Diver relocated. Everythings new!! help...?

[Kaffphine]

Just wanted to say hey and pose a few questions from this spoiled-rotten-Carribean diver. A few months ago I moved back to centeral PA from St Thomas, and after taking care of a few things I'm finally getting into diving up here. YEA!!! First thing is that I'm hugging a dry suit and don't plan to let go, OW dives for the class next weekend.

Quarries are a new thing to me, although I'll find out by just going with the guys from the shop, what's most quarry water, shore-side antics, dive like? As not to appear too green in the usual Thrusday night group of like TDI instrutiors, full cave, rebreathers.. you get the idea. Although two of the guys have told me rookies welcomed.

For when the water gets warmer up here and going wet would be possiable, what do divers wear under wetsuit up here. Although I don't think the guys would have a problem with it, my bikini only under wetsuit seems somehow wrong.

Also starting diving in a less-than saftey cautious enviroment, I've been tring to get an idea of the theory vs reality of buddy diving. With only a touch of reluctance I've accepted my solo days are over for awhile, however the dive partens I did have are now 1700 miles away. The details on safty of any dive would obvisouly be discussed per dive, but what are more general concerns/standards on the subject of buddy diving?

 

[DivingGal]

First welcome to your new diving family.

Here's my take on quarries:

• cold
• usually clear (unless it's limestone and you've had a lot of rain, then you can see past your nose)
• usually have wrecks of something (vehicles, planes, buses etc) to visit
• great place to practice skills

Wetsuits:
Generally one-piecers or "sport bra/tankini" - are a bit safer - they don't shift so much on you (so no extra shows.

Buddies:
Hey you'll find a whole bunch from here, but your LDSs in the are should be able to start you on the way. Buddies are the way to go. Not only can they save your bacon should something go wrong (above or below the water), they can also take you to all the new dive sites you'll be encountering (and give you all the ins and outs for them).

On a final note:
Compared to St Thomas, I think you'll find the water a wee bit more chilly. But it's great diving up here. Pop up above the 49th, and join us for some great wreck diving in the Great Lakes / St Lawrence.

 

[Ber Rabbit]

I know this is sick but I enjoy the quarries, especially Gilboa in Ohio more than warm water diving. Guess it's because the quarries are home. Green is a good description of the water in the quarries around here, sometimes it's a beautiful computer screen green! As far as shore side antics go, in the winter it probably involves a warm area, building perhaps? In the summer we usually take along a small grill and have a cook out during the SI while we fill in our log books from the first dive. Have learned from this board that Oreos and M&M's are always welcome!

I'm with DivingGal, wear a one piece or tankini. I'll never forget wearing my tube style bikini top (sans neck strap-I couldn't find it), peeling down my 1/4 inch wetsuit and having my instructor say "Your hooters are hanging!" YIKES!

When you do your buddy checks make sure you understand how your buddies equipment works, sounds like you may be diving with people who could have some potentially confusing set-ups. Practice inflating/deflating each other's BC's and understand how to drop each other's weight system. Don't just "discuss" your out of air plan, actually do a dry run from the signals you'll use to the regulator exchange (just pretend to breathe from the reg your given) to the ascent and what you will do on the surface (inflate BC, etc.). That will help you and your buddy commit the gear configurations and safety procedures to muscle memory. Since visibility can deteriorate to zero in a quarry you might want to simulate the whole thing with your eyes closed too. Decide if you will continue the dive if visibility goes to zero (maybe it's just kicked up in a small area) or if you'll abort. Practice your hand signals with eyes closed, you should be able to communicate all signals without seeing them.

Having fun is still the most important part! There are neat things to see in cold water they're usually just green or brown or put in there by man!

Ber

 

[chuckrt]

Welcome to the board. Our dive shop goes to PA for quarry diving each July and it is very different in that we are used to vis. in the Fingerlakes and Lake Ontario/ St. Larence . That having been said the quarries around the Reading? area are well run and very safety cautious. The visibility STINKS in most cases (5-8ft) but it is a great learning site. There are ropes and platforms as well as all kinds of swim thrus. The facilities generally have heated changing rooms and some have small cabins with heat for classrooms near the water. They are also very much into the buddy system and will get very testy if you are caught without one,I was bubble watching and buddy diving and I caught all the greif as Kevin out waited the manager.

Again welcome to the Northeast(drysuit area) and if you want to try the upstate NY area let me no and the dive boat is in June 1 and there are shore dives before that.

Chuckrt

 

[Kaffphine]

I would have loved to do northern NY. From STT, I went to Rochester for school and I'm thinking GREAT, great lakes, shipping hisotry, GREAT WREKCS wreck wrecks wrecks wrecks. I was living 5 mins from the lake and 15 from the docks in Greece. With tring to do college again, I didn't have time to do too much computer research online... so unfortunally I took the word of the only dive shop what was ever open. Ask them if there were any good wrecks in the lake.... no. Ask them if there were ANY wrecks in lake... no. I don't know maybe they just do dive travel and don't get wet went it gets cold.

 

[padiscubapro]

First of all welcome to the board..

I'm not sure how far you are from Dutch Springs (its in bethlehem pa), but its a good place to practice skills, and still have things to do.. The viz averages 30 ft and is getting better each year thanks to the introduction of Zebra mussels. In the summer the surface temp gets up there but it is ALWAYS cold at depth.. expect the last thermocline somewhere between 40ft and 60ft depending the time of year.. bottom temp is around 40f but the shallower depths can get into the upper 60s and low 70s.
You can expect max depth to be about 95 (but that will vary due to changes in water level), but there is a spot thats hits 120 that most people don't know where it is since there is nothing to see. (you wount accidentally find it) There are plenty of attractions to see, and some fish unique to the area.. DS has Palomino trout which is a hybrid, and can grow quite large. Many of the fish in the quarry are quite friendly since they are used to divers. I prefer to go there weekdays since the crowds are small, on the weekends in the summer expect a VERY large number of divers..

 

[Ari]

You've reached the best board on the net. Enjoy.

Ari