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Understood ... but sometimes it's helpful to consider the audience ... ... Bob (Grateful Diver)

... so you think it's appropriate to be telling a brand new diver they should spend $900+ on a dive computer with capabilities they'll probably never use, and an algorithm that can easily get them in trouble if they misprogram it? I don't. For most casual divers a $300 nitrox computer will give...

It's not the Xwidgets that concern me ... it's all the Perdix commercials. You'd think all these people own stock in Shearwater. A brand-new diver comes in here and asks what's a good first computer, and three quarters of the responses tell him to buy a Perdix. And this to a guy who hasn't even...

I've had several former students become instructors. And when they asked my opinion I'd always begin with the same question ... "why do you want to become an instructor?" The response was usually something along the lines of how much they loved diving, or wanted to "give back" to the community...

I'm a former dive professional ... retired from teaching a little over two years ago. Does that make my opinion any less valuable now than it was then? Was it ever valuable? Perhaps only to those who found what I had to say useful. But the pro certification isn't what gave me insight into the...

Stayed at the same place (Beqa Lagoon) in 2015. The diving's fantastic, the resort's nice, and the meals are off the charts. When I was there they had some issues with turnover on the dive op staff (hopefully resolved by now), and things didn't go very smoothly at all. We missed some dives...

An example of what NAUI won't allow is what happened here several years back. A NAUI instructor thought it would be a neat idea to combine the Advanced Scuba Diver (NAUI's equivalent of AOW) required night and deep dives into a single dive. He took four students plus a DM candidate on a deep...

... if you cannot manipulate all of your equipment with gloves on, you're wearing the wrong gloves (or simply haven't practiced the skill enough) ... and it's moderately dangerous. In an entanglement situation you either better be able to get yourself untangled or be diving with someone you can...

Many people misinterpret the information their computer is giving them ... even when they're using a recreational dive computer. I've told the story before of the DM I was diving on a wall with who shot up from 120 feet to 10 feet because ... as he later told me ... "my computer told me to go to...

Haven't gotten that far in my plans yet. I assumed there'd be a ferry to Cartegena or something. I know it's a long way, but we have ferries going between Seattle and Alaska, and that's a lot farther. Thanks for asking ... I'll have to look into it. ... Bob (Grateful Diver)

... $197, SEA to SJD ... but I'm only going one way. I haven't yet booked my return flight, as I haven't finished making my plans yet ... ... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Orally inflating a small bag is easy ... the air gets transferred from your lungs to the bag in a single breath, so your buoyancy doesn't change at all during the process. Orally inflating a larger bag takes some practice, since usually more than a single breath is required*, which will...

... we're going on the same boat ... May 9-18 ... ... Bob (Grateful Diver)

I plan to go alone. I'm currently planning a preliminary road trip from Cabo to San Diego, at the end of my Socorros trip in May ... gonna take a couple weeks and explore the peninsula ... ... Bob (Grateful Diver)

I retire at the end of this year. My tentative plan for 2019 is a road trip from Seattle to as far down the west coast of South America as I can get. I do plan on bringing my scuba gear. I also plan for the trip to last roughly a year ... perhaps longer if I find someplace interesting to spend...

There's a difference. An open bottom bag is open at the bottom. A semi-closed bag has a one-way valve that allows air in, but won't let it come out if the bag's tipped. ... semi-closed ... ... open ... ... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Lack of AC was not a problem at R4D ... the bungalows face the water, with large, barn-like sliding doors that allow you to sleep with the breeze coming in off the water. As a person who lives in northern, cooler climes, I'm pretty susceptible to discomfort in hot weather. But at no time did I...

My other thought about those slim bags is that height isn't the only determinant of visibility. A slim bag might stick up high enough, but depending on conditions and sun angle it might also be more difficult to see than a shorter, but larger diameter bag ... ... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Thanks! Dolphins are quite inquisitive. I got nudged a couple times while snorkeling with spinners in the Red Sea ... they're amazing animals. ... Bob (Grateful Diver)

What size is most appropriate depends entirely on what you're using it for. The most popular size local to me is the 3-4 foot version. That works well in most places in Puget Sound, since it's an inland sea and fairly protected. Around here the biggest waves we might encounter on a given day is...