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Great ideas from everyone! One thing I might add: once you jump in, turn around and take a look at the boat from your new water-level perspective. Pay attention to the color and note any identifying characteristics. This will help if you surface from your dive and you have to pick your boat out...

Forgot to mention that an AOW SSI card only lists those specialties that were required for that level of certification. Nitrox is not a required specialty for AOW. Your Nitrox card will be a separate card.

I must be missing something here. You just completed an SSI Nitrox course, which you paid for, and you now have to BUY the Nitrox card? The card should come automatically as proof that you completed the course. Your LDS should submit the paperwork requesting the card to SSI on your behalf. If...

When I was shopping around for an LDS to take my OW lessons from three years ago I decided to go with SSI, not because I thought SSI was better than PADI or NAUI but because of the staff at the SSI shop. For some reason, after multiple visits to the various LDS in the area, I just felt more...

I must be missing something. I thought it was called a wetsuit because it allowed a thin layer of water to enter and that as your body warmed the water it kept you reasonably warm as long as the water was not constantly circulating into and out of the suit. In other words, get a good fitting suit.

For any dive site that I can drive to, I put my weights in a heavy-duty plastic dairy box, not one of those cheapos that you buy in office stores. The weights take up little space and I use the rest of the room in the box to keep my stuff together under the bench of the dive boat. The dairy box...

I agree... take your time and, by all means, don't feel pressured by either the LDS or your fellow divers to rush into anything too quickly. Don't let peer pressure or the thought of keeping pace with your buddies force you into doing anything you are not ready for. As a DM in no hurry to be an...

On all tanks, it should be a standard feature that you can turn on your air with the cylinder on your back without throwing your shoulder out of joint to do so. It is inconceivable to me that valve construction has not progressed to this point. Any engineers out there given this some practical...

This is not an uncommon problem that has been covered many times, I'm sure. Am in my third year of diving and it seems as if I spent my entire first year figuring out how to solve the waterlogged ear situation. My first dive trip for my OW cert resulted in clogged ears that turned into an...

In my third year of diving, I'm just as compulsive (okay, maybe anal) today about cleaning my gear after every dive as I was when I when I started. Even if I have done a freshwater dive in the local quarry, I still follow my salt-water cleaning procedures. On a dive trip I soak everything in...

My most memorable dive was when I finally realized that diving wasn't all about heading to the sand to record the deepest spot on your computer for bragging rights back on the boat. I seem to remember that a small group of us used to do this during our first OW dives just for the novelty of...

The SSI requirement for their version of DM is Dive Control Specialist, or Dive Con. In order to start the course you must first have received your Advanced rating (minimum 24 dives), then have logged at least 40 dives before you start the course, and 60 to finish, in addition to the required...

Thanks for a truly exciting post! Am in my third year of diving and I still get excited every time I jump in. Even so, it was motivating to read the excitement that you experienced. I have been to Key Largo three times and I agree that is an excellent location and I second your nomination of...

Like Floater, I am also (finally) satisfied with my DC310, although it was not a happy honeymoon. Not until I figured out that only rechargable AA batteries would give me enough juice to get through a couple of dives did I realize that there was some hope that it might prove to be a useful...

Following up...kudos to Sealife. As mentioned, I sent my DC310 to Sealife to have the O-ring replaced a couple of weeks ago and I just got it back in the mail. Instead of simply replacing the O-ring they replaced the entire housing. Am still scratching my head. My thanks to the staff at...

Lake Champlain off Plattsburgh, NY. Cold, dark, and uncomfortable but somehow I enjoyed my dives. Course I was in my early twenties then. I have no desire to dive that lake again.

Good point made. Although I fully believe in having my reg/air2 serviced at least once a year, after servicing I like to take it in the pool before going out in the o/w just to make sure everything is okay. Last year I had some air leakage from my first stage as a result of either too many...

For what it's worth, I lent my DC310 to friend to take on an out of town trip and when he returned he reported that there was a slight leak. Naturally I blamed him (but kept that thought to myself). Turns out, just before lending him the camera I thought it would be a good idea to remove and...

Think about it. Once the first person rinses his/her stuff in the rinse tank, it's no longer fresh water unless you drain it all out and refill it before you use it. I'm talking about salt water here, not urine. I tend not to use the rinse tank at the dive shop for that very reason. Instead...

Thanks for everyone's thoughtful responses and my apologies for raising a question that has been discussed many times, I'm sure. My point in question #4 is: when on a boat dive and you are descending do you and your buddy meet up on the surface to check gear...on the 15-foot hangbar to check...