DeputyDan
Contributor
Makes everything else look good.....
Where was your first OW dive?
- Thread starter Natasha
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FreeFloat
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The first 4 dives we did in Open Water I don't consider "real" dives at all, although we were to number them 1 through 4 in our logbooks (which the instructor wanted to see afterwards).
First day - Saturday 25 October - the weather was determined not to cooperate. Winds that would knock green off leaves, and swells 2 - 3', no lie. We still had to do a proper site survey to decide if it was 'diveable' or not (not) and explain why or why not. Then we all moved to another site and did the same thing. Meanwhile the instructor was arranging to get us into the quarry.
So we did our 'first dives' in the quarry - two dives on Saturday. One was without scuba gear, and the second (which I called because I got too cold) was with full scuba, but was mainly drills and a little swimming around.
Day 2 (Sunday) was at the Portsmouth Olympic Harbour on account of its shallow depth and sandy bottom. Well some silt too, but nothing that wouldn't settle very quickly if we did muck it up. Did a couple of tours of the area and resident wreck, more skills and drills, some flag float handling and elementary navigation (ie. "didn't we just pass that rock a minute ago?").
As a bonus we were able to squeeze in a fifth dive. Our instructor talked us onto a charter boat and this dive, I count as Dive #1 in my actual logbook. We dived to 55' to visit the Aloha and Effie Mae, a pair of local wrecks right beside each other. The Aloha is/was a wooden schooner, and the Effie Mae is/was Kingston's first charter dive boat, scuttled at the end of her service life.
Vis was great, temps not bad (for the time of year) and we weren't subject to any additional skills & drills other than making sure we did everything correctly as we were taught, line descent, line ascent, buoyancy control, good buddy awareness, solve your own problems underwater (such as mask clearing) etc.
This dive was FUN with a capital F. Went very smoothly and I hope to go back again sometime.
Now if you asked about my first dives post-certification... that's another story altogether...
First day - Saturday 25 October - the weather was determined not to cooperate. Winds that would knock green off leaves, and swells 2 - 3', no lie. We still had to do a proper site survey to decide if it was 'diveable' or not (not) and explain why or why not. Then we all moved to another site and did the same thing. Meanwhile the instructor was arranging to get us into the quarry.
So we did our 'first dives' in the quarry - two dives on Saturday. One was without scuba gear, and the second (which I called because I got too cold) was with full scuba, but was mainly drills and a little swimming around.
Day 2 (Sunday) was at the Portsmouth Olympic Harbour on account of its shallow depth and sandy bottom. Well some silt too, but nothing that wouldn't settle very quickly if we did muck it up. Did a couple of tours of the area and resident wreck, more skills and drills, some flag float handling and elementary navigation (ie. "didn't we just pass that rock a minute ago?").
As a bonus we were able to squeeze in a fifth dive. Our instructor talked us onto a charter boat and this dive, I count as Dive #1 in my actual logbook. We dived to 55' to visit the Aloha and Effie Mae, a pair of local wrecks right beside each other. The Aloha is/was a wooden schooner, and the Effie Mae is/was Kingston's first charter dive boat, scuttled at the end of her service life.
Vis was great, temps not bad (for the time of year) and we weren't subject to any additional skills & drills other than making sure we did everything correctly as we were taught, line descent, line ascent, buoyancy control, good buddy awareness, solve your own problems underwater (such as mask clearing) etc.
This dive was FUN with a capital F. Went very smoothly and I hope to go back again sometime.
Now if you asked about my first dives post-certification... that's another story altogether...
JustAddWater
Guest
Casino Point in Catalina. Beautiful day, great visibility....I bit hard, and took the hook, line, and sinker.
clearwtr
Registered
A popular spot in Bethlehem PA. Sept. '03. I was had trouble descending with 36#, It was my first time in a 7mm wet suit, And it was tight. My snorkel came off my mask and I wondered what had possessed me to do this.
And secondly i was glad I didn't buy much equipment because I'd be getting rid of the stuff I bought.
All turned out well in any case. I've returned to Dutch frequently and got in 27 dives in the fall of '03.
John
And secondly i was glad I didn't buy much equipment because I'd be getting rid of the stuff I bought.
All turned out well in any case. I've returned to Dutch frequently and got in 27 dives in the fall of '03.
John
The world famous Blue Hole in Santa Rosa, New Mexico. I have been back too %@^* many times. I have also taken students there kicking and screaming. Me not them!
Joe
Joe
I did my first open water dives at a place called Whytecliff Marina in the autumn of 1984. That's a short hour driving north from Vancouver, B.C.
In those days they actually had a marina there, with mooring, a elevated wooden pier, changing rooms and what-not, right down on the water. You could actually drive your car out onto the pier and walk down a ramp to water level to jump in.
I dove there often for a while after getting certified. I went back there last summer for the first time in many (15?) years with a friend of mine and the marina was gone but the mooring anchors are still laying on the bottom 1/2 way across the bay. It's actually a really nice spot to go diving in retrospect. It's an easy place to have seal encounters, especially at night.
R..
TheDavil
Contributor
Maui (Kihei) shore dive, then Molokini crater the next day. Amazing - never wanted to leave.
David
David
Dove the Sea Aquarium in Curacao, followed by the Tug Boat and ending with the Superior Producer. I was hooked after my first dive and purchased my first copy of Rodales since I was sure that I was going to continue with this when I got back to Michigan.
Funny how things work out as about 5-6 years previous my dive instructor, who's wife worked with my wife, tried to get me involved in diving in a big way. At the time I told him that it was much to expensive a hobby for me. Now my son and I are both certified and I purchased our gear this year including regs, tanks , BC's, wetsuits and goodies. We also managed a trip to Lake Superior to dive with Peter Lindquist on 4 wrecks up there.
Mitten Diver
Funny how things work out as about 5-6 years previous my dive instructor, who's wife worked with my wife, tried to get me involved in diving in a big way. At the time I told him that it was much to expensive a hobby for me. Now my son and I are both certified and I purchased our gear this year including regs, tanks , BC's, wetsuits and goodies. We also managed a trip to Lake Superior to dive with Peter Lindquist on 4 wrecks up there.
Mitten Diver
It was on the wreck of the Niagara off Belgium Wisconsin in the summer of 1978 a few months before I got certified. The viz was poor, but this was long before the zebra mussels covered everything. The paddle wheel was still intact and there was alot more fish back then. Seems like a million years ago now.
Jim
Jim
I did my open water checkout dives at the ledges at Beaver Lake, Eureka Springs, Ark Aug of 99. Great viz. maybe 10 feet. Been back a couple of times and tried Table Rock Lake in SW MO. Here in Kansas that is the best we can find within driving distance.
Becky
Becky
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