Greetings All,
I have always wanted to learn to scuba dive but never took the time to pull the trigger. I worked in our college aquatic lab while working on my undergraduate degree (10 years ago). I managed the universities saltwater tanks and also had my own. I had dreamed of visiting actually reefs but it always seemed out of reach. I wish I would have realized how many freshwater dive opportunities there are in Wisconsin.
My wife and I are headed to Jamaica Nov 2019 for our 10th anniversary (first trip out of Wisconsin). We noticed the resort (Couples Swept Away) offers free scuba for those who have their open water certification and so we decided to "dive" into all of the information regarding scuba. The prospect of diving in the ocean brought back all of those dreams I had while in college.
After browsing the internet, I came across this forum looking for advice on how to choose a local dive shop. After calling and visiting the three shops (two north of us and one south) that are less than a one hour drive from our home, Underwater connection stood out. The other two, Divers realm and Mountain Bay scuba were also good but I didn't get as good of a vibe from them.
I bought my wife and I scuba lessons from Underwater Connection for Christmas.
Sadly, our class/confined water dives will not take place until May 3, 4, and 5 and our open water training dives will be May 18 & 19 (I think pearl lake, south Beloit, IL). Pearl lake is 2 hours from us so that is a downside. If we went with Divers realm or Mountain Bay Scuba our open water dives would have been much closer.
My dad had two bags of dive gear he had bought used 20 years ago. He never went diving. He had one pair of XL scuba pro jet fins (plastic strap) and aqualung/us diver rocket fins. Based on what I read on here, it looks like these will work for us so that is one less thing to buy. The bag also included a new SeqQuest Ventura silicone mask which he never used. It still looks new 20 years later. I think my wife may use this mask since i need a prescription dive mask. It also seems to fit her based on the fitting guide. He tossed the old drysuits he bought when he moved. My dad also had dive belts, weights, knives and one regulator set. The regulator first stage is a scuba pro with swivel. It has 2 HP and 4 LP. I will post pictures later for identification. The primary second stage is also scuba pro and the secondary says "sub-aquatic". I will have the lds check them out in the future.
My wife and I plan to visit the LDS to get booties, snorkel, and goggles. We also will need to talk about wetsuits. My wife is obese so she is worried about nothing fitting her. We will see what they say. Scubaboard gave us some ideas. We also do not want to spend to much money early on since she is slowly loosing weight.
That is all for now. Look forward to getting into the water.
I have always wanted to learn to scuba dive but never took the time to pull the trigger. I worked in our college aquatic lab while working on my undergraduate degree (10 years ago). I managed the universities saltwater tanks and also had my own. I had dreamed of visiting actually reefs but it always seemed out of reach. I wish I would have realized how many freshwater dive opportunities there are in Wisconsin.
My wife and I are headed to Jamaica Nov 2019 for our 10th anniversary (first trip out of Wisconsin). We noticed the resort (Couples Swept Away) offers free scuba for those who have their open water certification and so we decided to "dive" into all of the information regarding scuba. The prospect of diving in the ocean brought back all of those dreams I had while in college.
After browsing the internet, I came across this forum looking for advice on how to choose a local dive shop. After calling and visiting the three shops (two north of us and one south) that are less than a one hour drive from our home, Underwater connection stood out. The other two, Divers realm and Mountain Bay scuba were also good but I didn't get as good of a vibe from them.
I bought my wife and I scuba lessons from Underwater Connection for Christmas.
Sadly, our class/confined water dives will not take place until May 3, 4, and 5 and our open water training dives will be May 18 & 19 (I think pearl lake, south Beloit, IL). Pearl lake is 2 hours from us so that is a downside. If we went with Divers realm or Mountain Bay Scuba our open water dives would have been much closer.
My dad had two bags of dive gear he had bought used 20 years ago. He never went diving. He had one pair of XL scuba pro jet fins (plastic strap) and aqualung/us diver rocket fins. Based on what I read on here, it looks like these will work for us so that is one less thing to buy. The bag also included a new SeqQuest Ventura silicone mask which he never used. It still looks new 20 years later. I think my wife may use this mask since i need a prescription dive mask. It also seems to fit her based on the fitting guide. He tossed the old drysuits he bought when he moved. My dad also had dive belts, weights, knives and one regulator set. The regulator first stage is a scuba pro with swivel. It has 2 HP and 4 LP. I will post pictures later for identification. The primary second stage is also scuba pro and the secondary says "sub-aquatic". I will have the lds check them out in the future.
My wife and I plan to visit the LDS to get booties, snorkel, and goggles. We also will need to talk about wetsuits. My wife is obese so she is worried about nothing fitting her. We will see what they say. Scubaboard gave us some ideas. We also do not want to spend to much money early on since she is slowly loosing weight.
That is all for now. Look forward to getting into the water.
