New divers hard finding dive buddies?

[SCUBASailor]

I'm also a new diver and could not find many folks here in my home town to dive with. Even after making inquiries at the LDS, no luck. We have no sense of community at all here.

Someone on here on SB recommended a LDS 60 miles away from me. LDS has organized a great dive club. Actually, it's more of a community. There are divers there who are happy to mentor me, and actually seem to enjoy taking me along. To top it off, the LDC leads organized group dives once a month. There is always a mixture of experienced divers and newbies on these trips.

I guess my point is that you may have to stray a bit from home to find mentors. Don't give up!

 

[danvolker]

Thank you for ways on finding different types of buddies and not complaining about the ones you have had. I agree on a good set of safety rules and finding problems before they happen. I will have to come down sometime and try out a shore dive.

The best shore dive we have takes place at the Palm Beach inlet...this is between the Island of Palm Beach and SingerIsland. Typically, on a day with non-extreme surf, you enter at the beach at the Pump House( at the extreme South end of the beach, right at the Jetty) and you are able to get about 8 feet deep within around 20 feet from shore, so you can get under waves quite quickly. You swim out and around the rocks of the jetty, and into the inlet. You do this just as High Tide is almost done coming in, up to maybe 45 minutes before it...the further before it, the more of a ride you will have when you first turn the corner into the inlet.

Depth right after the turn is about 20 feet, and can get to about 25 out in the sand.On the jetty side you are near, the rocks are covered in corals and rich growths, and massive schools of fish blow in to this area, as it is an Estuary, and a rich area for marine life. Even if the current is still ripping in, you can stay close to the bottom, and close to the rocks of the jetty, and this will keep you out of the full force of the current [skin friction drag of these surfaces slows the current a great deal] . This is key info to remember, in case you wait well past the hour long slack tide before heading back, as the inlet will be pushing you OUT very fast once this occurs, and you will want to be low and close to the rocks when you make your turn to come back around on to the beach by the pumphouse.

As cool as the dive begins, and it really can have some excitement for any diver as you round the point to the inlet( the curent there causes unique schooling of fish, and some very cool sights), the dive gets much better still once you have come in about 200 yards, to just past a buoy in the shipping channel. Just past this point, there is what looks like a "road", that cuts into a clifflike structure, going down a steep hill. As you begin to swim along this road, depth around 15 feet, the "hill" you descend has a cool backdrop of deep blue on a clear day, has big schools of fish blowing through, and this drops you down to the bottom of this underwater canyon, to a depth of around 35 feet or so. This canyon is covered with sponges and corals, and it is a rich dive site to enjoy. I do not expect it is entirely ok with the marine patrol to have divers in here...and the only people that I know of who dive this tie their flag to a rock near the jetty, before swimming down the road/cut into the canyon..and get the flag on returning to the road. As this area above the underwater canyon IS a shipping channel, you DO NOT come up in the channel, no matter what..you ALWAYS EXIT VIA THE ROAD. Essentially, this is an "overhead environment dive", so it is really NOT a dive for new divers. An OOA scenario would have to be dealt with by an air share and a swim back to the road/cut in the canyon to get to your flag[ostensibly, you were diving by your flag the whole time....] , and if there was not air enough for this, you would just have to swim straight north over the canyon edge, and straight back to the jetty.. a distance of really only about 100 feet or so from channel/canyon to jetty rocks where you can surface in an areas SAFE for divers to be in ( no boats there).

Anyway, this is an exciting dive, and it is a shore dive that will blow away any other shore dive in Florida. Parking is problematic, but I have a great solution for this when I do it
If someone here trys this without me, you will need to dump gear off at the end of the road that goes to the jetty by the beach..the driver has to stay behind the wheel of the car so the local Barney Fife will not try to ticket you from parking in the no parking zone you need to unload in, and then you will park the car at the Ocean Mall about a half mile back!!! I guess you could take a taxi...or a non-diving friend!
I actually know someone who lives literally right at the end of the road area, so I have this pretty easy

Again...this is a high tide dive. Low tide has no vis, high tide can be 60 feet or way more...changing tides can bring currents so strong you would not be able to swim against them mid water--only at the bottom and by the rocks.

