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Sounds great, Frank. After the contract signing, are there going to be regular open hours (including weekdays) this year?

I'm going to start flying that with my diver down flag.

It won't be open 'full time' until next spring. I PM'd Frank about it a while ago, and he indicated they're working out some contracts for the park, presumably along the lines of cleanup and safety. No other details, though.

He took a hit from Katrina, and has limited computer access right now. Check out this thread: FredT BPs

Also, open heel are much easier to use if you go shore diving (walk into the surf with boots, then donning fins) and on boat dives. Technically, I suppose you could do the same with full foot, but I'd rather not walk around barefoot on boats or entering surf; I like my toes and feet!

Chair pictures, please....

From your post, I can't tell if you are enjoying the actual diving you're doing. But assuming you are, and are nervous about specific parts of diving (ascents, rough water, etc.), I would say maybe do some easy dives (lakes or calm coves) to gain confidence in your diving and work on getting...

With me, my first dive after certification was just me and a buddy. It was where we were both certified, so we were at least familiar with the area, so that helped, confidence-wise.

Have you ever swum the breaststroke? The kick is pretty similar.

Hey, I didn't realize that bok choy was an animal ;) Learn something new everyday.

Well, if you want dumpable weights, I would go with a Aluminum backplate (I use stainless steel) for tropical. I think they weight 3-4 pounds total. Some people even use ABS (plastic) plates. To dump weight, I still would drop my belt, which still carries ~18 lbs.

Personally, I was certified in a jacket BC, had a back inflate for my first BC, and now have been using BP/W for the past year and a half or so. Advantages (to my own diving; not necessarily what others advocate): Shifted 8 pounds from my belt to my back. My upper body tends to be floaty...

I've been emailing Ed from S&W (makers of the hammerhead plate), and he didn't know that the site was having problems. Voicegateway.com is actually the hosting company for the site, and they're looking into it.

As far as I know, they discontinued those type of Volos, and went to Volo Power Fins (I believe due to the cracking issue you described). Myself, I'm giving Mares Quattros a try.

Personal gear only includes mask, snorkel, hood, boots and fins. Everything else is rented (wetsuit, BC, regs, tanks, etc), usually included in the course fees. Ask your LDS for specifics.

No exactly the advice you hear a lot, though possibly effective.

Yeah, just saying straight-out "no" works best, but for a "instant" answer, I suggest going with the, "I'm not comfortable diving with strangers, sorry" type of response. Now you have me intrigued; any details on the actual dive (hopefully I didn't just miss the description while I was skimming)?

To make this closer to what the poster wrote, you would also have to throw coffee in the driver's face and yank the wheel to see how he reacts. As for the original question, if anyone ripped off my mask and pulled out my reg without warning me beforehand, I would assume they were trying to...

Just to throw my opinion into the pool, I bought a Hammerhead plate and STA, and I think it was the best deal out there. I do have the handles, and while I don't really use them for anything, they also don't seem to cause any problems either. As for potential corrosion along increased surface...

Scariest warning I have ever seen. Good luck to all!