Hello! and I'm trying something new

[Mason Wooley]

Hey everyone, I just made my account today, but I have been diving off and on for 10 years. I really love it, and have been working in Seattle at Microsoft for the past few years which has limited how much I get out to dive. I really enjoyed a trip I did with my wife to the Channel Islands where we lived aboard a boat and dove every day for a week! We swam the kelp forests, saw loads of fish, and a seal even came up to my wife and started playing with her fin. That was the highlight of the trip for sure! What's your favorite trip?

I am trying to plan another dive trip soon and I was looking for resources online, but couldn't find one that would give me what I was looking for. I want to be able to sort dive sites by wildlife, visibility or plant life. I think it could be really useful.

I started a spreadsheet Diverlist - A spreadsheet for dive sites around the world that I will be filling in and was hoping you could help me fill it out with trips you have been on that you really liked!

I would love to hear any suggestions on where I should go next. Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Best,

 

[TMHeimer]

I have only been on one true "dive week vacation" (to Panama). I only offer the simplest of advice. Google the area you think you'd like to visit and then the dive operations around there. My big thing is shell collecting, and I found the right one for that. Word of caution--in your e mails ask every conceivable question you can think of--costs per dive, accomodations, their own rules, etc. Examples may be--is there a charge for shore dives and is it required to do that with a DM, or is smoking allowed or prohibited on the boat? Not to mention of course your own points about what you can expect to see diving. Videos on websites are nice. Good idea to print out anything that may help clear up any misconceptions once you arrive there. There have been many posts on SB about how things looked perfect when booking the trip only to find out not so much upon arrival. Good luck.

 

[Mason Wooley]

Thanks Tom Great advice. I've heard great things about diving Belize, but I'll have to look into Panama

Do you still see a lot of variation between dive shops in different countries? I would have thought that things would standardize over time, but maybe the industry still needs more time. I guess there are different size shops and that could influence things more than what country they are in. Anyway, thanks again!

Best,

 

[kelemvor]

Welcome! Hey I just wanted to share that there are a couple websites that have information like you're trying to harvest into your spreadsheet. My favorite is Popular Dive Sites | DiveBuddy.com . It's not my site, but I've contributed some information on a few sites. They also integrate with google earth so you can browse around the map for dive sites. This site has all the details you mention, plus a few you didn't.

Another place for dive reports is Undercurrent, Consumer Reporting for Serious Divers Since 1975 Undercurrent is a pseudo e-magazine centered around reviews. Dive site reviews, operator reviews, etc. Undercurrent isn't free, though. The value there (for me) is you get real reviews about particular dive operators.

I use both sites, and for the most part I prefer divebuddy.com. However, if I was doing anything more than a single day of diving I would definitely check reviews on undercurrent.

That said, my diving has all been in Florida or Caribbean islands. Your kelp forests are on my bucket list, but gosh that water is cold over there!

 

[TMHeimer]

From what I read, dive ops vary a lot around the world. From big fancy liveaboards in the popular developed places to the guy who takes you out in his row boat. It is good advice to check out where the nearest hospital with a hyperbaric chamber is and how you'd get there. Many advise DAN insurance especially for out of the way places.

 

[Mason Wooley]

Kelemvor, thanks so much for the other links I'll take a closer look! As for West coast diving, year, very cold, but you gotta do it at least once to realize it's not as bad as it sounds. Plus the kelp forests are awesome.

If you are diving around the keys and Florida, have you ever done Dry Tortuga's? I went to the island once and remember it was beautiful, but never dove.

Also is there anything you wish divebuddy offered? Where does it fall short in your mind?

TMHeimer, thanks for the tip on the hospital and hyperbaric chamber. Did not cross my mind before.

Do you use any sites to find places to dive?

 

[kelemvor]

Also is there anything you wish divebuddy offered? Where does it fall short in your mind?

I think the site needs some UI updates. The data is great, it's just a little clunky. They load more javascript than I care for, but that's what noscript is for. They're pretty minor complaints, and I use the site regularly. The domain name isn't all that intuitive for much of the content although I did once actually find and dive with a buddy from that site.

I wrote and maintained a vaguely similar site about a decade ago. Mine was centered around boat launches and featured maps and various data about the launches. Eventually I closed it down as almost every record in the database was input by me. I just couldn't get any other users interested and so I stopped paying the dns renewals.

 

[Seaweed Doc]

Welcome, Mason.

Have you done much diving in Washington? The rock walls in the San Juan Islands are pretty nice, but require a boat dive. Visibility definitely improves as you move north, though you have to use a current guide (not a tide guide) to time entry.