Are Northwest Dive Club forums still active?

[shawnhar]

I hope I'm not violating etiquette in asking about one scuba forum on another, but figured many of the same people are likely to hang out in both places...

I'm trying to sign up for an account on the Northwest Dive Club - Homepage forums. I got an automated email saying my account needed to be approved by an administrator, but haven't heard anything more in a couple of weeks. Without an account I have no way to post there, and the site does not appear to provide any side channel to get in touch with the admins.

So I'm hoping someone here will know if that site is still running?

Thanks!

 

[fmerkel]

Absolutely. Sent a message to a Mod.
What are you after?
I belong to a very active dive club [Marker Buoy Dive Club] if you are looking for diving and buddies. NWDC is a great bunch of people too if you prefer a less formal, on line oriented group.
Hopefully you'll hear back shortly.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I'm joining up Marker Buoy (just sent in the application), as Moss Bay has closed up shop. Marker Buoy is definitely the most active dive club in the area, as far as I can tell.

 

[shawnhar]

Thank you kindly!

I'm currently buddying with my wife, doing shallow dives at Alki (our training site) to practice the basics. Looking for local advice about other beginner dive sites, also cold water equipment as we start down the costly path of gradually replacing rentals with our own gear.

Will definitely be interested in Marker Buoy once we get further into our diving career (I am hooked!) but I see a bunch more beginner level "let's practice hovering at 30 feet" in our future before we'll be ready to join a larger group.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Thank you kindly!

I'm currently buddying with my wife, doing shallow dives at Alki (our training site) to practice the basics. Looking for local advice about other beginner dive sites, also cold water equipment as we start down the costly path of gradually replacing rentals with our own gear.

Will definitely be interested in Marker Buoy once we get further into our diving career (I am hooked!) but I see a bunch more beginner level "let's practice hovering at 30 feet" in our future before we'll be ready to join a larger group.

Shawn,

Unfortunately, you never knew Bruce Bury, a local diver who passed away (I attended his funeral about 2 years ago I think it was). He was the most unselfish diver I've ever come across, and he'd take new divers out often. So don't hesitate to contact me via PM so we can exchange numbers, as I'd be happy to work on the basics with you to get you with the skills and confidence to venture further out. The one site I'd recommend using for evaluating dive sites (namely when to dive) is http://planyourdive.com. As the current is what dictates when you can dive many sites, or when it is most appropriate for new divers.

Kosta

 

[fmerkel]

Getting info on where to go, what to expect, what to look for with equipment, what to avoid...etc. are values that a club can help with. Clubs don't have a financial investment in your purchases.
Couples are GREAT, as there actually aren't a lot of diving couples. My wife and I are one of that small minority. Since you have a built in buddy you avoid some of the hassle of 'insta-buddy'.

I'm going to place a caution on one suggestion Kosta mentioned. Planyourdive is fine, if current isn't a big issue. If current IS a big issue, then I've found it to not only be wrong, but sometimes horribly wrong. Not a big deal since current intensive sites aren't on your agenda for now. That's a ways out. The site descriptions can certainly be useful. There are a lot of sites that are good for beginners without the hassle of Alki parking.

Note - contrary to a lot of beginner's expectations Edmonds CAN get current, enough to be daunting. You do need to pay some attention to current there.

 

[shawnhar]

So don't hesitate to contact me via PM so we can exchange numbers, as I'd be happy to work on the basics with you to get you with the skills and confidence to venture further out.

My goodness, that's an insanely generous offer! We'll definitely be in touch as we start to broaden our goals.

(I have to say, divers seem to be a great bunch of people. Not what I would have guessed from an activity that I'd always assumed would attract lots of extreme sport macho show-off types)

The one site I'd recommend using for evaluating dive sites (namely when to dive) is http://planyourdive.com.

That's a great site, thank you.

