Intro from a new diver in Seattle - buddies and gear tips welcome!

[Seattle_Dan]

Hello!
I just thought I would follow the email link and introduce myself. I'm a Seattle based fellow who is new to the diving scene. My only experience were the dives that got me my Advanced Open Water in Vietnam last year (max depth 87'). I can't say enough good about my experiences with Rainbow Divers in Nha Trang, if you make it down that way (avoid Nha Trang outside of diving!). I will be gearing up shortly for my first dive trip, which is 13 days next month in the area of Playa Del Carmen/Coz/Tulum, MX. When I am back, I will be looking to get into dry-suit diving (I'm can't tolerate cold well) and hope to meet some Washington area divers to buddy up with. I'm in the process of shopping for my first set of gear, so I would absolutely welcome any feedback on the topic that anyone feels like sending my way. Once I get geared for cold PNW diving (and travel diving) I like the idea of doing clean-up dives, such as folks do at Alki. I enjoyed using lift bags in my AOW training. I'm also a photo buff, so I will be getting into underwater photography, once the sting of buying my first gear fades out of memory. If anyone is diving around Seattle, I would be interested to hang out topside when you dive, and learn a few things about cold water (as I only have tropical experience). I will ask you a hundred questions, but I could replay you with some sweet photos of you topside. I love the camaraderie of trusting each other with your safety down there, and I can't wait to build that bond locally. I'm a new diver, but I take safety extremely seriously. I don't think I would buddy up with anyone who likes to dive outside known safe practices. Please drop me a line if you are a local, or if you have any advice for someone buying their first set of gear. If you have a newer dry-suit that would accommodate a 6'5" 195 lbs diver, and you are interested to sell it, please let me know! I'm looking to purchase gear that works in NW waters, and also travels well, so if you have found this mix, please share your knowledge. I hope I have used this post properly. If not, mods please nuke it! Thanks for reading this,

Dan
Seattle's newest diver

 

[Aquavelvet]

Hello Dan,

Welcome to diving in the PNW! I think you may be pleasantly surprised ad how good the diving is in Puget Sound and areas further north, cold water and all. We have a pretty active dive community with several groups that get together pretty much on a weekly basis. Our local board, Northwest Dive Club (nwdiveclub.com) is another good place to sign in and meet PNW divers from Portland up to Vancouver.

Regarding gear purchase, I would suggest that you try to buy your second kit first. You'll save some money that way in the long run. Those of us who dive here on a regular basis tend to migrate to a more streamlined and customizable harness and BC system, known as backplate & wing. Especially with your tall and skinny form, you'll probably be able to make yourself a lot more comfortable with a simple harness that can be adjusted to match your size. The bonus of this system is that if your choose to begin more challenging or technical dives sometime in the future, the BP&W system will grow with you rather than having to be replaced. I initially began with a jacket style BC, but outgrew it technically by the end of my first year diving. I was also pleasantly surprised to find that my harness was actually more comfortable both in and out of the water.

Almost everyone who continues to dive in the PNW owns a drysuit (or two). Besides being warmer overall, a drysuit provides important buoyancy for dives below 18 meters, where the thick layers of 7mm wetsuit would compress. Proper layering of the undergarments will keep you warm in the water, while allowing to remove layers as necessary on the surface to avoid overheating. The base layer should be a good synthetic wicking material, such as used for snow skiing or hiking up in the mountains. Under Armour coldgear is a good base, as is Nike combat. More specialized drysuit diving undergarments are best for middle and outer layers, as they are designed to remain warm when wet and compressed.

It is essential to have a good (bright and well focused) primary light for diving in the PNW. Even on a bright sunny day, our lovely emerald seas tend to filter out the sunlight, resulting in night-like conditions anywhere below 70 feet at times. And just as with night diving anywhere else, a backup light is also important to have. 1000 lumens is the minimum for a primary light. (Yes, lumen ratings tend to be somewhat subjective.) A good starter would be a 3C cell LED light rated for around 1000 lumens. This will also make a good backup light when you decide to upgrade. Pistol grip lights are too bulky to easily stow on a harness. The upgrade path is to eventually have an LED or HID canister light mounted on your right side waist strap. There are a couple threads regarding lights for PNW diving on Northwest Dive Club, so you can read more there. My handle on that forum is GearHead.

