Bradenton/Sarasota

[ILDiver]

I will be there Saturday. I will probably take my dads truck, so if your in Sarasota/Bradenton I can meet and carpool it down there with one person. Sounds like a plan to me. 9:00 am is good for me too. I like an early start. Meet at the dive shop or the beach?

Sorry it took so long to get back to the posts, dove a two tank boat trip and and had to visit with grandma.

The two tank boat trip was great! Six pax on the boat, the Captain was a great guy. Scheduled it through Sea Trek Divers. I can not wait for my Nitrox Cert dives on that boat. Not sure when that will be. South Jack Wreck was nice, I'de say 30 or so feet vis. Cuda cruising around at about 10-20ft, the Goliath Grouper on the wreck. Got swarmed by silversides a few times. Right when I got to the bow of the wreck I found a perfect condition spear shaft, carried it the entire dive. Deco stop I tried switching hands on the anchor line and dropped the stupid thing. Watched it helicopter to the bottom.

Second dive was not as clear, 10-15ft vis. Doc's Barge, may have been the run off from Tampa Bay going through. My dive buddy had ear trouble and we had to cut the dive short so I didn't see much at all. The other divers said there was another G.G. there, but must have been at the end we did not get to.

If you pm me I can get you my cell if it will help with logistics.

Also Wednesday morning I'll be at Sea Trek for my daughters dives. She will be going with the instructor. We are supposed to be there at 10:00. He would prefer I did not go along so he does not have to watch me. I understand that, but I want to dive. So if you can make it, I need a buddy!


--Chris

 

[Li'l38]

I will be there Saturday. I will probably take my dads truck, so if your in Sarasota/Bradenton I can meet and carpool it down there with one person. Sounds like a plan to me. 9:00 am is good for me too. I like an early start. Meet at the dive shop or the beach?

Count me in!!! I'd say, maybe, meet at the beach. I don't know how crowded it gets or if anyone might be running late for some reason. It doesn't really matter to me. What about you, ReefGuy?

Also Wednesday morning I'll be at Sea Trek for my daughters dives. She will be going with the instructor. We are supposed to be there at 10:00. He would prefer I did not go along so he does not have to watch me. I understand that, but I want to dive. So if you can make it, I need a buddy!
--Chris

Is Sea Trek in Bradenton? I can't be there during the week but maybe someone else would like to "dive" in here. I'd also like to keep in mind for future dives. I'm relying on fellow divers/SBers for recommendations... :11: Yikes!- Brave soul, aren't I???

 

[ReefGuy]

Meet at the beach. I'm coming from the south.

 

[ILDiver]

Is Sea Trek in Bradenton? I can't be there during the week but maybe someone else would like to "dive" in here. I'd also like to keep in mind for future dives. I'm relying on fellow divers/SBers for recommendations... :11: Yikes!- Brave soul, aren't I???

Sea Trek is out on Bradenton Beach. Right across the street from the Sugar Barge.

My brand new dive buddy has backed out. My daughter does not want to do her certification dives now.:frown: I can't force her to do it or she will hate it. I'm going to head to a couple shops to see what boat trips are going out in the next couple days.

Looking forward to the tooth trek!

 

[Li'l38]

Sea Trek is out on Bradenton Beach. Right across the street from the Sugar Barge.

My brand new dive buddy has backed out. My daughter does not want to do her certification dives now.:frown: I can't force her to do it or she will hate it.

What?! Why? How old is she? (if you don't mind me asking)

Looking forward to the tooth trek!

See ya Saturday!

 

[ReefGuy]

Bummer about your daughter. Why did she change her mind?

 

[ILDiver]

She's 12. She had a bit of a bad experience on her second cert dive. And now with the two shark attacks, I think she is pretty nervous about getting out there. She hasn't said it, but she talks about them alot. Even before these attacks she said she will not go near a shark. I talked to her then about it. I don't want to force her or make her think she has to do it for me. I want her to do it for her. No big deal, just means I'll be spending a little more money than I could have.

 

[Li'l38]

She's 12. She had a bit of a bad experience on her second cert dive. And now with the two shark attacks, I think she is pretty nervous about getting out there. She hasn't said it, but she talks about them alot. Even before these attacks she said she will not go near a shark. I talked to her then about it. I don't want to force her or make her think she has to do it for me. I want her to do it for her. No big deal, just means I'll be spending a little more money than I could have.

Wondering what the bad experience was on her second cert dive :06: ........ She can do fresh water- no sharks involved..... don't know what's available in/near Peoria but the springs in Florida are GREAT!!! A bit chilly, 72 degrees year round, but none the less, it's diving and nice thing is, the vis is usually unlimited!

 

[ILDiver]

Kind of a long story. I was going to a dive and working toward my DM certification with them. I had not been diving with them long, but was beginning to not like how things were run after having my daughter in a class and getting a little closer to the operation helping with classes and such. The day comes for my daughters first cert dives. I can not make it, so her grandmother has to take her to the pits for the dive. Looking back I kick myself. I had reservations on how well she would be taken care of. I convinced myself that they were professionals and everything would be fine.

She got through the mask clearing and all just fine. Both dives, she made it through the skills. After the skills on the second dive they headed for the tour part. She was in the half of the group that went with the assistant instructor. (I don't care for him) As they left the object her alternate snagged on a line. The assistant Inst. and other two divers went onwithout her. She could not go forward, she tried to go up and could not do that either. She tried to add air to her BC and still did not go up. She lost her reg, got that back and noticed her alternate was caught. She released it and popped to the surface due to the full BC. She said the AI came up a ways away a minute later.

