All or Nothing My Story

[nolatom]

Have fun!

I come from a sailing and (occasionally) offshore racing background. It has been said that it's easy to simulate the experience of being the owner of on offshore racing sailboat:


(Stand under a cold shower, in the dark, with all your clothes on, tearing up hundred-dollar bills)

 

[industrious95]

Great story.

I learned on my first dive from a cruise ship tour: Stay away from the dive master, unless you like getting kicked in the head. Lots of newbies and once-a-year divers who don't realize they are moving in 3 dimensions, not just forward/backward and side/side.

You'll probably find you need less weight in fresh water than salt water, good idea to keep track of that. Beats filling your BC pockets with rocks on the beach.

 

[DukeAMO]

My PPB instructor taught me to log my gear configuration (tank type, neoprene specs, weight distribution between side pockets, trim pockets, and ankle weights) and water type (fresh, salt) on every dive, with a comment about whether my weighting was correct or how it was off. I also write down the water temperature, and whether I was cold or not. We like many different types of dives, so I have used many different configurations. Now, after a few dozen dives, I have a really good idea how much weight I need, and where it should go!

---------- Post added May 22nd, 2014 at 02:19 PM ----------

I learned on my first dive from a cruise ship tour: Stay away from the dive master, unless you like getting kicked in the head. Lots of newbies and once-a-year divers who don't realize they are moving in 3 dimensions, not just forward/backward and side/side.

That is so true. I got kicked in the head many times per dive on cruise ship cattle boat dives. If you do go close to the DM to see something, hold on to your mask, seriously!

 

[PhatD1ver]

Enjoyed your story. Let me add to the previous comments about slowing down on the money drain. Cave/Wreck Diving often requires different types of equipment from normal recreational diving. So if you are thinking you will want to go that direction, you would want to buy the type of equipment that would work for that. The Air Compressor is a huge OH NO, DON'T buy that. Air compressors for breathable scuba air are: 1. Expensive to buy 2. Expensive to maintain 3. Your volume will not justify the expense. The filters on an air compressor for breathable gas must be maintained and replaced every so often based on hours of use or days installed. Do so research on this on the cost of ownership.

For air fills closer to home try your local dive shop. Yes, they have dive shops in Arkansas. Since you don't say where in Arkansas you are visit www.divesitesinarkansas.com not only does it list information about dive sites in Arkansas, at the bottom of the page he list dive shops.

For air fills you might also talk to your local fire department. They have compressors to fill their SCBA. Ask if they are pumping Grade E air.

Other dive sites in near by states you might want to visit are: Valhalla Missile Silo in Midland TX; Bonne Terre Mine, Bonne Terre MO. There are other dive sites around in Arkansas and nearby states, mines, rock quarries, lakes, rivers, and the odd missle silo. lots of places to practice. You might want to get a 7mm wetsuit so you can dive in other places besides Florida. Welcome to the world of SCUBA, a very addictive sport. Search this site for other divers near you. If you put your city in your profile you may find other local diver saying hello.

I might also mention that besides the fire department, there is also the local underwater search and rescue team (almost every county in the US has one, the one in my little valley is sponsored by the Sheriff's dept, some are local police, other are the volunteer fire dept as mentioned, and they can sell fills too (NOTE: sometimes, you have to go to a country meeting, or city council meeting and make this proposal because a local yocal is all full of himself... but I've never found a politician that didn't like the idea of getting a little cash back for their budgets, in our town, it was a slamdunk. (or, you can volunteer to work with them, get some extra training, and normally they give FREE fills to their members, for 'training' dives... )