Moving from WA State to Philly

[AL-Diver]

Very far offshore? Nope, not unless you are a SERIOUS artifact hunter or spearo. Start here: Artifacts & Shipwrecks ~ New Jersey Scuba Diving, Then click "Load Sidebar" on the left tab. Then go to "Dive Sites". Get to know the website. It is beyond amazing...

Local diving? Boats are reliable, know the ocean, and leave on time. Almost nobody travels here to dive, poor visibility is the norm, boats are full of friendly regulars. The boats have their own cultures: Spearo, Wrecking, or just enjoying a day on a wreck, with all going for mussels/scallops/lobsters. Real lobsters, the tasty ones with big nasty claws.

You will find Dutch fun and extremely social. Just play by their rules, pretty lax unless it comes to solo diving. Thus, my complete disinterest.

I’m fine with the low viz. The Puget sound varies between 20 feet and Brail dives. That site is pretty amazing. It’s good to see that the coastal diving has that much to offer. I’m getting a little more geeked up to get there and get some diving down.
I think I plan on bringing at least my drysuit and some equipment for singles diving with me in my suit case and have friend ship me my doubles equipment so that I have it ready to go. (My Household good shipment won’t be here until about April at the earliest)!

 

[lowviz]

Singles are fine. No rush, it will all be there.

Easiest way to become a desirable diver (from the captain's viewpoint) is to first get hooked up with a good shop. If you just want to dive Dutch, look for a shop with an active local divers club. You can find that local to your new address. Be aware that a lot of shops use Dutch just for minting OW students. Find a shop that hangs out there every weekend in the summer and offers cook-outs and extras.

My suggestion, as you are destined to becoming yet another NJ turnpike rat, is to hook up with a dive shop in the Neptune, Belmar, Brielle, Point Pleasant area. I missed a few, just Google the general area. You are going to end up driving boats there anyway and that makes fills local.

Southern NJ boats are all private and by invitation, left me out as I used to come with a 'liability'. I since went solo, but didn't forget. Local saying: 'Grudges die hard on the Atlantic'. The northern boats are mostly charter and generally welcoming. Start in the north for a much easier go of things. Just find a shop you like, visit them all. Join their club and you are in. They will take you diving and show you the ropes...

If you want to go it alone, look up the boats, check their schedule, and call the shop that booked the dive you want. You can often get in as an extra if they can't fill the boat. (better to join a shop and be welcomed, though)

 

[Trace Malinowski]

During the summer months, the Delaware River and the St. Lawrence Seaway reach the mid-70's in temperature. The train wreck at the Delaware Water Gap in PA and "the hole" at Narrowsburg, NY are two of the most popular sites in the Delaware. The St. Lawrence offers everything from easy shallow wreck dives to pulse-pounding adventure drifting crazy fast into wrecks from 130 - 240 feet deep.

If you stay above the thermocline in the first 30 feet of the water column at Dutch Springs, it is like diving FL springs but with more to see. Deeper will feel like your home waters and requires drysuits or thicker wetsuits. The best shore oceanic diving is found in the rocky beaches of New England which is a nice weekend getaway.

 

[AL-Diver]

My suggestion, as you are destined to becoming yet another NJ turnpike rat, is to hook up with a dive shop in the Neptune, Belmar, Brielle, Point Pleasant area. I missed a few, just Google the general area. You are going to end up driving boats there anyway and that makes fills local.

Southern NJ boats are all private and by invitation, left me out as I used to come with a 'liability'. I since went solo, but didn't forget. Local saying: 'Grudges die hard on the Atlantic'. The northern boats are mostly charter and generally welcoming. Start in the north for a much easier go of things. Just find a shop you like, visit them all. Join their club and you are in. They will take you diving and show you the ropes...

If you want to go it alone, look up the boats, check their schedule, and call the shop that booked the dive you want. You can often get in as an extra if they can't fill the boat. (better to join a shop and be welcomed, though)

I appreciate this input. I’m not really one to go at it alone. I’m a big fan of SCUBA being social. I have a great relationship with my LDS here and I will miss all the people here tremendously. That being said I’m not philosophically opposed to solo-diving. It has its place.

I had been looking at Philly area dive shops but appreciate the areas on the NJ shore to look. As a matter of fact, just because of my own ignorance to the geography in the area right now I didn’t even realize the NJ Coast was that close.

It gives me a couple more areas to look at that weren’t on my radar now. This has been some really helpful advice.

 

[lowviz]

I used to have an LDS and a DDS. (Local and Distant dive shops) They both knew of each other (with respect to me). It worked until my LDS retired at 40+ years in the business.

Might work for you too...

 

[Jersey]

Greetings and welcome to Phila. YES - you are only 40-45 minutes to the Atlantic, which can be a pond, 50 feet of viz and yummy fish/shellfish/crustaceans. Very active dive community all around, not necessarily represented on boards like this. Depending on where you settle, couple shops to check out - The Dive Shop, Cherry Hill, NJ about 15 minutes over the bridge. Arin, the owner, is delightful, good group, they do very social Dutch Springs days and charters (weather permitting). Some of my family certified with them and I tagged along to get my own dives on. Two shops in Egg Harbor Twp (just outside Atlantic City) - Atlantic Divers - hear good things, don't know anyone there personally - and American Diving Supply - do know them, good op. In the Northeast section of Phila - The Diving Bell, seem like good bunch had to pick up a last minute supply the night before my last trip and luckily they had it. If you end up in southern part of Phila, or southern outskirts, Blue Horizons is in Chadds Ford PA. I did my training through them 18 years ago. All have websites and very responsive staff. Couple may have dive clubs, great way to meet folks.

 

[hilljo88]

You might be interested in the Beneath The Sea dive expo in March in Secaucus NJ. A few shops and some gear manufacturers go, but lots of divers and presentations

 

[mdb]

You might be interested in the Beneath The Sea dive expo in March in Secaucus NJ. A few shops and some gear manufacturers go, but lots of divers and presentations

Beneath the Sea, like most consumer shows these days, is mostly travel, training and trinkets, the same presentations
from the same people that are at every other show.

If you want to spend a day in Secaucus NJ ?

There is certainly some very interesting diving in the area, local, North and South.

The post by Jersey, a post or two earlier, is very accurate and informative.

 

[swimlikethefish]

If moving to Philly, my personal preference in dive shop would be Northeast Scuba Supply. It is about a 15 minute ride to the Northwest of Philly. (pending traffic) John is as friendly as they come. He covers everything from rec to tech. Not that I am knocking any other local shops, just giving credit to someone whom has helped me immensely throughout the years.

 

[scubadada]

Philadelphia is within easy striking distance of many fine Caribbean diving locations, huge advantage over the West Coast.