but I want to see how much diving I'm doing before I spend too much money. It just may not be worth it to buy my own regulator, for example.

Regards,
Michael

 

[mallbritton]

Hi Michael
We thought about it for a few years and finally just finished our certification. Did our four open water in Florida. You are so luck to live in Frisco ...... Beautiful city (kid lives there) and lots of opportunity to dive. Good luck with your certification. We did the whole thing in one weekend ... If you go that way, get lots of sleep before as it's exhausting but SSOO glad I did it!!!

I also did everything over two weekends. Classes on a Saturday and Sunday then open water dives 3 weeks later. I was so tired afterwards I almost didn't drive home from Monterey.

I hope to get a couple of fun dives in before the end of the year, then it's off to Belize for two weeks the day after christmas.

Regards,
Michael