38el
Registered
Hello, new to the board as you can see. Certified NASDS in 69 (really took course in 68 but card dated Jan 1, 1969. Also completed Advanced Open Water course the following year.
Just got my SSI card as AOW and just need the Rescue class for Master Diver with the other endorsements I have. NASDS was bought out by SSI I found out from the LDS. I need to get my feet wet first and plan to take a refresher course and mixed gas as I have not dived since early 90s. I have 284 LOGGED dives and a whole bunch that were not logged. All my dive equipment has been borrowed and spread out among my family and friends so I plan to start from scratch. Living on the central east coast of Florida we have so many places to dive within and easy days drive and return.
A lot of the old favorite cave and spring diving holes have been taken over by the State and are now parks and a pain to dive. We dove Blue Springs in Orange City every Wednesday night. I did this for over three years before joining the Army. I dove with Hal Watts and was a member of his deep diving club. I saw the 63 Vet dumped in Zuber Sink (now owned by the Watts family and called Devils Den). My Dad and two brothers were certified and we took many vacation trips and all long weekends to the Keys back before I left High School into the Army.
Im hoping that Ill still be able to dive as Im a Disabled Vet, was Airborne and we got a bad drop into trees and banged up my knees/legs. Back then we were tough but now as I have aged, the knees and legs are shot. I walk with a cane but Im told with the new BCs and fins, very little effort is required to dive once you are in the water. Im just worried about climbing out of the water into a boat on a rough day. I think Ill start with an 80 as they are lighter than the 72s and now the bigger steel.
Im now retired (when I was 50) and I have my graduate degree and would like to eventfully obtain my instructors certification and maybe help or teach diving classes. I have plenty of life and diving experiences to share along with diving accidents I was witness too.
I also can share in my very young days that I won a $1 bet (big bucks to a 16 year old back then) with my dive instructor that I could not stay underwater for more than a few minutes with just a Mask, weight belt, and full tank only. No regulator. I was down for 35 minutes in the deep end of the pool (12) and the only reason I came up is they came down and got me as they wanted to go home. Only one problem, I had to buy myself a new o-ring as I blew it off and didnt notice. Glad to always carry a spare or two. If you havent done it, give it a try, might save your life one day although the stage1 and 2s are so much better then back then. Just cup one of your hands and gently turn the air on/off and breathe out of the cup in your hand. In our class, we had to use both the single stage dual hose and the newer 1st and 2nd stage. My first regulator (I think and dont hold me to this) was a Scubapro MK1 first stage and a MKIII second stage. My dad and brother were certified after me and I think they got MKIV 2nd stage which had an adjustable airflow. I could not tell the difference. I flipped hamburgers and made ice cream at the local DQ to pay for my dive gear and dates. The only choice around for equipment was Scubapro and US Divers. All wet suits were just about custom made and farmer John style. Took half a bottle of baby powder to get them on. Seemed the wet suit cost more than the dive equipment. I dove for a long time in just a pair of cut offs and sweat shirt. My first tank used a J-Valve as I could not afford a pressure gauge. Mom and Dad got me on for Christmas, all it had was a depth gauge and tank psi. The depth gauge used the water and air system, the deeper you went, the more the air was compressed. They were hard to read and not very accurate and you could knock them off center if you were not careful. It was all Navy Dive tables back then. I have a good friend of mine who was a Navy diver and volunteered to help with the tables. He told me they dove in a deep chamber and had a recompression single man unit waiting for the when they got out of the dive chamber. A hard way to make a living. Got to give those divers a pat on the back to get us where we are today.
I think this is enough introductions; Ill do some reading for a while and just listen. Ill be getting my feet wet soon. I put a down payment on most of my equipment. Im a Scubapro guy but if anyone has personal info regarding computers please let me know. Im leaning to the Galileo Sol and I know its pricy, but all of Scubapro is. But when your life depends on it, why save a buck if it could save your life or someone else.
Thanks for the board, 38el
Just got my SSI card as AOW and just need the Rescue class for Master Diver with the other endorsements I have. NASDS was bought out by SSI I found out from the LDS. I need to get my feet wet first and plan to take a refresher course and mixed gas as I have not dived since early 90s. I have 284 LOGGED dives and a whole bunch that were not logged. All my dive equipment has been borrowed and spread out among my family and friends so I plan to start from scratch. Living on the central east coast of Florida we have so many places to dive within and easy days drive and return.
A lot of the old favorite cave and spring diving holes have been taken over by the State and are now parks and a pain to dive. We dove Blue Springs in Orange City every Wednesday night. I did this for over three years before joining the Army. I dove with Hal Watts and was a member of his deep diving club. I saw the 63 Vet dumped in Zuber Sink (now owned by the Watts family and called Devils Den). My Dad and two brothers were certified and we took many vacation trips and all long weekends to the Keys back before I left High School into the Army.
Im hoping that Ill still be able to dive as Im a Disabled Vet, was Airborne and we got a bad drop into trees and banged up my knees/legs. Back then we were tough but now as I have aged, the knees and legs are shot. I walk with a cane but Im told with the new BCs and fins, very little effort is required to dive once you are in the water. Im just worried about climbing out of the water into a boat on a rough day. I think Ill start with an 80 as they are lighter than the 72s and now the bigger steel.
Im now retired (when I was 50) and I have my graduate degree and would like to eventfully obtain my instructors certification and maybe help or teach diving classes. I have plenty of life and diving experiences to share along with diving accidents I was witness too.
I also can share in my very young days that I won a $1 bet (big bucks to a 16 year old back then) with my dive instructor that I could not stay underwater for more than a few minutes with just a Mask, weight belt, and full tank only. No regulator. I was down for 35 minutes in the deep end of the pool (12) and the only reason I came up is they came down and got me as they wanted to go home. Only one problem, I had to buy myself a new o-ring as I blew it off and didnt notice. Glad to always carry a spare or two. If you havent done it, give it a try, might save your life one day although the stage1 and 2s are so much better then back then. Just cup one of your hands and gently turn the air on/off and breathe out of the cup in your hand. In our class, we had to use both the single stage dual hose and the newer 1st and 2nd stage. My first regulator (I think and dont hold me to this) was a Scubapro MK1 first stage and a MKIII second stage. My dad and brother were certified after me and I think they got MKIV 2nd stage which had an adjustable airflow. I could not tell the difference. I flipped hamburgers and made ice cream at the local DQ to pay for my dive gear and dates. The only choice around for equipment was Scubapro and US Divers. All wet suits were just about custom made and farmer John style. Took half a bottle of baby powder to get them on. Seemed the wet suit cost more than the dive equipment. I dove for a long time in just a pair of cut offs and sweat shirt. My first tank used a J-Valve as I could not afford a pressure gauge. Mom and Dad got me on for Christmas, all it had was a depth gauge and tank psi. The depth gauge used the water and air system, the deeper you went, the more the air was compressed. They were hard to read and not very accurate and you could knock them off center if you were not careful. It was all Navy Dive tables back then. I have a good friend of mine who was a Navy diver and volunteered to help with the tables. He told me they dove in a deep chamber and had a recompression single man unit waiting for the when they got out of the dive chamber. A hard way to make a living. Got to give those divers a pat on the back to get us where we are today.
I think this is enough introductions; Ill do some reading for a while and just listen. Ill be getting my feet wet soon. I put a down payment on most of my equipment. Im a Scubapro guy but if anyone has personal info regarding computers please let me know. Im leaning to the Galileo Sol and I know its pricy, but all of Scubapro is. But when your life depends on it, why save a buck if it could save your life or someone else.
Thanks for the board, 38el
