Well, as DP has not yet dove at Storm, here are some of the good and bad points. It is FREE!!(good point). There is a great cheap restaurant (The stained glass) just down the street. There are some good instructors (meaning they keep an eye on their students), and interesting divers that go there. Now, the bad.... it is an altitude dive. Meaning, you are limited to 2 dives unless you want to take a ride.....The vis is bad. The best I have ever seen is 20 ft, a few years ago, during a long long dryspell. The enterence is a pain. There is no cell coverage at the lake itself-you have to go up to the top of the parking lot-very bad in the event of an emergancy. The number of student divers is overwhelming during season. The number of idiots is too- from boaters that disregard dive flags to instructors that need their gear carried and set up for them, to people you have never met using your trucks tailgate to get geared up, and as Aquaman said, suicidal idiots just out of open water diving solo. And as for your question on temps, JRK and I had 47 in the creek bed-off the 90, down the slope-3 weeks ago.
Now for the others...Dutch has a lot to see, vis is good, price is high. A lot of people every place you go, but most of the tech students are respectful of not creating silting issues, and in the deeper parts, thats what you see.
Bainbridge, decent vis, a long list of rules (though I have yet to see the scuba police), good depth, not nearly as much to see as Dutch.
Willow, lots to see, but night diving all day long. Shallow. Good people, kick back attitude.
Guppy Gulch- cheap, cold, most of the stuff was there before it opened as a dive site.
That is it for the main places around here, aside from where TTS gets in. And when we are done getting what we are after we will name the other spots.
My advice is to make sure you have a hood that fits properly. Then, do what my wife did- wear it around for a bit, at the house and in the pool. Once you get used to it, it is easy. As for the gloves, they are definitely needed. But, broken in gloves are easier for new divers (they aren't as warm, but, much easier to operate) The biggest thing with getting cold is this-aside from discomfort- YOU CAN GET BENT!!!! As the circulation drops, the blood flow slows, keeping nitrogen in solution....causing bubbles...taking a ride.
My final word is this. Get to NC or SC. Do some ocean diving. Go with experienced buddies. RAD is a great source of info on VA, and NC. Get nitrox certified. TTS is always happy to have people join us, as long as they can follow basic rules.
-J
) We were just discussing an invasion day at Rawlings in the Intro/Greet forum...PM me when you are heading somewhere this year!
