Red rectangle, White diagonal stripe.

[OBXBoost]

Yep, that's right.

Scuba diving.

In the past month I have had my eyes opened wide to the awesome underwater world. I got my PADI Open Water certification back in September at Lake Rawlings on the outskirts of Richmond, VA and immediately loved it. This past weekend I got my PADI Advanced Open Water certification and can say I'm hooked.

I can really see this as being a very expensive but ever so rewarding hobby. The relaxing feeling underwater is bar-none a feeling you can compare to anything else. I can say that after reading the dive manual, I was quite anxious and intimidated but the Dive Instructor was absolutely awesome and he made it a great time and now have 10 dives completed with him.

There are a few more courses I want to take (Nitrox being one of them) so that I can dive U-85 off the coast of NC next year.

So are there any other divers? Experiences? Certs? Trips on the "to-do" list?

[vr4chick]

I'm jealous!

[green-lantern]

I’ve snorkeled a lot during the summer on the reefs in the Florida Keys. I’ve never scuba dived though. I’ve always wanted to.

[ictponder]

Have you considered the underwater cave diving? That stuff sounds like a lot of fun.

[j2k4]

A gal I work with and her husband are certified instructors - they take several vacations a year - this - http://traveltips.usatoday.com/belize-cave-diving-10120.html - is the only place they go, and diving is the only thing they do.

They aren't stupid people, either, so there must be something to it, right?

[HilbillyHomeboy]

I've got quite a few friends that are really into it. Like Paul, I've only snorkeled. Open water really isn't my thing.

Jeremy

[SkorpioLT]

I’ve snorkeled a lot during the summer on the reefs in the Florida Keys. I’ve never scuba dived though. I’ve always wanted to.

Same here, snorkeling was fun but I can only imagine how much more fun scuba diving would be at a location like that... too much money for me though.

[AdamVR4]

I've been open water certified for a few years now... I haven't taken nearly as much advantage of it as I would have liked, with Cozumel being the only place I've done any diving (backed out of a dive in Cabo). I dove in St. Thomas before I was certified and spent the whole time getting water out of my rental mask. I really want to go to St. Thomas again because it was unbelievably full of sea life and everything about it was gorgeous (even relative to Cozumel). I did ~4 dives in Cozumel, including a night dive. I'm pretty scared of sharks, so after seeing a nurse (IIRC) shark during a day dive, diving at night was terrifying... Terrifyingly awesome. Do it.

[beepbeep]

I've been open water certified for a few years now... I haven't taken nearly as much advantage of it as I would have liked, with Cozumel being the only place I've done any diving (backed out of a dive in Cabo). I dove in St. Thomas before I was certified and spent the whole time getting water out of my rental mask. I really want to go to St. Thomas again because it was unbelievably full of sea life and everything about it was gorgeous (even relative to Cozumel). I did ~4 dives in Cozumel, including a night dive. I'm pretty scared of sharks, so after seeing a nurse (IIRC) shark during a day dive, diving at night was terrifying... Terrifyingly awesome. Do it.

St. Thomas does have some gorgeous waters, though, IMHO, the Grand Caymans have the clearest and most beautiful throughout the Caribbean.
Chris and I have looked into taking lessons and put them off for the time being. I would like for us to be certified by the time we take our trip the Australia (for I hear THAT'S where the best diving is. :bigthumb: ) Maybe if we start earning income from our investment property, we might go ahead and get started. I :heart: the ocean!!!

[mb3000]

I went down to the Florida Keys last summer and dove, lots of fun.

[beepbeep]

I went down to the Florida Keys last summer and dove, lots of fun.

A good friend once took a trip to the keys to dive and said it was terrific...lots of sunken ships. I think he was going for that cert, actually...though I don't know the technical term for it. :D

[mb3000]

A good friend once took a trip to the keys to dive and said it was terrific...lots of sunken ships. I think he was going for that cert, actually...though I don't know the technical term for it. :D

NAUI certification?

[beepbeep]

NAUI certification?

Whatever it is for diving in sunken ships.......:dontknow:

[mb3000]

:clue:

[beepbeep]

My understanding is that there is a certain certification you get to dive to sunken ships...I am not very savvy on the specifics, though...just going by what I remember.

:edit: Wreck Diver

[EZnTn]

There are two separate organizations that provide certification.
NAUI - National Association of Underwater Instructors
PADI - Professional Association of Dive Instructors
Or at least there were when I certified.
I managed both certifications years ago in Florida when I was stationed south of Miami while in the Air Force & then when I went to college 50 miles north of Palm Beach.
Regardless of the certifying authority, those are basic certifications, and the "sky's" the limit for how in depth one can get with this addiction.

Diving is not like riding a bike, and new or borrowed equipment demands a total familiarization before going on an outing.
I found this out the hard way using borrowed equipment, on a wreck in 90 ft of water.

Know your equipment, know your dive buddy.
You are betting your life on them both.

That being said, it comes close to being the most fun you can have with your clothes .. err .. wetsuit on.

[green-lantern]

I've been open water certified for a few years now... I haven't taken nearly as much advantage of it as I would have liked, with Cozumel being the only place I've done any diving (backed out of a dive in Cabo). I dove in St. Thomas before I was certified and spent the whole time getting water out of my rental mask. I really want to go to St. Thomas again because it was unbelievably full of sea life and everything about it was gorgeous (even relative to Cozumel). I did ~4 dives in Cozumel, including a night dive. I'm pretty scared of sharks, so after seeing a nurse (IIRC) shark during a day dive, diving at night was terrifying... Terrifyingly awesome. Do it.

OK you brought up sharks so I'll tell my shark story. :)

My step grandmother lived in the Keys on a canal so we could walk out the back door and jump in the boat and be on the reefs in 10-15 min. We were trolling for conk shells in about 20-25ft water. Trolling = being pulled behind the boat by a rope tied to a milk jug at just a little over idle. As usual everything was so pretty and impressive. Sting rays, clear water and WTF is that black thin.......WOW a hammer head shark! WOW it's so beautiful gliding across the bottom! I can't believe this beautiful creature is swimming right under me! Wait! that SOB is big enough to eat me!

There gliding to a stop was this 8-10ft hammer head shark. I swear he licked his chops when he turned around to look at me. I looked up out of the water and one of by brothers was already in the boat waving us in and yelling come on! I looked to my side and my other brother was looking at me like OH SHIT! So I (we) swam fast as we could tward the boat. I know you are not supposed to panic with a shark in the water but fuck that the boat was way to close. I swear I could feel the water skip across my chest like a boat planing in the water. I beat my other brother to the boat so I tried to leave room on the ladder for him to get in. I used the dolphin on the boat engine foot as a step. My foot slipped off and I got cut by the prop twice. So now I'm bleeding in the water (why didn't she put the boat in neutral?) with a big shark! My brother that was in the boat already grabbed me by the shorts and pulled me into the boat. My other brother practically jumped over the side to get in. We were all safe!

My older brother that swam to the boat when he 1st saw this shark like 40yd out said the shark did follow us to the boat and took my flipper (it fell of when my foot slipped off the dolphin). We laughed then realized it was sort of a close call. Dammit! that was a brand new flipper! My step grandmother said she hasn't ever seen a shark that big that far in and she had been doing this for twenty years. She said it was hungry or lost (I'm thing the 1st)

[Runner up]

Scuba diving is on my list of shit to do when I get older. Looks like so much fun.

[Stealthdriver]

Scuba diving is something I definitely want to experience in the next year or so. Just got back from Jamaica and we did a little snorkeling but diving I think would be so much more exhilarating. Congrats dude, and Im super jealous :)