Question Local divers, how do you motivate yourself when the weather is crap?

[jellycatsdad]

I live in the Bay Area - so if Monterey isn’t diveable, there’s other things I can do. And sometimes, being a tourist in your own “town”(I’m not a Monterey local) isn’t that bad.

 

[OT3]

What's the best island to visit to dive in Hawaii?

I'd say it really depends on what you are looking for, every island is a little different. I have only done diving on Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and Hawaii (aka The Big Island).

The Big Island has a lot of the "bigger" animals such as manta rays or different species of sharks you might not see on the other islands. This is due to the way the underwater topography. Not saying you can't see these animals on the other islands but just not as likely. The big island also has some great sea slug dive sites. I would say this island is a pretty good go to for an all around dive trip, you get to see a little bit of everything and the coral is super healthy/great here. The only downside is it is a very big island so you may do a decent amount of driving to and from dive sites.

I have had great luck on Maui in my searches for sea slugs, and it is definitely a go to for muck diving.

Kauai is my favorite island to dive on (so far), I see a good variety of sea slugs I don't usually find on Oahu and other general sea life. The dive sites seem more "untouched" than here on Oahu, which makes sense because Oahu is often overrun with visitors. It is a much smaller island so getting around between dive sites and to and from the shops for tanks is very easy.

The diving here on Oahu is okay, it is the hotspot for visitors so a lot of the sites may be "overdived", the coral is not as lively as you'd think and some sites there is a lack of sea life compared to what it might have been 10 years ago, or even on some of the other not as popular islands. But I guess you could say that about a lot of other places. I may be downplaying the diving here on Oahu because I live here and dive it on a weekly basis, but don't get me wrong the diving here is great and I am super grateful to live here.

However with all of that being said you never know what you're going to see on a dive here regardless of the island, it is the ocean and I feel like I am always seeing new things on my dives no matter the island.

 

[BoltSnap]

I'd say it really depends on what you are looking for, every island is a little different. I have only done diving on Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and Hawaii (aka The Big Island).

The Big Island has a lot of the "bigger" animals such as manta rays or different species of sharks you might not see on the other islands. This is due to the way the underwater topography. Not saying you can't see these animals on the other islands but just not as likely. The big island also has some great sea slug dive sites. I would say this island is a pretty good go to for an all around dive trip, you get to see a little bit of everything and the coral is super healthy/great here. The only downside is it is a very big island so you may do a decent amount of driving to and from dive sites.

I have had great luck on Maui in my searches for sea slugs, and it is definitely a go to for muck diving.

Kauai is my favorite island to dive on (so far), I see a good variety of sea slugs I don't usually find on Oahu and other general sea life. The dive sites seem more "untouched" than here on Oahu, which makes sense because Oahu is often overrun with visitors. It is a much smaller island so getting around between dive sites and to and from the shops for tanks is very easy.

The diving here on Oahu is okay, it is the hotspot for visitors so a lot of the sites may be "overdived", the coral is not as lively as you'd think and some sites there is a lack of sea life compared to what it might have been 10 years ago, or even on some of the other not as popular islands. But I guess you could say that about a lot of other places. I may be downplaying the diving here on Oahu because I live here and dive it on a weekly basis, but don't get me wrong the diving here is great and I am super grateful to live here.

However with all of that being said you never know what you're going to see on a dive here regardless of the island, it is the ocean and I feel like I am always seeing new things on my dives no matter the island.

Many moons ago, I went on an Aggressor Liveaboard trip out of Kona, followed by a week of shore and boat diving in Maui. I haven’t had the chance to explore the other islands yet. I'm not particularly interested in slugs; I'm looking for a variety of marine animals, both big and small!

 

[Sascha314]

Just ordered a dry suit

 

[pdwh]

It's that time of year, the days are getting shorter and the rain is here. They are calling for a lomg cold winter and it's starting early this year.

Despite knowing that the vis is better and the water really isn't any colder, I find it hars to get motivated to suit up and go dive when it's cold and rainy out. I know, what's going to happen? I get wet?

I'm wondering what other people do to motivate themselves to get in the water omce the weather has started to turn for the year.

I just noticed this thread and since it's my first year of diving and I'm into some colder conditions and no drysuit yet, I'll offer my perspective. I live in Missouri, all lake dives so far (and one quarry). After listening to people, I figured my chances would be gone by mid-December until April rolled around.

Turns out, with a 7mm wetsuit, boots, hood, a sharkskin vest, and 5mm gloves, I'm good. The only uncomfortable bit is taking it off after I'm out of the water. I've got a good enough fitting 7mm suit that I can put the bottom of it on before I leave the house so I'm not exposed too much pulling the arms on. My Suburban has vinyl seats and is 12 years old so if I don't have a warm place to get out of the wetsuit, I'll just drive home in the wetsuit. But we've found a tent with a small heater is wonderful and one of our sites by the dam has outdoor restrooms by the lake trails and the site we use that are heated and big enough to take a camp chair and floor cover in to get changed.

So, why not? I've decided that if I have a choice, I'd rather be in the water than out and a small chill on my cheeks (the only exposed bit when I hit the 50-degree water) isn't too bad.

I ended up getting more dives in December than any other month so far. January is going to be tough for a couple of weeks until this cold snap clears through, but I've already got a couple of outings planned with a buddy later this month.

Part of my motivation - since June when I got my open water certification, the activity from diving (dives, pool practice, swimming to be a better diver) has helped me drop a little over 45 pounds. I feel better than I have in a very long time.

Now, we don't have the low temps some of you might experience, and ours changes from day to day, quickly. I've found water temps are not the limiting factor - around here they normally won't go below 48-50 even in February. It's the air when we get out wet. Upper 30s and up seems tolerable. Below that, I'd wait till the next weekend. For example, our forecast says we'll have a lot of highs in the 20s, lows in the single digits in the next 10 days, but then it'll be back up in the 40s.

As for next year - I've got the drysuit on my planning to make it even better and so I can travel north and explore a bit more.

 

[Sol]

Canada here.

I just look at the pile of dive gear I've accumulated, think of the money tied up in it, and then go "you wanna go diving or not?"