first ocean dives--Help!

[newbiesam]

My husband and I are new divers (last summer). We are taking a trip in April to Key Largo and my husband wants to do some shallow diving. I am getting a little nervous. Does anyone have any tips/suggestions for this trip? I would greatly appreciate it. We are thinking of paying extra for a guide since we are newer.

 

[Teamcasa]

Your feeling of angst is common in new divers. You will soon, after becoming more confident with your navigation and diving skills, get over it. But for now, hire a guide or charter a dive with a shop that will provide you with a DM. You are in for a great time, enjoy it.

Ask here, the locals with steer you straight. Florida Conch Divers

 

[fppf]

Anytime you dive in new conditions have a guide take you out the first time.

We have dove in Largo a few times, just listen to the captian. During the winter and sping months you tend to get blown out a bit. While they still may run a charter, it is no place for a noob.

Last time we where there we got blown out 3/4 days, this is not the norm, the weather just would not cut us a break. On the last day the capt felt bad and took us out. There where some newly cert divers wanting to go, tried to talk them out of it but they went against his better jugement. Needless to say, everyone but us and the capt got sick and one person almost lost there teeth getting back on the boat in 10 footers.

We where a little mad because it was a 2 tank dive but everyone was so sick we did not have the heart to make them stay on the boat for an hour while we did the second dives.

Diving is Largo is nice, I would stay one the reefs. Most dives are in the 20-30 foot range.

 

[herman]

Welcome to the board.

There are a lot of nice easy dives in the keys, just make sure your operator knows you are very new and you need a site that suits your needs. Hiring a guide is a good way to go and they are not expensive in the keys. I would bet if you ask (and maybe offered a beer afterwards ) some of the locals would come dive with you.
If you have ANY thoughts that you MIGHT get seasick, I would take some meds. Nothing worse than being on your first dive and sick as a dog...being green sure takes the fun out of a dive.

 

[lmorin]

You are in the same position my wife and I were when we started diving. The Keys have some of the best dives for newbies, IMHO. April should be pretty good for weather, but you never know. Most dives are quite shallow <35 ft. Check with the Dive Op to be certain that you will be going to those. Most Dive Ops take you out, give a briefing and tell you to be back in an hour or 500 lbs of air, whichever comes first. You are typically on your own, as far as navigation is concerned (unless you hire someone to go with you). Don't worry too much about that. Just do your best. The worst that is likely to happen is that you have to surface to find your boat. Not a problem because of the shallow diving. My wife and I were worried about the initial dives on our own, but everything went well including our navigation. In all likelihood, you will do just as well and have a great time. If you are truly concerned, remember that you can just go out from the boat and back, radiating around it like spokes on a wheel. We came to feel that the shallow Keys dives done without a DM were real confidence builders which propelled us on to bigger adventures.

 

[Jim Kerr]

My husband and I are new divers (last summer). We are taking a trip in April to Key Largo and my husband wants to do some shallow diving. I am getting a little nervous. Does anyone have any tips/suggestions for this trip? I would greatly appreciate it. We are thinking of paying extra for a guide since we are newer.

Don't forget to take some signaling devices with you. This is very important when diving in the ocean. You and your husband should "each" be carrying an SMB, (safety sausage) and a "Dive Alert" whistle attached to your LP inflator. Many new divers doing their first ocean dive are unaware of this. This will make it possible for you to be seen and heard should you surface far away from the boat or get caught in current. Oh, and make sure at least one of you has a compass.

 

[ChrisA]

My husband and I are new divers (last summer). We are taking a trip in April to Key Largo and my husband wants to do some shallow diving. I am getting a little nervous. Does anyone have any tips/suggestions for this trip? I would greatly appreciate it. We are thinking of paying extra for a guide since we are newer.

Where do you live? As long as the water is not frozen solid at your location you should be able to get in some dives locally. I always think it is best to do the trainning near your home where you are not rushed and on a schedule. Even if water is frozen over you can still do some pool work mid winter. Take the refresher class and review the skills in a pool. Even better would be to take a class at home before the trip. Of if there really is no water near you take a low cost trip to the coast. Here is So. Calif the diving is nice right now. What is your next class AOL or Rescue? Do that before your big trip.

Yes. If you are both a new and infrequent diver your best option is to hire a DM and do supervised dives. The better option is to not let yourself become an infrequent diver -- find a local dive club.

 

[grassyknoll]

I took my 13 year old daughter to dive in Key Largo only 1 month after her certification. They were her first ocean dives and were easy and stress-free. Just to make sure she was comfortable and to put me at ease I did have the dive op provide a DM to accompany us on her first two dives. If you have decent weather and go with a good dive op I'm sure you'll have a great time.

 

[BarryNL]

My husband and I are new divers (last summer). We are taking a trip in April to Key Largo and my husband wants to do some shallow diving. I am getting a little nervous. Does anyone have any tips/suggestions for this trip? I would greatly appreciate it. We are thinking of paying extra for a guide since we are newer.

If you're going somewhere new then getting a guide (at least for the first few dives) is a good idea no matter how experienced you are. If nothing else, a guide will at least know the best stuff to see.

Also, all sites have unique dangers with currents, objects and many other issues which may not be immediately obvious but which a local professional will know about.

 

[TSandM]

It's not clear if you have done any diving since you got certified, but if you haven't, it would be a superb idea to contact a local shop and get a refresher class. Just getting a chance to be in the water in gear, and run through procedures and skills, will set you up for a much more confident experience on your trip.