Going from OW ocean dive to quarry dive

[Texasdivechick]

I agree that the quarries aren't as exciting as diving in the o-chin. Even when diving in a scuba park, it gets boring pretty fast. But I will say this: I take advantage of the lack of pretty scenery (fish, coral, etc...) to work on skills. Since I'm not distracted by all the little fishies, I can concentrate solely on buoyancy and trim, air consumption, mask drills, etc... Also, since my local quarry is only 25' deep (27 if you have a shovel) I feel "safer" practicing the skills that I find the most uncomfortable, like removing my mask and replacing. I think you should give the quarry another try. Once you get your buoyancy neutral and have good trim, then you can reward yourself with a nice trip to the tropics!

 

[DaytonaDave]

Soundtracklover,
........It's great to see that you have a supportive spouse.

Pete

Actually, I'm just reciprocating

Soundtracklover is extremely supportive of my diving habit... and my desire to continue obtaining further education... As she said [jokingly] the other night, she's just investing in her future education. I can teach her when I become an instructor...

 

[Pat Mustard]

I recently got certified myself, in a quarry. I foolishly borrowed someone else's snorkel & mask for my OW dives, and the combined shock of 2 x 7mm wetsuit pieces, strange gear, and the different conditions made the first few minutes really, really uncomfortable!

But, the other 3 dives were great

On wetsuits, the manufacturers don't seem to actually know any actual women One thought, Pinnacle make nice wetsuits with more of a range of body shapes.

 

[engdiver]

Diving in quarries is also good training for Great Lakes diving. There are many similarities to the Great Lakes as far as temperature and visibility goes. Get your own gear and dive the quarries a few times and it will get better.

 

[Buoyant1]

Dave...whatever you do, don't take her to Bainbridge! She'll hate you if she wasn't thrilled about Dutch!

 

[CrabCake]

Pics of the OP? SOMEBODY had to ask. I qual'd at Dutch Springs-there was 400 divers there the weekend I qual'd. Excellent facility. Nothing beats the big "O" as far as stuff to see.. I plan on taking my AOW at Dutch Springs next spring/summer.

 

[drydiver]

Pinnacle is great for us curvy gals. I have a 7mm and I love it! I did the same thing as you, recently certified in warm clear water. My first quarry dive was in Millbrook, VA and it was a disaster. I have been back there as well as Rawlings, VA and have improved each time. Keep it up, I promise it will get better and then clear water diving will be a breeze!!

 

[1_T_Submariner]

Quarrys are a place for us that are landlocked to get wet. The vis is usually better in the spring/fall when it is colder. The only thing they don't help train for is surf and current.

Hope you work through your concerns.

 

[oldschool]

You've got the right attitude. Lake diving is certainly not the greatest, but if you can dive in low vis with confidence, 100' + vis is a piece of cake. My experience was the opposite. My first dive (30 years ago) was in a german lake with absolute zero visability. It was like diving in a glass of chocolate milk. I held on to the instructor's tank with a death grip. It was fantastic! I still dive in lakes, now in Texas, between those times when I get spoiled in the Carribean. But I still think of that first dive as the best one yet.

 

[mm2002]

I can definitely relate here! Our first OW dive was in about 2 ft. vis. We were supposed to be following the instructor, but we lost sight of him on several occasions. It really stressed us, and we were both breathing right on the verge of hyperventilating. We had absolutely ZERO fun on that dive! Later that evening we were discussing ditching the whole SCUBA thing, and selling our gear. We were really wondering if this sport was for us. The next day we were to do dives 2 and 3, and we were both nervous as crap on the way to the lake. We really had to psych ourselves up for it, but we decided to give it another shot. That day, the vis was a bit better at around 8 ft, and by the end of the day, we were so pumped!! We even talked the instructor into taking us on a fun dive because we had air left. The following day we got our certs, and couldn't wait to get back in the water! Last weekend was our first time together without an instructor, and we made 2 dives totaling about 45 min. We were so relaxed, and had so much fun that I can definitely say we're hooked now! I can imagine that ocean diving is going to be a breeze after what we're used to.