Not having umlimited funds I have not been to all of the places on the poll. Been to Monterey and loved the kelp diving, Great Lakes and even though they are cold it;s hard to compete with 100+yr old wreck that is still intact and be able to navigate around it without a light at 150 feet and still have 20-30 feet of vis. Or be on one at 110 and the water be literally as clear as Ginnie Springs (just one time like that but it was great). Did the springs and a cavern but no caves yet. Many dives in the keys and loved them all. Cruising around a quarry in Ohio last July with my scooter and two good friends is hard to beat. Hope to make the Outer Banks this year somehow. And just getting wet after a rough day at work in a local lake by myself can be a blessing in itself.
I have come to the conclusion and try to pass this on to my students that it really is not where you go. It's what you do when you are there and what your expectations are. If I'm really itching for great wrecks Bonaire will be a disappointment. In part because of limited resources but also out of a genuine desire to see the sport grow and survive in this economy I focus very little on dive travel in my classes. I have tried and in fact succeeded in getting my students excited over bluegills, catfish, and old boats in a quarry. They are so jazzed about just being underwater and functioning and feeling competent about what they are doing that it doesn't matter that there is no Atocha, no school of hammerheads, and a common box turtle is cause for celebration.
There is joy in being with the family in an activity that brings them all together in a common interest. And they don't have to travel more than an hour to do it. So where is the best diving in the USA. Well the simple answer is right in your own backyard if you choose to make it there. Read the chapter on local diving in my book. You'll see that there are many benefits to an attitude like it describes. Not just to you but to the entire industry as a whole.
I have come to the conclusion and try to pass this on to my students that it really is not where you go. It's what you do when you are there and what your expectations are. If I'm really itching for great wrecks Bonaire will be a disappointment. In part because of limited resources but also out of a genuine desire to see the sport grow and survive in this economy I focus very little on dive travel in my classes. I have tried and in fact succeeded in getting my students excited over bluegills, catfish, and old boats in a quarry. They are so jazzed about just being underwater and functioning and feeling competent about what they are doing that it doesn't matter that there is no Atocha, no school of hammerheads, and a common box turtle is cause for celebration.
There is joy in being with the family in an activity that brings them all together in a common interest. And they don't have to travel more than an hour to do it. So where is the best diving in the USA. Well the simple answer is right in your own backyard if you choose to make it there. Read the chapter on local diving in my book. You'll see that there are many benefits to an attitude like it describes. Not just to you but to the entire industry as a whole.
