Finally certified - Going for my first "dive trip" in 2 weeks looking for tips

[Bosyn]

Howdy all,

I finally took the plunge and got my Open Water cerfitication so that I can dive with my wife while we're in Beaches Turks in 2 weeks. Any suggestions from more experienced divers on what all I should expect and do, beside be space conscious my instructor beat that one into me.

Thanks

Bosyn

 

[Neilwood]

Apart from the obvious( keep breathing), relax and enjoy it.

Listen to dive briefings, don't be afraid to tell people you are inexperienced (most people will help new divers and those that don't aren't worth knowing) and have fun.

Did I say have fun?

 

[gkrane]

Just have fun. Divers are for the most part a very mellow group to hang around. Like Neilwood said, listen to the dive briefings and you will be fine.

 

[Seya]

You can practice your buoyancy. And have lots of fun

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

 

[gkrane]

By the way, congrats on the certification. It was a life changing event for me.

 

[TMHeimer]

Congratulations. I assume you're talking about some boat diving. It seemed at first to me that everyone was rushing when the signal was to gear up. Just seemed that way (most of the time....). Relax and enjoy--don't feel rushed. Keep a "dry" bag and find out where the dry area is.

 

[diversteve]

They're probably going to do a lot of dives off Provo due to the time involved to get to the farther destinations - which is still good diving. If Jojo the Dolphin is still around you'll often see him at one of the Provo sites that Beaches dives frequently. Thunderdome was an interesting dive in that area - it's these huge rebar domes/structures from a defunct European game show. Pretty shallow since contestants used to swim down.

Ask them about making trips out to West Caicos or French Cay. You could dive Double D off French Cay at your level - and likely see reef sharks. We saw multiple sharks at every dive off French Cay over two days - once upwards of a dozen on the same dive. There's also some barracuda, big turtles, occasionally an Eagle ray flies over so periodically look up. West Caicos is also excellent diving - neither is inhabited so the only pressure the reef sees is from the two liveaboards or the 1/2 dozen dive operators that run out there. Most times the sharks and everything else mostly ignore you - I like seeing animals in their natural state like that.

Just be careful around the wall because the water is so clear that you can be deeper than you thought quickly. As a new diver they're not likely to take you to anywhere you can get into trouble but there's still some pretty cool spots where you float 20' out over the wall and the bottom is 1000' below leading down to 6000' in some areas. The upwelling nutrients mean the corals stack on top of each other and bigger fish come up to feed regularly. Don't get to close to the Lionfish either - some of them are basketball sized.

Around the moorings there'll be Stingrays - each with it's own Snapper or Goatfish hovering nearby waiting for a meal. It's not exactly a symbiotic relationship but you'll notice the same fish/ray paired together. Also the individual coral heads are their own little self-contained nurseries.

 

[RJP]

I assume you're talking about some boat diving... Keep a "dry" bag and find out where the dry area is.

 

[TMHeimer]

Hey, we may catch his act when we winter in Biloxi this year... But I have to say, on almost all the charters I've taken in the South they had a good place for dry bags (usually below and near bow). But I never take the log book on board.

Bosyn, There is a thread or two somewhere with lots of advice about boat diving procedures and what to expect.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

Bosyn, you should do two things: 1. Relax. 2. Have fun. Now if you want some tips on how to do this that didn't come to you in class, and for some fun stories, try Reading "The Scuba Snobs' Guide to Diving Etiquette" and the sequel byt the same name, "Book 2". Both are online and are cheap as a kindle or nook book. Have a great trip, and start making your own history and fun stories!
DivemasterDennis