Hi everyone, excited to be joining you

[David_Ramsey]

You're more than welcome to PM me and I'll give you whatever info I can. Being in Matthews, there is a possibility you may do your in water training dives at the Lake Norman quarry. It is part of NC PDRA .

And although Coz is a great place to dive, I would suggest getting a few local dives in first, just to "get your feet wet" and acclimated to diving post-cert. The waters of Coz will be mesmerizing after diving in the local quarries.

So what are some more local dives we should look into? I see the PDRA has three quarries. Any good coastal diving that might be closer to what we would experience in Cozumel?

Also, we're probably going to get certified through Divers Supply in Charlotte. Do you have any experience with them or know of they're reputation?

 

[David_Ramsey]

That's one way to do it.

There's more brands and styles of each of those components than you can shake a stick at. Dive shops get in bed with one or two brands and most will tell you the brands they don't sell are not good. so...

Another option is to rent for a while (maybe your first year of diving) so you can develop an opinion about what you like and what works for you. If you do decide to rent gear for a while, then make sure you rent from different places. There's no point in doing the renting thing if you rent the exact same stuff every time.

Dives in Florida tend to cost between $50 and $100 for a "two tank" trip. That includes the boat ride, two tanks of air, usually a snack in between dives, and usually a dive-master in the water with you. Equipment rental is usually about $50/day. Maybe a little less if you're renting from the shop which owns the boat you're using. Obviously prices vary and that's not exactly what you'll pay everywhere. I think that's good for a rough estimate of costs.

The big cost in diving is travel. Most people want to go dive in awesome and exotic locations. I didn't think I would, but 3 years after certification I started flying down to Mexico or Honduras for a week at a time... Airfaire, hotel, food.. those are the big ticket items.


Whatever you do, try to avoid a "package deal" on equipment at a dive shop. While some of the gear in the package is okay, they usually throw in a bunch of junk that sucks up your money, is un-necessary and probably useless. It's a common thing for shops to do. Go ahead and buy from a shop, but put together the list of stuff you want on your own.

Thank you! This is great advice.

 

[GreggS]

So what are some more local dives we should look into? I see the PDRA has three quarries. Any good coastal diving that might be closer to what we would experience in Cozumel?

Also, we're probably going to get certified through Divers Supply in Charlotte. Do you have any experience with them or know of they're reputation?

I have bought a couple of things from them on-line, but don't have any practical experience with them. They are a very reputable company with better than normal pricing on most diving supplies. As far as their training goes, I really don't know anything about it. Perhaps someone on here will have a better answer for you than I can give you.

The PDRA quarries are nice with lots of things in the water to visit and play around. As you probably know, there is an annual fee for membership in PDRA that is really cheap for the amount of diving you can do. The only real negative about it is that you either must own all your own equipment or rent it before going to any of the quarries as there are no services at any of them. There are changing areas and port-a-potties as well as set-up areas. American Quarry in Granite Quarry (just south of Salisbury) is the smallest, but usually the warmest of the 3. I have seen it at 82° at 40 feet during the summer.

Another quarry that is a little further away from you is Blue Stone Dive Resort just outside of Thomasville. It is privately owned and cost $20.00 per day per diver. However, it is a full service dive quarry with equipment rentals, air fills, hot water showers, and even a bunk house.

As for the coast, my wife and I dove a wreck named the Hyde out of Wilmington the week of the 4th last July. It was great. It is around 18 miles off-shore. Water temps were from the low to mid 70s and visibility was around 75 feet. The wreck lies in 85 feet of water with the upper decks at about 55-60 feet. Lots of sea life around it. I've dove this wreck on 2 occasions and it was great both times. There are other wrecks closer in in shallower water, but if your within 10 miles of shore you run the risk of poor visibility unless you can hit the dive on an incoming tide.

 

[drrich2]

Welcome. I think you'll find diving the right mix of adventure and comfortably doable, if you do it wisely.

Richard.

 

[wnissen]

It seems like there are quite a few fixed costs - computer, mask, fins, wetsuit, BCD, regulator, etc. But once you get past that, the cost per dive is a bit cheaper, yes? At least that what it looks like from a complete novice view.

Yes, I think that's true as far as equipment goes. Though don't be mislead by the contributors on this forum, who are far, far more active than your typical diver. Depends on what kind of travel you end up doing, the sky is really the limit.

 

[Kimela]

Welcome! This is a great time to take up scuba with your wife. My husband and I started 10 years ago (I'm 59 and he's 65) and it has been a ton of fun, taken us to some wonderful locations, and being one another's buddy has taught us to trust one another and be more responsible FOR one another AND for ourselves. It's an awesome sport.