Hello from Puyallup...

[saDagat]

I am here to learn!

I am 49y, happily married for 19y, father of two soon to be university students, and we live outside Tacoma, WA.

I have always wanted to dive but never got around to it, so I made it a goal and just earned my Open Water & Nitrox certifications on 21 Dec 2021 in La Jolla, Ca while visiting family in San Diego for the holidays.

Technical diving fascinates me, I like the simplicity & modularity of the Hogarthian style setups, so that is the road I'm headed down. Shearwater Perdix computer, SSt backplate, one-piece harness, 35lbs single wing, HP100 cylinder, primary 2nd stage on a long hose, secondary second stage on a necklace, and a brass & glass SPG.

One thing I learned from my time in the Army was it didn't matter if a soldier attended some "high speed" (i.e. "advanced") training, he might still be a soup sandwich. It was the quiet guy who could always perform the basics under stress that you wanted beside you in a TIC. That being said I have no desire to be an "advanced" or "master" diver. My personal goal is to train proficiently and attempt to achieve mastery of the basics, to be a safe competent diver who is an asset to those around me in the water, not a liability...

I think we want to go to Cozumel for our first tropical dive trip, but the end goal is to dive the Philippines. I really want to dive Coron & Cebu. For the time being the plan is to dive Puget Sound, and attend additional training, to gain experience and proficiency.

 

[drrich2]

Welcome. ScubaBoard generally (outside the pandemic) aims for 2 organized group trips/year; a smaller (but not small) Surge and a larger Invasion. Back in 2016, they did an Invasion trip to the Philippines. That might be a good place to start your research. That said, while I hear good things about the Atlantis resorts, I also hear they are expensive.

So, looking to a trip report from a member in whose foot (fin?) steps I might want to follow, I'd start with this thread - Trip Report-Philippines-Puerto Galera-El Galleon/Asia Divers-April 1-14, 2019 - by @Trailboss123

I'm also fond of @Ironborn trip reports, and he's been to the Philippines. Trip reports:
-----A Tale of Two Cities (and Dive Resorts): Atlantis Puerto Galera and Buceo Anilao, January 2018
-----Visayas Trip Report: Alona Beach and Dauin, January 2020

You mentioned Coron and Cebu as your targets to dive in the Philippines. What led you to aim for them?

Richard.

 

[Andrew Dawson]

Welcome! I am up in Kenmore...dive regularly in Lake WA...and have dove Puget Sound since 2005. I have a buddy who owns Scandi Divers and Campbell's Beach Resort in Puerto Galera in the Philippines if you wanted to consider going there, I can get you in touch with him.

My wife and I just dove Cozumel for the first time back in Aug.

Hit me up if you want to chat

 

[Lorenzoid]

Howdy and welcome to SB!

I got my OW cert in La Jolla, too. Now living in the Southeast, though.

 

[MKingslayer]

Welcome! I am up in Kenmore...dive regularly in Lake WA...and have dove Puget Sound since 2005. I have a buddy who owns Scandi Divers and Campbell's Beach Resort in Puerto Galera in the Philippines if you wanted to consider going there, I can get you in touch with him.

My wife and I just dove Cozumel for the first time back in Aug.

Hit me up if you want to chat

Do you dive with a club?

 

[Andrew Dawson]

Naw, I prefer a sword as the wood is too floaty.

 

[Andrew Dawson]

Honestly, no...no dive clubs for me...tho, I hear Emerald Sea and Moss Bay and Marker Buoy are decent local dive clubs. IIRC...one of those was closed....I want to say it was Marker Buoy or Moss Bay...

 

[MKingslayer]

Thank you for the information!

 

[Desertlifter]

"One thing I learned from my time in the army...."

There is a very active JBLM dive group - you might want to check them out on Facebook if you are there. Some local shops also put on weekly-ish dives that might get you acclimated to the Sound. I'm over in Yakima and travel a bit, but have gotten in a few dives over there in my short tenure as a diver.

My current plan is to get an annual dive around the Sound every Veteran's Day weekend. I can't go much further afield that time of year, but there are tons of places to explore over there.

 

[OrcasC205]

Technical diving fascinates me, I like the simplicity & modularity of the Hogarthian style setups, so that is the road I'm headed down. Shearwater Perdix computer, SSt backplate, one-piece harness, 35lbs single wing, HP100 cylinder, primary 2nd stage on a long hose, secondary second stage on a necklace, and a brass & glass SPG.

One thing I learned from my time in the Army was it didn't matter if a soldier attended some "high speed" (i.e. "advanced") training, he might still be a soup sandwich. It was the quiet guy who could always perform the basics under stress that you wanted beside you in a TIC. That being said I have no desire to be an "advanced" or "master" diver. My personal goal is to train proficiently and attempt to achieve mastery of the basics, to be a safe competent diver who is an asset to those around me in the water, not a liability...

Welcome to ScubaBoard and to diving. If you are interested Hogarthian-style diving and want to build your skills towards Tech diving, there is a very active GUE community in the Seattle area. We host weekly Wednesday night dives (currently at Redondo Beach in Des Moines) that are open to all certified divers. Most of us dive GUE standard kits (BP/W, long hose primary, etc.)

You may also be interested in eventually taking the GUE Fundamentals course which builds those primary skills for being a safe and competent diver. There are several local GUE instructors (all very good) that teach Fundamentals and more advanced GUE technical diving course. Feel free to DM me here on ScubaBoard or to check out the GUE Seattle Facebook group if you want more details.