New in Town

[deana777]

Hello,
My name is Deana (D.) and i just moved to Teaneck, NJ.
New in town, duh, never been diving in a dry suit, lotsa dives in the Red Sea, not a pro but trying, cant wait to get into the water again before heading for the caribbean june/august for my IDC.
Any good dives around? Where do you go for gear hire? Whats the water temperature like and when is it warmest or warm (ie no dry suit required)? Where do you go to find dive buddies? Etc..
Anybody please give me any info..
Cheers
D.

 

[hambleto]

I am not sure about shops in your area, but there are plenty of NJ divers here will be able to help you out. What kind of diving are you interested in? Ocean, quary, wreck, etc?

 

[deana777]

I am not sure about shops in your area, but there are plenty of NJ divers here will be able to help you out. What kind of diving are you interested in? Ocean, quary, wreck, etc?

I'm up to all sorts of dives.. 90% of the dives i've done in the Red Sea were boat dives which have varied from wrecks, drift, deep, nights.. No ocean or dry suit.. I'm more a warm water diver but wouldnt restrict myself to that if cold water is all i got.. Besides, since i'm gonna be doing my IDC by mid/end of this summer i will need to gain as much varied experience and broaden my horizons.. hee hee..

 

[ScottyK]

I'm more a warm water diver but wouldnt restrict myself to that if cold water is all i got..

Deana- Cold water's all you've got

Welcome to the club! You will find that once you get past that insignificant temperature thing, there are a lot of great dives, and divers to be found in our area.

If you're not ready to go drysuit, pick up a good 7mil wetsuit with boots, gloves and hood. Feel free to check around the board or PM me for more specific information. This will allow you to dive most areas from May through October or November, depending on the weather and how well you handle cold.

I'm also not sure about rentals, but can help send you in the right direction for purchases if you list what you need.

Looking forward to doing some diving with you. If you don't have a regular buddy, you can dive with my Fiance' and I, or come to one of our group meets. You'll find no shortage of people willing to jump in with you......

Scott

 

[deana777]

Deana- Cold water's all you've got

Welcome to the club! You will find that once you get past that insignificant temperature thing, there are a lot of great dives, and divers to be found in our area.

If you're not ready to go drysuit, pick up a good 7mil wetsuit with boots, gloves and hood. Feel free to check around the board or PM me for more specific information. This will allow you to dive most areas from May through October or November, depending on the weather and how well you handle cold.

I'm also not sure about rentals, but can help send you in the right direction for purchases if you list what you need.

Looking forward to doing some diving with you. If you don't have a regular buddy, you can dive with my Fiance' and I, or come to one of our group meets. You'll find no shortage of people willing to jump in with you......

Scott

Yippee.. Thanks a lot scott.. All i have at the moment really is a suunto stinger and mask so i basically need everything else, naturally i need to have my own gear before my IDC so i would appreciate some tips if you got any..

I've been in the Red Sea for about 5-6 years now and the temperatures there are much warmer than here and i'm only talking weather wise (20-25 celsius on the colder days, water 18 coldest-26/28 warmer months), but i dont think i could actually wait until may to do some dives.. How cold is the water average in april? (in celsius please if you can, not used to fahrenheits just yet, hee hee..)

Have a great day.

D.

 

[ScottyK]

Unless you rent or buy a drysuit you will have difficulty diving in April. Right now the water is 4 deg celsius (brrr)!

By June, the water temps will be closer to the bottom end of what you're used to, and will top out between about 20 to 22 celsius in late August/early September. Even in the summer, the freshwater quarries don't get much above 6 to 8 celsius at depth, but surface temps are warmer.

I'm not sure about local NJ shops, but you are close to two great places to get gear in downtown Manhattan. They're both a quick train ride away. Here are some links to their websites.

http://www.leisurepro.com

http://wwwvillagedivers.com

 

[deana777]

Yikes.. thats cold.. Thanks for the info..
Cheers..
D.

 

[JimmyK]

Hey D,

I, myself, am looking for someone to dive the wrecks of NY and NJ. I'm from MA, where there are some good ones as well. I'm always openminded to new dive buddies.

 

[DawgPaddle]

Deana, Welcome to Wreck Valley.

I'd definitely suggest doing a dry suit course, which is usually only 1 weekend. Not sure about Jersey, but here in Pennsylvania at Dutch Springs, you'll be able to rent the suit on most weekends from Dave Odonnel. He brings about 50 dry suits on the weekends for rental and if you are interested, I can get you his contact info to ensure your schedules don't conflict for a particular weekend.

Many divers are getting geared up and ready to get wet again. Some have been getting wet all year but the board is probably gonna get much busier now the Spring is finally showing her "purty" self.

Also, you may want to check out the Dutch Springs web site (www.dutchsprings.com) to see if you're even interested in jumping in a quarry.

Again, welcome to both Wreck Valley and Scuba Board.

 

[DawgPaddle]

Hi Again Deana,

I forgot to ask... How do you like your Sunnto Stinger? I got one in December but haven't gotten it wet yet. Any tips/tricks/lessons learned would be appreciated.

Thanks again,