Nagel616
Registered
Hey!
Quick introduction here..
Got OW certified in college in 1996 (as a college course, on Friday nights no less).
Then didn't dive for almost 20 years
Life, funds, everything got in the way..
But! I had a crutch, I kept SW reef aquariums for years. Became a mod and later staff member of ReefCentral, and learned a TON about the life I kept in my tanks. Bred several species of marine fish, and even propagated hundreds, if not thousands, of coral frags.
Fast forward a few years, I got divorced, took down the tanks, and still have the itch for SW. One of my fellow moderators on RC became an instructor and kept egging me on to get my DM and instructor certs. Well, he's currently in Cozumel, and this past September I went down there for 10 days. Finished up my AOW cert, and dove on some amazing dives (my previous dives were all quarry dives for OW cert), and I got sucked in..
As for why my friend has pushed me to further my certification? LOL, I know my critters and corals! Scary, but I can identify more things than many DM's out there, and I can name both common and latin names. He knows I have a passion for the reefs, and it shows when I talk about the life we find down there. I have always been fascinated by reefs, and thought I had a good grasp on things, heck I've kept much of it in my own aquariums.. But the first time I dived Palancar Horseshoe in Coz, I realized just how amazing the BIG reef is! Just can't do a small aquarium (and mine was 300G!) after seeing spires of coral jutting 30+ feet up.. So, I guess I've got spend more time under the water now![Big Grin :D :D](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
So.... I bought myself plane ticket and booked a room on Utila for the month of January where I plan to do my Rescue Diver course, rack up a TON of dives and get the feel for a DM and Instructor courses on the island..
Needless to say, I'll be doing a LOT more diving than I had in the past..
Looking forward to this change of life..
Quick introduction here..
Got OW certified in college in 1996 (as a college course, on Friday nights no less).
Then didn't dive for almost 20 years
But! I had a crutch, I kept SW reef aquariums for years. Became a mod and later staff member of ReefCentral, and learned a TON about the life I kept in my tanks. Bred several species of marine fish, and even propagated hundreds, if not thousands, of coral frags.
Fast forward a few years, I got divorced, took down the tanks, and still have the itch for SW. One of my fellow moderators on RC became an instructor and kept egging me on to get my DM and instructor certs. Well, he's currently in Cozumel, and this past September I went down there for 10 days. Finished up my AOW cert, and dove on some amazing dives (my previous dives were all quarry dives for OW cert), and I got sucked in..
As for why my friend has pushed me to further my certification? LOL, I know my critters and corals! Scary, but I can identify more things than many DM's out there, and I can name both common and latin names. He knows I have a passion for the reefs, and it shows when I talk about the life we find down there. I have always been fascinated by reefs, and thought I had a good grasp on things, heck I've kept much of it in my own aquariums.. But the first time I dived Palancar Horseshoe in Coz, I realized just how amazing the BIG reef is! Just can't do a small aquarium (and mine was 300G!) after seeing spires of coral jutting 30+ feet up.. So, I guess I've got spend more time under the water now
So.... I bought myself plane ticket and booked a room on Utila for the month of January where I plan to do my Rescue Diver course, rack up a TON of dives and get the feel for a DM and Instructor courses on the island..
Needless to say, I'll be doing a LOT more diving than I had in the past..
Looking forward to this change of life..