Hi all.
I've just booked a spot on the Fling directly thru Gulf-Diving to use a trip certificate I won the bidding on in a silent auction. The trip is for Thurs-Friday, June 7-8. The dive shops signed up selling seats are Houston Scuba Academy, Sea Sports (Austin), and Scubaland Adventures (Houston). I'll be going solo as my wife is not available for this trip (on extended business travel until mid August).
If anyone on the board is also going down solo, and would like to get in touch with a dive buddy ahead of time, please feel free to respond and/or PM me. I know the boat DM's will "match" me and they have solos all the time, but I'm not a huge fan of "instant buddy" situations, especially for something like the FG, hence the post.
I've got about 46 dives under my belt, have been to the FG once before, as well as equally deep in places like Saba. Just finished PADI Rescue Diver course this past weekend, so I have been in the water recently. I'm in fair shape (no 'athlete', bit of a belly, but very comfortable in the water, been a swimmer since almost before I walked on 2 legs) and don't hoover air too bad. I will be diving Nitrox for the trip, and have my own gear (sans tank)...been diving the same kit since about #17 or so (bought right after AOW+EANx cert in 2004).
I think I'm a fairly competent buddy, but of course YMMV. Not a serious photographer (do have a small Canon point-n-shoot, but quite content not to take it down) yet don't mind buddying with someone who is...I'm more the drift or swim slowly and calmly type of diver than the one who's got some sort of distance issue to prove, so I make a good photo spotter sometimes
. Some dives I could care less about getting out of 'visual range' of the hull and mooring lines. On the other hand, I'm okay with a compass but not 'great' so not up to blazing endless new trails. Didn't take the Dinghy of Shame once on our last trip down, and I was doing all the nav duties for me and the wife; but don't plan on pushing it either.
Hope to "meet" someone else going down ahead of time and swap notes, if possible!
Rgds,
RTRski (Richard)
I've just booked a spot on the Fling directly thru Gulf-Diving to use a trip certificate I won the bidding on in a silent auction. The trip is for Thurs-Friday, June 7-8. The dive shops signed up selling seats are Houston Scuba Academy, Sea Sports (Austin), and Scubaland Adventures (Houston). I'll be going solo as my wife is not available for this trip (on extended business travel until mid August).
If anyone on the board is also going down solo, and would like to get in touch with a dive buddy ahead of time, please feel free to respond and/or PM me. I know the boat DM's will "match" me and they have solos all the time, but I'm not a huge fan of "instant buddy" situations, especially for something like the FG, hence the post.
I've got about 46 dives under my belt, have been to the FG once before, as well as equally deep in places like Saba. Just finished PADI Rescue Diver course this past weekend, so I have been in the water recently. I'm in fair shape (no 'athlete', bit of a belly, but very comfortable in the water, been a swimmer since almost before I walked on 2 legs) and don't hoover air too bad. I will be diving Nitrox for the trip, and have my own gear (sans tank)...been diving the same kit since about #17 or so (bought right after AOW+EANx cert in 2004).
I think I'm a fairly competent buddy, but of course YMMV. Not a serious photographer (do have a small Canon point-n-shoot, but quite content not to take it down) yet don't mind buddying with someone who is...I'm more the drift or swim slowly and calmly type of diver than the one who's got some sort of distance issue to prove, so I make a good photo spotter sometimes
. Some dives I could care less about getting out of 'visual range' of the hull and mooring lines. On the other hand, I'm okay with a compass but not 'great' so not up to blazing endless new trails. Didn't take the Dinghy of Shame once on our last trip down, and I was doing all the nav duties for me and the wife; but don't plan on pushing it either.Hope to "meet" someone else going down ahead of time and swap notes, if possible!
Rgds,
RTRski (Richard)
