Just discovered ScubaBoard - can't wait to dive again

[revjlw]

Hi everybody!

I got my Open Water cert in October of 2007. I completed my OW dives in Square Lake near Stillwater Minnesota in October - chilly! I had to get it done tho', because I was on my way to Okinawa, Japan for Christmas and I was NOT going to go there without diving! I have kept saltwater aquariums for 7 years now and that is what got me interested in diving. I am single and have no friends who dive, so I thought this board might be a way to find dive buddies. I am really excited about diving some more, but can't do so alone - obviously! Looking forward to getting to know folks here...

 

[NJMike]

Hi and welcome aboard! MN is a long ways away from from NJ so we probably won't have much of a chance to buddy, but the good news is that there is a Buddy Finder here on Scubaboard (SB) now. You can find the link at the top right.

So did you get to dive in Japan? Give us one good dive report!

 

[revjlw]

Yes sir - I spent 2 days diving with Reef Encounters in Okinawa from 16 December to 31 December, 2007, 5 boat and 1 shore dives. My initial impressions of scuba?

1. If you want to feel small - go jump in an ocean!
2. If you think that we should not be concerned about saving the reefs - you obviously haven't seen one!
3. Scuba is the COOLEST hobby around - can't wait to go again!
4. Warmer water and reef access are the only two reasons I would consider moving away from Wisconsin. But that is why there are airplanes...

Let me look around at some other reports and I will post one after i have learned what they should include. Thanks for the encouragement!

 

[revjlw]

Well Mike, I have looked around and don't see much by way of other posted dive reports. But, here is what I enjoyed while in Okinawa.

We did 3 boat dives on 23 December - cold and fairly rough. We dove with Reef Encounters and I thought they were a superior operation. My son, a US Marine and new diver as well, and I were closely watched and encouraged. Our group was a mixture of Japanese and English speakers, which I thought was pretty cool. We dove the Keramas - Twin Rock and Tokashiki islands - and deepest depth was 80 ft, we spotted turtles, a crown of thorns - which our dive master killed because of they kill the coral, puffers, lion fish, rock fish, a scorpion fish, eel, and LOTS of sea snakes. The coral was mighty impressive - hard as well as soft, gorgonian too. There was a school of little anthies that kept pulsing in and out of a head of acropora that was lots of fun to view. One of the highlights was that Santa joined us for a while on our third dive! We have photos - what a hoot!

On 25 December we dove with Reef Encounters again, 2 boat and 1 shore dive at the Sunabe Sea Wall. The boat dives were at Kuef and another of the southern islands. Same type of sea life.

We were in 7 mil suits, so I found it a challenge to get under the water - having done my initial dives in fresh water with a 3 mil suit, the difference in boyancy was pretty substantial. Anyhow, it was an amazing experience and I can't wait to go again.