Aquarium Diving

[tursiops]

@Hoyden

 

[wnissen]

Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta has a whale shark dive, I signed up for it this October, I am going to ATL for work.

They advertise as the "only guaranteed whale shark and manta ray sighting dive in the world!"

It is pricey, but I went ahead and booked it as it is something I think I will really enjoy. Plus you get a T-Shirt, and I am a sucker for a "free" T-shirt.

Dive with Gentle Giants Encounter & Experience | Georgia Aquarium

They even have a rebreather option, for more money, but you get a longer dive time.

$300 and that doesn't even include admission? Ouch. Does look fun, though. I got brushed by a stingray and it was one of the highlights of my diving thus far. So soft! It's good to have this thread with all these options, thanks!

 

[Redfoot]

Yeah, I have a friend who did the snorkel and he said it was a blast. You get a behind the scenes educational tour and then the T-Shirt and a commemorative picture.

 

[Altamira]

@Scuba Lawyer. Thanks for the original post which generated so much good follow-on information.

 

[Mike1967]

Take the Plunge with Shark Dive Xtreme - Melbourne

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

@Scuba Lawyer. Thanks for the original post which generated so much good follow-on information.

@Altamira You're welcome. As I get older and as I come across various things that remind me of days of diving past I am grateful I can use platforms such as SB to relive those halycon days of youth while still plotting my next dive adventure! Mark

 

[Sam Miller III]

@Scuba Lawyer
Bart the kid from Holland? how could I or any one forget the Bobbsey twins of OC ,SoCal, diving ?
Your reputations and your youthful activities will be enshrined for ever in the annals of OC & SoCal diving.

So many adventures were had which are not available to the modern diver -- and if you documented them you would have a immediate responses by "divers" who would state "it never happened" Or "It is against agency standard" Or " It must be a specialty - You require training !"

the dazzz of our dives !!!!!

sam

 

[tursiops]

You can dive in the National Aquarium in Baltimore through Atlantic Edge.
Dive in the National Aquarium in Baltimore

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

@Scuba Lawyer
Bart the kid from Holland? how could I or any one forget the Bobbsey twins of OC ,SoCal, diving ?
Your reputations and your youthful activities will be enshrined for ever in the annals of OC & SoCal diving.

So many adventures were had which are not available to the modern diver -- and if you documented them you would have a immediate responses by "divers" who would state "it never happened" Or "It is against agency standard" Or " It must be a specialty - You require training !"

the dazzz of our dives !!!!!

sam

Don't mean to derail the subject, but Sam's post brought back the following memory which I thought I'd share for posterity.

Bart and I had many adventures. When we were 16 Bart got his private pilot's license through a High School ROTC-type program at Chino Airport. It paid for plane rental, fuel, etc... He was a poor kid from the poor side of town and we weren't rich, but not poor either, just solidly middle class. We got partnered up in HS biology lab and became fast friends after discovering our mutual fascination of all things diving. So one day (and while still 16 mind you) he checked-out a Cessna 150 from Chino and we loaded up two sets of scuba gear (tanks and weights too) and flew off to the Airport in the Sky on Catalina Island. If you know anything about small private aircraft, you know weight and balance are critical calculations. I had to shift our weight belts fore and aft for various phases of the flight - that was how tight we were on being in the W/B envelope.

Long story short, we took a taxi or bus from the airport into Avalon (forget which one). Instead of diving Casino Point we ended up at Ring Rock just past the Mole because we wanted to get lobster. Did our one dive, limited on bugs, and caught a ride back to the airport. Now we hadn't thought about the extra weight of wet gear and 14 big lobster. Ended up spreading our gear out on the edge of the runway to dry for an hour or so and tailed all the bugs to save weight.

That airstrip is taller in the center than at either end and I swear we didn't gain flying speed until we dropped off the cliff, pushed the nose down and got some lift on the wings. We had a vague notion of some issue with flying after diving but figured we would fly back low and guessed that after only one dive it shouldn't be a problem. Guess we guessed correctly. Never did that trip again and sort of surprised we survived it. We were immortal 16 year olds. Never told our parents about that little adventure. Probably a good thing. As @Sam Miller III would say, those were the "dazzz of our dives." Mark

 

[Diving Dubai]

I can't possibly believe that in this day and age, divers would condone aquariums. Let alone go dive in them

Anyone who's seen some of these majestic creatures in the wild finds it abhorrent that thy're kept in a small tank for their whole lives