Steve Mix, your story sounds oddly like my own, I live in Rochester, NY, was YMCA certified in '88, did some great diving for a couple of years, got married to a non-diver,etc, etc. My son is now 12 and showing some interest, so I talked he and mom into a trip next spring to the Keys, and I'm having a lot fun planning and preparing. I had sold all my old equipment, and at first figured I'd rent stuff on this trip because I'm not ready yet for any big investments. But I had tried renting before and, wanting at least a BC that I could fit and try out ahead of time, I started researching models made in the last few years, and scanning for one on ebay. By researching, I mean that I read Scuba Diving Magizine and study the charts. Now, I'm not claiming that that magizine is the leadiing authority, you will get a lot of better info in these forums, but they do have concise comparitive charts that list MSRP, features, sizes etc., and the do some objective testing. They also explain the options and new technologies available. One of the highly rated models is the Sherwood Tortuga, and there was a thumbs up story in Sport Diver magizine as well, so I starting looking for one and sure enough got a new one at a price I could afford. Now I'm really psyched and as soon as I get some new fins I'll be ready to get to the LDS to try it out. Has anyone out there had any experiences with the Tortuga?
Good luck getting back into the sport Steve. I've been to the florida keys and it's a great place to start out, lots of easy diving, no passports, same time zone for us easterners....