Plus Size women -- AGAIN!!

[AfricanTravelBu]

Hey everyone,

This is great! I'm a plus sized woman about to travel alone (couldn't find a travel partner) to the Dominican Republic October 26th. I plan to go scuba diving for the first time. I called the resort I'll be staying with the confirm that they would not have a wet suit in my size and of course they don't so then I went on a long journey to find a wet suit in my size that wasn't going to require me to take out a bank loan to pay for (*Smile*). I ended up getting a mens XXL shorty wet suit that fits fine. Now I'm on a quest to find a swim suit with more coverage. I plan to do some wind surfing and snorkeling as well and may not want to use my wet suit while doing that so I decided to look for a swimsuit unitard where there the bottom part is longer like shorts. But the speedo one has those awful u-back straps that never stay in place when you have rounded shoulders and the Dolphin/Ocean unitard is out of stock everywhere. hahahahah So I decided to order it as seperates. Junonia has a part of swim shorts that are pretty cool and I'm just going to order a mens dive skin shirt for the top part. I'm hoping that should do the trick.

Well enough about that, I'm very happy to see dive tours for larger people. I'm not sure what to expect when I go for my first dive, but I've just been thinking I'm not going to take any BS from anyone when I get there since I paid my money like everyone else. But from the sounds of it, it seems a lot of divers are cool people so I'm not too worried.


I try to stay pretty active and think I will have a good time there. I'll be going to Africa again next year and hope to do some water sports there as well, however I don't think there is good diving off the coast of Ghana so it will probably just be surfing or something.


Thanks Ladycute1 for all of your efforts!

Peace,
African Travel Bug

 

[MsParamedic]

LadyCute...

Have you thought about organizing a live aboard???

 

[watersquirrel]

I just wanted to thank you for your inspiration that plus size woman can enjoy diving. I finally got my certification in August and I'm loving it! It's great that you have taken this step and encouraged some of us to take that BIG step and plunge into an awesome new world. I have also taken your advise on getting a lycra suit from Junonia. They feel good and I'm looking forward to trying them on my first ocean dive in Cancun at the end of this month (Oct 28-Nov 2).
I don't know when I'm going to be able to dive with you and one of your trips, but I'll plan to try to join you maybe during 2004.
I was wondering if anyone reading this might want to get together for a smaller trip...say florida...or gulf...or keys..or even a lake dive. I think it would be great to start a small group of plus size divers. I'd love to talk and communicate with other divers during the year. Since I'm so new to eveything, I'd love to learn more from experienced divers that are my size.
If anyone want to contact me...you can by this board or at squirlnut9@aol.com. You can also find me in the scuba conference chat room on aol as well.
Again I want to thank you for your insight and support. I'll look forward to talking and diving with you in the future
Happy bubbles!

 

[MsParamedic]

Congrats Squirl!!!! And welcome to a new world of fun, relaxation and friendship.

Being a plus size, mature woman (50 years old)--hasn't stopped me. Ive completed my Dive Master, Assitant Instructor, and hopefully will test for my Instructor cert. early 2004.

 

[Trish The Fish]

Hi.
Newly joined. Not new to diving.
15 years + / 100+ dives
PADI - AOW

USED TO BE A SIZE 4. Now I'm a REAL woman!
tee hee.

Anyway... glad to be here.
trish the fish

 

[ladycute1]

Hi everyone -- It's so cool to see that this thread keeps getting resurected!

I've recently returned from another dive trip to Maui. And, of course,
it was great! I added 22 dives to my dive log in 10 days and broke the
300 mark. The water was warm - about 80 degrees. We had lots of
opportunities to swim with turtles - there was a big range of size in
turtles - small babies to super giant elder statesmen (stateswomen?
statesturtles?) I also saw the largest octopus I have seen outside of an aquarium. -- I only wish I had had the nerve to play with him (or her)!

We saw lots of Frog Fish during this trip. Now, Frog Fish are difficult
to find - they are ambush feeders and camouflage themselves to blend in
with their environment. Secondly, Frog fish are truly an example of a
face that only a mother could love. They are lumpy and bumpy; they often
have a mottled color. They also have an appendage that hangs off their
head, with a bit of flesh bobbing in front of their mouth - it serves as
a lure. When another fish comes along, it is attracted to the lure, the
Frog fish strikes and eats the unsuspecting victim. Additionally, Frog
fish are usually only found singly. So, it was very unusual that we were
seeing so many Frog fish, and furthermore, we kept finding them in
pairs. I started browsing through some dive journals, and I found a
possible explanation. The article said that Frog fish are indeed found
singly, except of course during breeding (makes sense, right?). It went
on to say that the males are generally smaller than the females. The
male needs to be careful to stay behind the female, because if he strays
in front of her, she may eat him! (A Frog fish can eat something many
times her size.) The "wild thang" usually takes place at dusk, when the
spawn are less likely to be seen by other predators. (The weather was
pretty overcast, so there may have been some time confusion by the
fish.) When the male gets settled behind the female, he gently nudges
her cloaca to let her know he's ready. The female starts to release the
eggs, and the male starts jumping up and down to release the sperm, the
resulting spawn floats to the surface. So, okay, I admit, this may be
WAY more information than you needed to know... on the other hand, it
may be reminiscent of other species that we know.... Oh, nevermind!

It is time to think about Big Adventures for 2004. The February trip to Maui is sure to be amazing! (February
15 - 22, 2004) --- But, I'm a bit unsure about the posting procedures here for such a trip, so I'll contact those of you who stated an interest directly.