One of these days I'll get Sandra to shoot some photos of the sights on this dive..
Regards,
DanV

 

[atrawick]

I'm also a new diver and could not find many folks here in my home town to dive with. Even after making inquiries at the LDS, no luck. We have no sense of community at all here.

Someone on here on SB recommended a LDS 60 miles away from me. LDS has organized a great dive club. Actually, it's more of a community. There are divers there who are happy to mentor me, and actually seem to enjoy taking me along. To top it off, the LDC leads organized group dives once a month. There is always a mixture of experienced divers and newbies on these trips.

I guess my point is that you may have to stray a bit from home to find mentors. Don't give up!

That's about the same around here. One LDS,one club and hardly any diving.

 

[atrawick]

The best shore dive we have takes place at the Palm Beach inlet...this is between the Island of Palm Beach and SingerIsland. Typically, on a day with non-extreme surf, you enter at the beach at the Pump House( at the extreme South end of the beach, right at the Jetty) and you are able to get about 8 feet deep within around 20 feet from shore, so you can get under waves quite quickly. You swim out and around the rocks of the jetty, and into the inlet. You do this just as High Tide is almost done coming in, up to maybe 45 minutes before it...the further before it, the more of a ride you will have when you first turn the corner into the inlet.

Depth right after the turn is about 20 feet, and can get to about 25 out in the sand.On the jetty side you are near, the rocks are covered in corals and rich growths, and massive schools of fish blow in to this area, as it is an Estuary, and a rich area for marine life. Even if the current is still ripping in, you can stay close to the bottom, and close to the rocks of the jetty, and this will keep you out of the full force of the current [skin friction drag of these surfaces slows the current a great deal] . This is key info to remember, in case you wait well past the hour long slack tide before heading back, as the inlet will be pushing you OUT very fast once this occurs, and you will want to be low and close to the rocks when you make your turn to come back around on to the beach by the pumphouse.

As cool as the dive begins, and it really can have some excitement for any diver as you round the point to the inlet( the curent there causes unique schooling of fish, and some very cool sights), the dive gets much better still once you have come in about 200 yards, to just past a buoy in the shipping channel. Just past this point, there is what looks like a "road", that cuts into a clifflike structure, going down a steep hill. As you begin to swim along this road, depth around 15 feet, the "hill" you descend has a cool backdrop of deep blue on a clear day, has big schools of fish blowing through, and this drops you down to the bottom of this underwater canyon, to a depth of around 35 feet or so. This canyon is covered with sponges and corals, and it is a rich dive site to enjoy. I do not expect it is entirely ok with the marine patrol to have divers in here...and the only people that I know of who dive this tie their flag to a rock near the jetty, before swimming down the road/cut into the canyon..and get the flag on returning to the road. As this area above the underwater canyon IS a shipping channel, you DO NOT come up in the channel, no matter what..you ALWAYS EXIT VIA THE ROAD. Essentially, this is an "overhead environment dive", so it is really NOT a dive for new divers. An OOA scenario would have to be dealt with by an air share and a swim back to the road/cut in the canyon to get to your flag[ostensibly, you were diving by your flag the whole time....] , and if there was not air enough for this, you would just have to swim straight north over the canyon edge, and straight back to the jetty.. a distance of really only about 100 feet or so from channel/canyon to jetty rocks where you can surface in an areas SAFE for divers to be in ( no boats there).

Anyway, this is an exciting dive, and it is a shore dive that will blow away any other shore dive in Florida. Parking is problematic, but I have a great solution for this when I do it
If someone here trys this without me, you will need to dump gear off at the end of the road that goes to the jetty by the beach..the driver has to stay behind the wheel of the car so the local Barney Fife will not try to ticket you from parking in the no parking zone you need to unload in, and then you will park the car at the Ocean Mall about a half mile back!!! I guess you could take a taxi...or a non-diving friend!
I actually know someone who lives literally right at the end of the road area, so I have this pretty easy

Again...this is a high tide dive. Low tide has no vis, high tide can be 60 feet or way more...changing tides can bring currents so strong you would not be able to swim against them mid water--only at the bottom and by the rocks.

One of these days I'll get Sandra to shoot some photos of the sights on this dive..
Regards,
DanV

That sounds like a great dive!

