Howdy from Texas!

[Kaiser442]

How about the flower gardens to tide you over until Coz has recovered a bit? Should be a very nice dive - and cheap, too!

I've been wanting to do that one myself.

 

[cleung]

Congrats on your certification. Don't forget the Florida Keys as there's awesome diving there for newly certified divers. Cozumel of course is great too and one thing I really like about the diving there is that most dives are guided by local divemasters so you don't have to worry about getting lost while you are still getting used to open water diving skills.

 

[Lisa0825]

It depends on the lake. For example, at Lake Tenkiller (http://www.laketenkiller.com/scuba.asp), there is a city underneath. I think that would be neat to explore. There are some others on this board checking into some flooded cities/towns in Tennessee as well.

Lake Travis is a fairly popular diver hangout. Also, I hear understand that Toledo Bend is pretty good. I'm anxious to get back to Houston (few weeks) and try the rigs, Flower Gardens, and the wrecks in the Gulf area. The lakes will suffice when funds are being replenished for the expensive trips.


Richard

That sounds interesting! As a newbie, I never thought about there being much to see in a lake, since the visibility is so different than sparkling Caribbean and the like. I was reading about the Flower Gardens today. also sounds interesting!

One thing I am not sure about is how deep I should dive right off the bat. My cert class only took me down to 28, and I have a foggy ear from it. I'm wondering if I should try something pretty shallow to begin with, and get more comfortable/confident first. So, I am looking for places with either good shore diving or some good shallow reefs. I think my friends now agree that we should put off Cozumel, so I will probably go somewhere alone myself and see if I can either meet or hire someone to dive with. Anyway, what brought up this subject is that i read the Flower Gardens goes "up to" 60 ft below. I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet!

 

[PacketSniffer]

That sounds interesting! As a newbie, I never thought about there being much to see in a lake, since the visibility is so different than sparkling Caribbean and the like. I was reading about the Flower Gardens today. also sounds interesting!

One thing I am not sure about is how deep I should dive right off the bat. My cert class only took me down to 28, and I have a foggy ear from it. I'm wondering if I should try something pretty shallow to begin with, and get more comfortable/confident first. So, I am looking for places with either good shore diving or some good shallow reefs. I think my friends now agree that we should put off Cozumel, so I will probably go somewhere alone myself and see if I can either meet or hire someone to dive with. Anyway, what brought up this subject is that i read the Flower Gardens goes "up to" 60 ft below. I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet!

My suggestion to you is dive to your comfort level. I wouldn't recommend the Flower Gardens right off the bat. It *can* be a wild animal and you need to be confident in your abilities. The local lakes like Blue Lagoon and Twin Lakes (near you) are perfect to raise your comfort level. It's also cheap to do these every weekend. The lower visibilty will hone your skills and make you appreciate the blue water when you get there. I have gone to Twin Lakes to just practice navigation. There's quite a bit sunk down there.

Why on earth would you hire someone to dive with you when there are plenty of divers here on this board that are more than eager to have an excuse to go diving. All you have to do is ask.


Richard

 

[Kaiser442]

If you're not comfortable jumping right into the deep water (first of all, good for you for admitting it and being smart about it ), you won't want to go to either the Flower Gardens OR Cozumel before you've had a bit more experience.

My first dive after my open water was a shore dive in Cozumel at 30' - and my second was 90 feet deep at Palancar Bricks (also in Cozumel.) It was a little too early for me.
I got into a runaway ascent when it was time to go up. They tell you about letting air out of your BCD as you ascend but I didn't comprehend how MUCH I needed to let out. I thought I was ascending slowly - and then all of a sudden my head was popping out of the water and my buddy was trying to drag me back down. I got myself down to 15 feet as fast as I could and took a good long safety stop before going back up... Luckily nothing bad came from it and I learned my lesson (which is to damn near empty the BCD and ascend with extreme caution).
I mention that story for two reasons:
1) There's no substitute for experience and working your way up is a good thing.
2) In places like Cozumel with crystal clear water, you are very likely to find yourself on a boat headed toward a dive site that is 60-130 feet deep (and when you're down there it looks as bright as it did at 10 feet).

There are plenty of places to dive... maybe hook up with your local dive shop (LDS) and see if they have any easy trips planned...

Good luck!

 

[gangrel441]

Welcome aboard and congrats!

My recommendation...if you like Cozumel, you should really check out Belize, especailly the atolls. I was out on the Aggressor, and the liveaboards are a bit pricey (but worth every penny), but from what I understand, Placencia is pretty reasonable and the diving there is outstanding as well.

 

[Lisa0825]

My suggestion to you is dive to your comfort level. I wouldn't recommend the Flower Gardens right off the bat. It *can* be a wild animal and you need to be confident in your abilities. The local lakes like Blue Lagoon and Twin Lakes (near you) are perfect to raise your comfort level. It's also cheap to do these every weekend. The lower visibilty will hone your skills and make you appreciate the blue water when you get there. I have gone to Twin Lakes to just practice navigation. There's quite a bit sunk down there.

Why on earth would you hire someone to dive with you when there are plenty of divers here on this board that are more than eager to have an excuse to go diving. All you have to do is ask.


Richard

Blue Lagoon is where I did my certification dives this weekend. It was just a bit chilly, but not bad, and she said the visibility was better than usual.

LOL about hiring someone. I travel alone quite a bit and usually meet people, but I figured if I didn't find a buddy, I'd see if I could get a dive shop to rent me one;-)

 

[Lisa0825]

Thanks everybody for all the input!:10:

I have been looking into Belize and Honduras and my dive instructor is checking into some places for me too.

I'm looking forward to having my first trip report for y'all in the near future

 

[Kaiser442]

Speaking of hiring someone, I was in BVI in April (the whole reason I got certified in the first place - I knew that trip was coming). The day we had planned to dive the wreck of the RMS Rhone, my dad wasn't feeling well and decided not to dive - so it ended up just being me and the dive master all alone on the wreck... that was NIIIIIICE!!!!!

 

[CaptainNemo]

Newbie here, not just to the board, but brand new to diving as well! I just got my certification this weekend. I was supposed to go to Cozumel in a few weeks, but I don't think that will happen now. I have been to Cozumel a half dozen times and love the island and the people. I'm really sad about the wreckage there and hope the friends I have made are all OK :-(

I'd love to dive in Cozumel when the time is right, and I'd also love to go someplace farther away and more exotic someday too.

I look forward to reading all about your experiences so I can learn from them for my future dives.

Howdy Texas and welcome aboard. My Cozumel trip just got cancelled but there is always another day. I hope you enjoy this sport/hobby as much as I have.