I'd been looking at Tides at Seattle, Puget Sound, Washington, and had concluded this was broken because eg. Currents at Edmonds, 2.7 miles WSW of, Washington is missing a vertical scale on the current graph. But I just realized that's because the specific page I was looking at has so little current that the +- 1 knot markers are off the edge of the display! Selecting a different current station does display the vertical scale - but I like the presentation of the planyourdive site better anyway.

 

[shawnhar]

Getting info on where to go, what to expect, what to look for with equipment, what to avoid...etc. are values that a club can help with. Clubs don't have a financial investment in your purchases.

That makes sense. As we start to think about some of the bigger purchases, we'll definitely want input beyond a dive shop that perhaps only stocks one or two brands. I already figured out the power of the "but your life will be depending on this!" argument in the hands of a salesperson trying to upsell to a beginner who has no idea which economies might or might not be reasonable to take.

Note - contrary to a lot of beginner's expectations Edmonds CAN get current, enough to be daunting. You do need to pay some attention to current there.

Am I understanding correctly that this is more of a "surface swim might suck if the current is up" type site, though, rather than "get it 10 mins wrong and you'll definitely be swept out into the Sound"?

I'm ok with the former - not so much the latter And we're interested in giving Edmonds a try due to limited depth and lots of stuff to look at.

 

[fmerkel]

Edmonds can be, and generally is, a long swim. With rare exception you don't get swept OUT. You get swept parallel to shore. Trouble is, south is a big ole' ferry with ferrymen that are very unhappy with divers in their landing area. It happens. Being swept north is a bother, being swept south can be much more than a bother.
Mostly it's a pretty forgiving spot with no or low current most of the time, but, if you go in on a big exchange, at max current, you will be dealing with current, possibly even stout current. Learn to read both tide and current tables. Edmonds kind of sucks on really low tides. It's shallow so you have to walk a LONG way out to get to water, then that water has terrible viz since it's dragged all the shore crap along with the outgoing tide. Then you have to swim a long way to get to something that doesn't resemble soup. Often not fun.

For that matter, Cove 2 can be very tricky to downright dangerous on very low tides. You end up getting into the water and finning up among some nasty slippery bottom garbage, generally also with no or low viz. A friend (experienced diver) fell in that and almost took an eye out on a metal bar sticking up. It certainly can be done, but you need to be aware and careful. Help one another in and out of the water.

Yes, the 'this is life support' can get you to buy really expensive regulators, computers, and BC's. Now being broke you get a wetsuit, freeze your butt off, and quit diving. It happens a LOT. You absolutely do not need a Scubapro MK25 +A700 to stay alive in the Sound. My reg is 20 years old and works fine. Until you can stay down longer than 45" AND do 2 dives in a row you don't need a computer. What you need to keep diving around here is a drysuit. Once you have a drysuit a really expensive BC becomes almost only a device to hold a tank and float you on the surface. There are other, and better options.Oh, don't buy and AL tank. Good reasons for that, but just hold on to the idea for now.

Yeah, it's a bit more complicated than explained in OW1, which is written and geared toward tropical certification. There should be an entirely different course for cold water, like way different.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Planyourdive is fine, if current isn't a big issue. If current IS a big issue, then I've found it to not only be wrong, but sometimes horribly wrong.

Fritz,

What do you use instead for say, Deception Pass?

Edmonds can be, and generally is, a long swim.

When is it not one? (besides a really low tide)

]Most dive sites suck on really low tides. It's shallow so you have to walk a LONG way out to get to water, then that water has terrible viz since it's dragged all the shore crap along with the outgoing tide. Then you have to swim a long way to get to something that doesn't resemble soup. Often not fun.

There, fixed it for you.

For that matter, Cove 2 can be very tricky to downright dangerous on very low tides. You end up getting into the water and finning up among some nasty slippery bottom garbage, generally also with no or low viz.

Okay, serious now. I want to second this. Do NOT dive Cove 2 at very low tides. The viz is zero, and there are all sorts of rocks, blocks of cement, pylon stumps to trip over, and vegetation to slide on. Really avoid this site at this time as it is dangerous. It just isn't worth the risk. Ever.

@shawnhar. See you at a nearby dive site soon.