I have several problems with the situation. Most of all I'm mad at myself for having concerns and still letting her go. Then the Instructor tells me "She told him she got tangled up, but he looked and she wasn't". He then says he doesn't think the guy really did anything wrong. A student was out of view, this student IS MY DAUGHTER! On top of my growing concerns of how things are done, now this. When I get back from this trip I'll be working with a different dive shop for my DM and I'll be switching back to NAUI after I get my PADI DM done.

I tried to have her dive with a different instructor from a different shop. But it was the following day and I don't think she was over the incident the day before.

If she decides to try again in fresh water, fine, if not...well she tried it I can't fault her.

Sorry for the long story. I'm looking into a boat trip with Scuba Quest Thursday. Maybe another trip through Sea Trek Sunday, if they have room. And if the Thursday trip goes well I'll dive with Scuba Quest on a 3 tanker Monday. I may be short on cash, but I hope to do one more dive of some sort after Monday, before Friday. I hope to find a buddy to shore dive. The guy at Scuba Quest says to not mess around with the shore dive because of Vis being bad. He claimed 4 ft. But a shore dive for the cost of renting a tank with somewhat low vis...For that Vis I've had to rent a tank, wetsuit and pay to get into the dive site, 30 or 40 dollars for 1 or 2 dives. Bargain dive time to me.

I'm still looking forward to Saturday! One tank? I don't know what to expect really. Will I be ready to be done after one tank?? I just want to log dives while I can.

If your still reading, WOW. Thanks for taking the time.

 

[Li'l38]

Kind of a long story. I was going to a dive and working toward my DM certification with them. I had not been diving with them long, but was beginning to not like how things were run after having my daughter in a class and getting a little closer to the operation helping with classes and such. The day comes for my daughters first cert dives. I can not make it, so her grandmother has to take her to the pits for the dive. Looking back I kick myself. I had reservations on how well she would be taken care of. I convinced myself that they were professionals and everything would be fine.

Don't be too hard on yourself about it. You can't predict things like that. Sounds like those "professionals" did a lousy job.

She got through the mask clearing and all just fine. Both dives, she made it through the skills. After the skills on the second dive they headed for the tour part. She was in the half of the group that went with the assistant instructor. (I don't care for him) As they left the object her alternate snagged on a line. The assistant Inst. and other two divers went onwithout her. She could not go forward, she tried to go up and could not do that either. She tried to add air to her BC and still did not go up. She lost her reg, got that back and noticed her alternate was caught. She released it and popped to the surface due to the full BC. She said the AI came up a ways away a minute later.

Is there a way to report the inadequate methods used by the AI? Everyone makes mistakes but maybe it could go on record in case of a repeat episode(s)

I have several problems with the situation. Most of all I'm mad at myself for having concerns and still letting her go. Then the Instructor tells me "She told him she got tangled up, but he looked and she wasn't". He then says he doesn't think the guy really did anything wrong. A student was out of view, this student IS MY DAUGHTER! On top of my growing concerns of how things are done, now this. When I get back from this trip I'll be working with a different dive shop for my DM and I'll be switching back to NAUI after I get my PADI DM done.

My 15 year old son wants to get certified and the LDS I used is too far away. Very professional instructor and great bunch of DMs but I went there because my regular dive buddy worked nights. It was closer for him and the only way we could take the class together. There are shops closer to me and after hearing about this I will be checking out ALL of them before deciding where to take my son.

I tried to have her dive with a different instructor from a different shop. But it was the following day and I don't think she was over the incident the day before.

If she decides to try again in fresh water, fine, if not...well she tried it I can't fault her.

Sorry for the long story. I'm looking into a boat trip with Scuba Quest Thursday. Maybe another trip through Sea Trek Sunday, if they have room. And if the Thursday trip goes well I'll dive with Scuba Quest on a 3 tanker Monday. I may be short on cash, but I hope to do one more dive of some sort after Monday, before Friday. I hope to find a buddy to shore dive. The guy at Scuba Quest says to not mess around with the shore dive because of Vis being bad. He claimed 4 ft. But a shore dive for the cost of renting a tank with somewhat low vis...For that Vis I've had to rent a tank, wetsuit and pay to get into the dive site, 30 or 40 dollars for 1 or 2 dives. Bargain dive time to me.

I'm still looking forward to Saturday! One tank? I don't know what to expect really. Will I be ready to be done after one tank?? I just want to log dives while I can.

If your still reading, WOW. Thanks for taking the time.

I'm not sure how long one tank will last. IIRC, max depth is about 20ft. The LDS is only about 5 minutes up the road so you can go get it refilled if needed. That's also cheaper than renting two tanks. I don't know what to expect either. I called a couple of shops in the area for a report and was told the red tide was affecting the vis for shore diving. SBers, including ReefGuy were there last weekend and never mentioned it in their posts. In fact, they said they had a great time! Sorry I missed the B-Day party, I think there were three celebrating. Happy belated to all! I still haven't been diving with any SBers and am looking forward to that! (hopefully soon, I'm told the Florida Conch Divers are an exceptional group!) Don't know if the shops were being dishonest for the sake of trying to sell a boat trip or if they were going by some other report. ReefGuy might gives us more insight...