"Good to see somebody else from L.A. I grew up in Long Beach and have lived in Manhattan Beach and Hermosa as well as Orange and San Diego counties. Certified in 1982, I remember well the kelp and rugged islands off Mexico. Catalina was a favorite!"
I grew up in redondo beach lived walking distance from the hermosa beach pier. my family still lives there. I was living in manhattan beach paying 1175 for 650 sq ft before i moved out here. catalina is pretty cool. i notice you dont get alot of depth here. its just bizarre being miles and miles from shore and it being so shallow you could stand. had some good times at catalina, its fascinating hanging off a massive column of kelp like a giant tree, doing your safety stop.
"For the first few years you're here you'll wonder why ANYBODY wears a wet suit at ANY TIME of year lol... but your blood will thin eventually."
its a little chilly but its been awhile since i dared to enter the water in cali. i bet my 7mm wetsuit is way overkill in the winter here, id be the coziest one out there.
"You're lucky. Homestead is in good proximity to the Keys, but there isn't much diving in Miami-Dade itself. You'll have to trek pretty far northeast to get to popular dive operators, and the closest shore diving is in Broward County."
im looking to do alot of snorkeling and diving in the keys. its just beautiful down there. whats northeast to see? i thought all the coral was down here. other than picking up the pieces after andrew im amazed more people dont live down here.
"Most of us are all well north of you, and we really don't have a lot of divers online in the Keys themselves. You're in a kind of "no-man's land" down there, but we're all jealous of your proximity to the Keys."
im still puzzled at why theres so few people down here. everyone lives north but why?
"Suggestion: I don't have any e-mail addresses anymore, but the sanctuary in the Keys, overseen by NOAA, has a lot of volunteer opportunities I wish I could make. The best way to make contacts is just to go visit their office. You can easily find them through information or the Web, I'm sure."
i'll look into it. sounds interesting.
Just about any dive shop in your local neighborhood can arrange a referesher course, but I'd do one in the upper Keys where you can stop by the NOAA office (around mile marker 104 plus or minus five miles). For referrals, call Brian at Island Ventures and ask for a referral for a refresher course (he may even do it or arrange for an instructor). They're at mile marker 104 at Senior Frejoles & Sundowners restaurants. Brian's boats are favorites of ours, and we use him for group trips often.
www.islandventure.com
Phone: 305-451-4957
Toll Free: 1-866-293-5006[/QUOTE]
Thanks!
