philba
Registered
I'm a recently OW certified diver and my goal is to gain enough skills to enjoy scuba trips to places like Cocos Island, Galapagos, Truk, Socorro, Belize and similar. I want to build up the skills necessary to make those kind of dives fun and easy. I'm not there yet. Would like to get your advice.
A bit about me. I'm almost 60, in good health and have the stress test to prove it! I am lucky to be "gainfully unemployed" (i.e. not working but no money worries). Many years ago I had a NAUI cert but let it lapse and only recently completed the PADI OW program. I've done around a total of 20 dives in my life but only a few with those "newfangled" BCDs, AAS and computers. (I have to say, the industry has really advance, I think they are great.) I have been around and in the water for most of my life and am very comfortable under water (at depth, as they say). I live in the Puget Sound region and know there is a lot of diving but, frankly, I'm a cold water wimp. Most of my scuba diving has been in Hawaii.
I think these are the skills I need to work on to reach my goal. Some are pretty obvious. I'd love to get your input and thoughts.
- bouyancy control. I'm getting there. Probably take a course on this
- drift diving. it seems like all the great locations need this to some extent
- deep diving. at least 100'. most of the great location also have dive sites this deep
- handling various currents. I see a lot of sites often had strong currents.
- nitrox. more total bottom time in a day.
- navigation. more than just following a compass direction
- emergency and rescue techniques (not to be a rescue diver but to be a good buddy)
- UW photo and video (yeah, I know this is a lot of bouyancy control)
any other things you think I should work on?
I know this probably means getting an AOW cert with a few extra courses. But it also just means lots of dives in varying conditions and locations. I'm not sure I'm quite ready to take the AOW course, need more dives under my weight belt. I could do this where I live but I'm reluctant to invest in cold water gear and training when my goal is purely tropical. I know a lot of the skills are the same but it seems like a diversion to me.
I do have the time and $$ to travel so I'm looking for a location that would allow me to work on my skills without being over my head (so to speak...). Cost isn't a huge issue though I'm not looking for deluxe. I don't have a lot of time left on this earth so I hope to reach my goal in less than a year.
A bit about me. I'm almost 60, in good health and have the stress test to prove it! I am lucky to be "gainfully unemployed" (i.e. not working but no money worries). Many years ago I had a NAUI cert but let it lapse and only recently completed the PADI OW program. I've done around a total of 20 dives in my life but only a few with those "newfangled" BCDs, AAS and computers. (I have to say, the industry has really advance, I think they are great.) I have been around and in the water for most of my life and am very comfortable under water (at depth, as they say). I live in the Puget Sound region and know there is a lot of diving but, frankly, I'm a cold water wimp. Most of my scuba diving has been in Hawaii.
I think these are the skills I need to work on to reach my goal. Some are pretty obvious. I'd love to get your input and thoughts.
- bouyancy control. I'm getting there. Probably take a course on this
- drift diving. it seems like all the great locations need this to some extent
- deep diving. at least 100'. most of the great location also have dive sites this deep
- handling various currents. I see a lot of sites often had strong currents.
- nitrox. more total bottom time in a day.
- navigation. more than just following a compass direction
- emergency and rescue techniques (not to be a rescue diver but to be a good buddy)
- UW photo and video (yeah, I know this is a lot of bouyancy control)
any other things you think I should work on?
I know this probably means getting an AOW cert with a few extra courses. But it also just means lots of dives in varying conditions and locations. I'm not sure I'm quite ready to take the AOW course, need more dives under my weight belt. I could do this where I live but I'm reluctant to invest in cold water gear and training when my goal is purely tropical. I know a lot of the skills are the same but it seems like a diversion to me.
I do have the time and $$ to travel so I'm looking for a location that would allow me to work on my skills without being over my head (so to speak...). Cost isn't a huge issue though I'm not looking for deluxe. I don't have a lot of time left on this earth so I hope to reach my goal in less than a year.