 

[OneRestlessNative]

I have no diving friends in my immediate social circle. Scubaboard has been a great source of finding and meeting fellow divers. In fact I was in a 3 year non diving spell for lack of a buddy. Jobless and bored I stumbled on the forum. A local instructor offered for me to join her class on a boat as a tag along and to get a bit of a refresher. Every instance has been meeting an unfamiliar face or place, from boat, to beach, including night dives. I have met over a dozen members local and had several visiting from other states that I have volunteered to show some local diving to. I have yet to meet a negative person or been in a bad situation. Cheers to all the great members who accept and welcome new buddies and share experiences.


That sounds like a really cool dive Dan, I have drifted Jupiter inlet in a similar fashion except on the high/slack/outgoing, rounding the pier finishing on the beach. It would be great to join you on that dive one day when I'm down that way visiting.

 

[helimvee]

A lot of people were in your shoes (boots) when they started diving - including me. I drove 4 hours round trip to a dive site and asked everyone and anyone that was there to buddy up with me. I got a lot of "No, I have a buddy." but was able to buddy up most days for at least one dive.

I also went to LDS dive functions and dove with anyone I could. That is where I met ScubaSteve (SB Member) Random buddy pairing at a LDS organized dive and we have done many dives together since.

Have you tried the other people you did your OW course with?

What about attending the LDS openwater certification days and seeing if other divers are there looking for buddies?

You might consider taking another dive course as a way to meet up with other locals. That way they will get to know you and how you dive in an organized setting.

All the best.

 

[Chris Hipp]

Well, first off i would say that buddies are over rated, but don't listen to me.

Going on actual dive trips with a group has always been the best way for me to meet other divers. You'll find that there is usually a core group of people that go on the trips with the dive shop.

The fact that you say "tag along" suggest that you are not confident in your skills and you may be conveying that to the other divers. Just make sure you are confident. Having your own gear helps to, if you walked up to me with all rental gear, i'd be a little worried.

Working with new divers is something fun, sometimes...other times we just want to have a hassle free dive and how can you really know if someone is capable or not? The worst thing is burning half a tank to help a new diver clear their ears, its happened to me several times.

 

[Kingpatzer]

I love diving with new divers -- particularly those I've met through a class at our store. Come into the our shop and ask around for folks doing dives and you'll find someone to invite you along. Though it does depend on how you approach them.

Some folks will be put off with a comment of "Can I tag along on your dive this weekend" because they are planning a dive already and want to do a particular thing. But if you make the comment "Hey, I'm having trouble finding a buddy, could we get together sometime and do a dive?" You'll find yourself invited out -- maybe not to this weekend, but sometime.

 

[ScubaSteve]

I have dove with new(er) divers but am always very leary of any diver that shows up someplace and asks to jump in with us. If I am going to dive with an unknown entity (to me) then I prefer to do it in a site which is very benign (a local pond that is shallow and small) so that we can both assess each other.

I have a little bit of experience with a bigger dive count than the OP's but even today I have trouble finding dive buddies a lot of times. Most of the time it is several conflicting schedules however now the equation has been further complicated baby .

Find a club/shop, talk to them, be up front with your experience and mention that you seek a simple dive to find some good buddies. I think if people see that you are trying to be safe and diligent in setting up dives, they may warm up to you quicker. I have had newer divers mention wanting to dive some very serious sites and that just turned me off of them. I am a conservative diver and would rather dive with another conservative diver.

 

[sabbath999]

My wife and I dive with newbies all the time at local quarries, no worries. Generally, we go out as a "three buddy" team.

We are perfectly willing to dive with newbies, or people who haven't dove in a while, as long as they have a good attitude towards diving, and don't look like they are about to do something stupid.

We absolutely insist on proper buddy techniques, though... even though it is just going to be a "swim around the quarry" dive, we are going to do full buddy and equipment checks, we are going to do a complete dive plan, we are going to talk about our signals, we are going to go over the "lost buddy" protocol we use in detail, our expectation of buddies making regular eye contact, about our adherence to the policy of "any diver can call any dive at any time for any reason". We are going to have an gas management plan (yes, even in 35 feet of water), and we are going to check the newbie's air periodically. All of these items are non-negotiable.

Frankly, if somebody isn't willing to do the above MINIMUM stuff I don't want to be in the water with them. If they are, then we will go out and have some fun looking at the fishes.