Long Island NY

[padiscubapro]

Scotty,
I'd go with a larger single steel tank to start with equipped with an H valve.. Then I'd add a single sling bottle with a higher FO2 mix for you safety stops..

Once you become confortable I'd do double steels for a short time (until confortable) then bring a sling back into the mix along with the doubles... Once confortable Your ready to take some additional training for our deeper and longer dives...

The frank buck is one of my favorite wrecks up here, it an old schooner thats broken up but lots of lobsters on site.. Its not for a beginner, but a good dive for someone with entry level deco training.. Its in 150 fsw and always has good viz...
This year I get to have fun on it and don't have any students with me!


Since you are on the island I would recommend the eagles nest to do some diving they run 2 single tank trips on sundays with depths USUALLY 80fsw or less.. A good depth to get aquaninted with out conditions..

The viz isn't as good as offshore but the boat rides are short, and good learning experience..

If you want to dive with a bunch of active divers check out one of the dive clubs I'm involvd with

www.northeastaquanauts.com

There are always preplanned dives and lots of last minute dives through emails.. Some of our members dive everyday...

We meet 2nd weds everymonth.

 

[aquagirl]

Scotty - Its great to hear that Sept is still good for diving. I've contacted Hampton Dive and will be setting up a shark dive in Sept. Sounds so great. Thanks for pointing us to it. Please let me know how you're dive goes. You can PM me with it if you get a chance. I expect that I will be able to check the board from Spain now and then. And thanks for the standing offer on the guided dive, we may just take you up on it. But first things first, the thicker suit, spain ..

scubapro - thank you also for the info. Its great to know about professional dive clubs in the area. We'll definetly keep you guys in mind when we get back. Thanks again and happy diving.

BTW - a question on the thicker suit. Another female on the board, I believe Raven, said that she uses two identical 3mil suits (one larger size than the other) rather than a single 7mil suit. I kind of liked that idea. Can you think of any drawbacks on doing something like that??

 

[ScottyK]

Hey All,

Thanks for the info Scubapro. I'm not totally new to boat diving and I believe I've been on the Eagles Nest. They go out off the south shore from Nassau County I believe. I did a night dive on a wreck called the Pipe Barge and had a great time. I'll be looking into the link you gave me, and always appreciate getting good advice on equipment before I buy.

PS- When you say "Sling Bottle" I'm assuming you mean like a staged bottle pre hung at your safety stop depth, correct???


Aquagirl- That's excellent that you're going on the Shark dive in September. I'll post a report as soon as we get back. I would recommend that you set yourself up like Jen when you go wetsuit shopping as she's been through several configurations over the years and is very happy with her new set up. The thing to remember is not to get too hung up on thickness as there are new materials that offset that somewhat. Jen uses one of the newer 7/6/5 titanium wetsuits. It has wrist and ankle seals and stretch material at the joints. She wears a lycra skin under it which further dampens water flow and makes it easier to get on. This new set up is warmer than her 7mil "two" piece was and we were able to drop six pounds of weight from her BC. She absolutely loves it and it keeps her toasty warm. Let me know how you do anyway, and don't let them sell you a bulky two piece

 

[padiscubapro]

ScottyK once bubbled...


PS- When you say "Sling Bottle" I'm assuming you mean like a staged bottle pre hung at your safety stop depth, correct???

No carrying it.....
hence "sling"
other people call it a stage.. I don;t like that term because it has a specific meaning, whearas sling could be anly bottle that the diver hangs on their person..

 

[aquagirl]

Scotty - I will definetly look for the new titanium wet suits that you recommend. Thanks for the info and for letting me know what to keep away from (two piece). I hope I find something this week so I can dive in Spain.

I still haven't set up our shark dive (deciding between two dates) BUT I WILL in the next coming days. I look forward to reading about your dive. I hope its a great one for you. I'll let you know how it goes with the wet suit.