Zynyx
Registered
Hello Everyone!
I'm new to diving and I'd like to first take a moment to greet everyone and tell you a bit about myself. I'm an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) working in Kagoshima Japan and I'm originally from America. My interests, other than diving, include photography, movies and running. I'm also a big video game nerd.
I began diving last September by taking a trip down to Okinoerabu to meet an English speaking instructor and go for my OW certifications. I absolutely loved it to death! Even though we really didn't do much except swim around the bay and practice basic safety procedures, which is really what an introduction license should be all about.
This prompted me to go to Thailand for my winter break and there I decided to go for my AOW through PADI off Koh Tao. I had a great time and the instructors were really helpful, I actually have nothing but great things to say about Coral Grand Diving, the resort I ended up staying at for about a week. That said, I decided I'd like to pursue further certification down the road, but I think I need way more experience before I feel comfortable doing that. As of right now, I've done about 15 dives and most of them were training.
This brings me to why I'm here!
I'm happy to find an online community of divers I can pick the brains of! I'd love to find any potential diving partners anywhere, especially if you're on or around Kyushu, here in Japan. I've started to buy some of my own gear, but I'd love some pointers on what types of things might be a good investment for someone just getting started.
I plan to be doing a lot of diving around Kyushu and potentially a good deal of it in Okinawa and the Amami islands come this spring/summer. I'm particularly interested in hearing about peoples thoughts on Dive Computers and which models are nicer to buy. I've been warned against buying some of the cheaper models that require you to send them back to the factory to change the battery (namely the Suunto's).
That's about it I suppose, I'll continue to do a bit of research til it gets warm here again and scour the boards a bit. Looking forward to getting to know some people!
Nice to meet you all again!
Matt O'Boyle
I'm new to diving and I'd like to first take a moment to greet everyone and tell you a bit about myself. I'm an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) working in Kagoshima Japan and I'm originally from America. My interests, other than diving, include photography, movies and running. I'm also a big video game nerd.
I began diving last September by taking a trip down to Okinoerabu to meet an English speaking instructor and go for my OW certifications. I absolutely loved it to death! Even though we really didn't do much except swim around the bay and practice basic safety procedures, which is really what an introduction license should be all about.
This prompted me to go to Thailand for my winter break and there I decided to go for my AOW through PADI off Koh Tao. I had a great time and the instructors were really helpful, I actually have nothing but great things to say about Coral Grand Diving, the resort I ended up staying at for about a week. That said, I decided I'd like to pursue further certification down the road, but I think I need way more experience before I feel comfortable doing that. As of right now, I've done about 15 dives and most of them were training.
This brings me to why I'm here!
I'm happy to find an online community of divers I can pick the brains of! I'd love to find any potential diving partners anywhere, especially if you're on or around Kyushu, here in Japan. I've started to buy some of my own gear, but I'd love some pointers on what types of things might be a good investment for someone just getting started.
I plan to be doing a lot of diving around Kyushu and potentially a good deal of it in Okinawa and the Amami islands come this spring/summer. I'm particularly interested in hearing about peoples thoughts on Dive Computers and which models are nicer to buy. I've been warned against buying some of the cheaper models that require you to send them back to the factory to change the battery (namely the Suunto's).
That's about it I suppose, I'll continue to do a bit of research til it gets warm here again and scour the boards a bit. Looking forward to getting to know some people!
Nice to meet you all again!
Matt O'Boyle
