1st Ocean dives

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Incognegro.....ha that makes me laugh!

I will be exactly the location you mentioned.

Am considering all options and as long as underwater somewhere I will be happy I've been so excited waiting on this trip I'm about to grin myself to death.

Mike
 
If you live in the Atl area, Dive Dive Dive, and divers supply have pools that they let divers use, don't know the price, but its very reasonable if you want to work on skills. I try to get down to key largo as often as I can. That is a great place for beginners, on a calm sea day.
 
I do, divers supply is where I was certified. I've been back in their pool 2 times only paid for air but have bought lot's from them:D
 
If you were certified in a pond or spring the an ocean or if applicable cold water orientation is in order. If you show up with no prior experience in that environment then requiring guidance is IMO appropriate. A DM or mentor should be adequate guidance.

Pete
 
Well to follow up on this thread all is well that ends well. My 1st day of diving there was an OW class on the boat with an instructor and 3-4 students I was buddy less so was allowed to hang out in very close proximity with them until they did the required tasks and then we all explored the reef together.

Another day a father and 2 daughters had an elderly gentleman Divemaster I assume, with them and I was squaded to tag along because everyone else was paired up, made sure and gave him some cash upon return to the dock since I was extra baggage.

I guess my pride was hurt initially in the beginning but it worked out for the best in the end.

Mike
 
Well to follow up on this thread all is well that ends well. My 1st day of diving there was an OW class on the boat with an instructor and 3-4 students I was buddy less so was allowed to hang out in very close proximity with them until they did the required tasks and then we all explored the reef together.

Another day a father and 2 daughters had an elderly gentleman Divemaster I assume, with them and I was squaded to tag along because everyone else was paired up, made sure and gave him some cash upon return to the dock since I was extra baggage.

I guess my pride was hurt initially in the beginning but it worked out for the best in the end.

Mike

Why was your pride hurt?? Glad everything worked out. What Op did you decide to use?
 
The initial feeling that I was being told I'd have to hire a dive master because I wasn't capable of diving safely on shallow reef dives then being told I could go deep on a wreck dive with a dive master it just didn't set well with me.

I had 2 trips with Conch Republic and 2 trips with Keys Dives with weather and scheduling that was the best way to get in morning and afternoon dives that fit my certification.

Mike
 
The initial feeling that I was being told I'd have to hire a dive master because I wasn't capable of diving safely on shallow reef dives then being told I could go deep on a wreck dive with a dive master it just didn't set well with me.

I had 2 trips with Conch Republic and 2 trips with Keys Dives with weather and scheduling that was the best way to get in morning and afternoon dives that fit my certification.

Mike

that's usually standard operation, since I dive alone I seek out ops that put guides in the water, and do shallow and deep in the morning so I have a choice. Most of the Islands always put a guide in the water, but they aren't pushy guides. Most ops aren't going to let you dive alone.
 
I guess my pride was hurt initially in the beginning but it worked out for the best in the end.

Mike
Mike, first of all, it's good to hear that you enjoyed your dives. It was also good to read this comment of yours after your dive day. I hope you see now that the ops are not actively trying to bruise your ego but rather just keep you safe while you enjoy an activity that is supposed to be fun, not risky.

I'm a dive pro working in a tourist location where we have a wreck with about the same depth profile as you described in post #3, so I imagined what I would suggest to you if you were coming here to dive, given your prior dive experience. First of all, our dives are all guided, so there's no need to hire a private DM, but if they were not, I would certainly have recommended taking one, at least for the first day and for any dives beyond your experience level (and let's face it, you don't know what you don't know, so you should have considered even those first dives beyond your experience). Leaving that aside, even on guided dives, I would have recommended a shallow dive day initially to you to get your weighting right and let you get used to current, and if you were interested in diving the wreck, I would have let you know that the top is at about 60 feet, but the bottom at about 100 feet (our wreck here, that is), so that if you felt uncomfortable going down to the sand, you could stay on the top of the wreck at a depth commensurate with your certification level. In other words, just because the description of a dive site mentions the bottom limit doesn't mean that you have to actually go that deep--we can dive at 40 feet on walls that descend half a mile, stay higher on a sloping reef that bottoms out at 200 feet, or stay at 60-65 feet on top of a wreck that sits much deeper on the bottom. Anyway, again, I'm glad you had fun on your dives.
 

Back
Top Bottom