Hello from Toledo Ohio

[fusionvibe]

Got my OW in the fall and my own gear for Christmas.
Been waiting for the quarry to warm up here.
My wife has relatives we mooch off of in Largo, FL.
We'll be in town this coming week and I'll be gathering info on dive shops, charters, sites in the surrounding area.
Since I only have 5 dives in so far I don't plan on doing alot of diving this week but I may do the Narcosis Scuba Discover FL dive. (Wife wants me to get a little more xp here)
Mostly I plan on spending some time in the relatives pool practicing my mask clearing, getting use to an aluminum tank and practicing bouyancy control.
(My PT-016 just arrived while typing this.)
I do plan on looking for some dive buddies to hook up with in the future.
The relatives are gonna start wondering why we're coming down so much.

The info on Scubaboards.com has been invaluable helping me with equipment choices, ear problems, etc.

much thanks, take care, be safe!

Tom

 

[GrierHPharmD]

Welcome to the sport and to Scubaboard, Tom.

While you're here, you should watch the board and look for dives in the area where you'll be staying. Our group dives pretty often, and from my experience (I've only been here for 5 months or so), they make very good dive buddies. We'll be glad to offer honest opinions about dive sites, operators, each other, etc.

The most important thing, in my opinion, for you at this stage is to get wet and remember to stay within the limits of your training and experience. There are plenty of really nice reef dives that will help you become more comfortable with the idea of being underwater, and it's on those dives that you hone your bouyancy control, develop your swimming technique, and in general start to feel at home with diving.

If you happen to wander northward to the area between Boca and Hollywood, we have lots of folks who regularly dive off of the beaches there. The dives are easy and interesting, with lots of sea life and plenty of good times during the surface intervals. There's also the added bonus that they're there for the price of an air fill and a couple dollars for parking meters.

Again, welcome. Best wishes and safe ascents,
Grier

 

[yknot]

Got my OW in the fall and my own gear for Christmas.
Been waiting for the quarry to warm up here.
My wife has relatives we mooch off of in Largo, FL.
We'll be in town this coming week and I'll be gathering info on dive shops, charters, sites in the surrounding area.
Since I only have 5 dives in so far I don't plan on doing alot of diving this week but I may do the Narcosis Scuba Discover FL dive. (Wife wants me to get a little more xp here)
Mostly I plan on spending some time in the relatives pool practicing my mask clearing, getting use to an aluminum tank and practicing bouyancy control.
(My PT-016 just arrived while typing this.)
I do plan on looking for some dive buddies to hook up with in the future.
The relatives are gonna start wondering why we're coming down so much.

The info on Scubaboards.com has been invaluable helping me with equipment choices, ear problems, etc.

much thanks, take care, be safe!

Tom

Tom- how much warmer do you want the quarry to be? Portage must have been at least 55 below the thermocline last night, 68 for the first twenty feet. If you're waiting until you can comfortably dive a 3mm shorty it's going to be a long wait. I dive a minimum of 7mm and will likely still be wearing my hood and gloves in August. Let me know who you did your cert with, assuming Toledo area.
If you did your OW in a quarry, diving in Florida shouldn't be anything to worry about (provided you stay shallow and don't encounter current). Alot of people that are new divers or only dive once a year do so in Fla. so expect the operators will be able to assist with your inexperience. The alum. tank won't be as much an issue as you think because you will already be dealing with the fact the salt water requires more weight than fresh water but you will also be using less thermal protection. In other words, your trim and bouyancy is going to be very different than what you know now and the only way to deal with it is go and dive it. Just be honest about your experience and expectations so that the dive ops can put you on a boat suited to you.