New2Sport

[GatorDiver]

Hey all,

I'm new to the sport and fired up about it. I convinced my wife to sign up with me for the PADI OW course after taking her to Curacao and doing a resort course there. We dove most every day and, despite her initial fears, she loved it. I would impress upon all of you the value of surprising your wife (it might even work with husbands) with a trip to the Caribbean. She was so excited to go, and when I told her the resort course was included she felt obligated to give it a try. Once she overcame the anxiety, she loved it and now I will have a dive buddy with me almost all the time. For all you married guys out there, resort courses rule!

Regarding new equipment, I've already taken the plunge and just want to point out to other newbies to keep their eyes open on the internet. Utilizing Rodale's scuba review info, my local dive shop, Ebay and some search engines, I've put together what I think is a decent set of stuff for a decent price. I got an IDI Paragon BC, IDI spirit/flowby regulator, IDI secondary and IDI gauge, Mares Volo fins, an AquaLung Quartz2 Mask (that fits perfectly), and boots and a shorty wetsuit for a total of less than $800.00, all brand new. I went superdiscount for the boots and wetsuit online through Seadog Sports, found a package deal for the IDI stuff through a scuba shop in Miami having a sale (after checking out Rodale's), found an internet deal on the fins(!), and paid full retail for the mask at my local dive shop to ensure a good fit. I bought my wife a similar set-up for about $50 less, getting her Aeris Velocity fins ( scuba review tester'choice/best buy). The way I look at it, now I'm free to gradually replace, upgrade or add to my set-up at my practical and financial leisure, but I'm not out the $2000 per each of us the dive shop people were telling me it was going to cost. =-)

I'm also supporting the dive shop. I'm paying about $400 total for both our PADI courses, bought the masks from them, and am signing up for a local dive trip they are offering. Who says you can't have it all?

Hank

 

[capnvik]

Hank, you know how to treat a lady!

My in-laws live in Houston & used to dive there in the '70's. Guess you will have the best of both worlds with locations, too; the Caribbean accessible & good local sites. Diving will open new vistas in your lives. It has opened a whole new social sector for us. Once you have diving to talk about, a new group forms around that. Your underwater photos and/or videos will intrigue even non-diving family members.

Helpful hint to a member of a diving couple: no 2 people develope as divers at the same rate. Please let the weaker person in the couple have support, compassion, and as much distance as they need to grow. Hopefully you will remain buddies while developing a family of buddies from your classes, but if it is necessary to be on the same boat with different buddies, please allow for that too. (I am a member of a diving couple & we dive together 1 out of every 10 times! But we always go home together )

 

[GatorDiver]

I guess if I can't be in Florida, Houston is as good a place as most to be a diver. Any of you out there who know good places near Houston to dive, please let me know!

Regarding being part of a diving couple, I plan to push my wife as hard as I can, constantly pressing for improvement and berating her when she can't keep up with me. That way, I'll be getting the most out of her, for which I'm sure she'll be grateful. I'm kidding, of course.

 

[art.chick]

...but that is what my husband did to me. And that is why we very rarely dive together! It happens more than you think.

 

[Dee]

Beast and I got certified together and it's the best thing we've ever done for each other and our marriage! We took classes together up through Divemaster.

It's great to have that built in dive buddy but keep in mind you are seperate divers. Sounds like you are aware of the pitfalls of couple diving!

I'm also in the Houston area and would be glad to have ya'll join us anytime. I'd also like to invite you both to join the Texas Swamp Diving Team. Go to the NDI Club Locations to find us.

There is a group of us that meets locally at Twin Lakes, off hwy 6, a couple times a week. If you're interested, let me know!

 

[GatorDiver]

Let me get back to you after we get certified! We should be starting the PADI OW course a week from Friday. I'll look into the Texas Swamp Diving Team (being the Gator that I am).

Let me ask, though, is lake diving something you think we'd enjoy? I mentioned Lake Travis to my wife, and she said she couldn't imagine there being much to see. I'm just curious.

 

[Dee]

GatorDiver once bubbled...
Let me ask, though, is lake diving something you think we'd enjoy? I mentioned Lake Travis to my wife, and she said she couldn't imagine there being much to see. I'm just curious.

Depends on how much you like diving, I guess. Some people will only dive in clear salt water a few times a year and be happy with that. Some of us enjoy diving anytime, anyplace. To me, there is lots to see in the local lakes. There's the fish...perch, bass, catfish... and turtles, the different kinds of plants and how they all work and live together. Locations with low visability have their advantages...you will learn to be an excellent navigator, get comfortable is less than optimum conditions, and have confidence in your abilities.

Some people ask how we can dive the same place over and over again. Do you have a favorite spot where you can sit and look at it for hours? It's the same thing. I see something new every time I dive in the lake

The only way you'll know is to try it! I can guarantee your skills will improve very fast when you work on them with every dive!