It sounds like you have some fun adventures planned. Enjoy!

James

 

[iamrushman]

howdy and welcome from south Florida....home of the tropical divers.

 

[ROXANNE]

Wonderful! Welcome to ScubaBoard! :uwphotographer:

 

[Seattle_Dan]

Howdy Iamrushman, and hello Roxanne! Aquavelvet, thanks a ton for taking the time to share some local know-how. I am going to try to take your advice and head straight for my second set of gear- I know you are right and it will put me out ahead in the long run. Really excited to keep learning from this solid community, thanks to everyone who takes time to help people here. Cheers! -Dan

 

[TSandM]

Welcome, Seattle Dan! You are actually living in one of the most wonderful places to be a diver, once you have the proper equipment for the cold. We don't have waves and the weather is rarely bad enough to prevent you from diving somewhere. I was delightfully surprised to learn that diving in the winter can be better than the summertime in some ways -- there is far less competition for parking, and the visibility is often much better.

I absolutely second Aquavelvet's recommendations on gear. A steel backplate and steel tanks just make SENSE in Puget Sound, where the total weight of gear is sometimes daunting, because of the lead required to sink the thick undergarments we need. Having your BC be part of your ballast, rather than requiring MORE ballast to sink it, is a very rational strategy, which is one of the reasons you rarely see long-term divers in the Sound wearing anything else.

You CAN dive Puget Sound in a wetsuit, and I know people who have even done it for several years, but everybody ends up dry at some point. Dry suits vary very widely in price, with the least expensive coming in around $700 and the most expensive in the $3500 range. Inexpensive suits aren't as tailored, don't offer as many sizes, and are made of less durable materials. Expensive suits have more options, more sizes, more colors, and are made of more durable stuff. Used suits are OFTEN available, and can be screaming deals, so long as the material of the suit itself is in good condition. Even if you do no work yourself, you're looking at about $175 to replace wrist and neck seals, and $350 or so for a zipper, so if you find a high-end suit for $500, fixing ALL of that can still have found you a bargain.

Undergarments will make or break your diving experience here. Diving isn't fun when you are cold, and it's downright dangerous when you are cold and wet. Luckily, there are a LOT of purpose-made undergarments that work in our waters, and more importantly, work when that dry suit becomes a wetsuit (which they all eventually do, and then you get them fixed).

Another thing about Puget Sound is that it's really kind of an estuary. Many rivers dump into the inland sea that is the Sound, bringing with them a lot of sediment, so many of our dive sites are quite silty. Getting some advanced instruction in buoyancy control, horizontal trim, and non-silting propulsion techniques, will make your dives ever so much more enjoyable, especially if you are interested in photography.

We have a very active dive community here in Seattle. It's rarely difficult to find buddies. There are dive clubs, like the Moss Bay club in Kirkland, or Emerald Sea in Everett. There is the virtual dive club which is nwdiveclub.com, where standing dives are posted, to which everyone is welcome.

If you would like to come to the house one of these days, I can walk you through our "scuba room" (which resembles a well-stocked dive shop, after ten years of doing this) and talk about equipment we use and why. Just PM me, and we'll set up a time.

 

[Seattle_Dan]

TSandM,
Wow, that is way over the top! I would definitely take you up on that offer to get a tour of your dive room, you are too kind. Thanks for the response, and the sage advice about NW diving. I'll be sure to remember the hospitality from Scubaboard, and try to pay it forward to the next new diver I have a chance to encounter. Three weeks to Mexico! Have a great weekend all. -Dan

 

[Seattle_Dan]

TSandM,
That was really excessively kind of you and your husband to spend a few hours this weekend walking me through all the finer points of gear choices and WHY they make sense for PNW diving, as well as tropical diving scenarios. It was a huge help to me, and now I feel like I have a good idea what I will need to start, as well as some purchases down the road, to make it even more fun. Thanks so much, and if I can ever return a favor, please do let me know!! You guys are THE BEST!
-Dan

 

[TSandM]

It was fun! I hope it wasn't too much information overload. I TOLD you we like to talk dive gear . . .

 

[RJP]

Seems like you've fallen in with the right crowd up your way!

Ray