new diver advice

[OCdiving Deb]

puffer wants to get out and dive, but needs some encouragement and especially needs friends who dive! I offer the following:

For Laguna Beach shore dives, a group of divers of all experience levels meets each Saturday morning at Laguna Hills Mall parking lot near King's Fish House at 7:30 AM. There, they determine the appropriate dive site for the expected conditions and carpool down together at 7:45 AM. If you have a buddy, great, but if not, there are some who are single and also need buddies. Very flexible group. For more info, see www.southcoastdivers.com and maybe I will see you out there. It is the group with whom I thought I'd be diving this morning!

Also, check out some of the local dive clubs! There are many, so let us know a geographic area and we can help you with club meeting locations, etc. SoCal encompasses a huge area, so let us know which county that you expect to dive most frequently, and also where you are most likely to attend a meeting on a weekday evening... either close to home or the office are the most convenient ways to get started.

Of course, there are also the dive boats and Catalina Island to consider, but you really need a dive buddy to venture that direction without risking a waste of time and money... so let's get started with the beach dives and clubs first!

Hope to see you out there soon puffer!

kelphelper

 

[kelpmermaid]

As KH says, look into a local dive club --- that's what we did to get started and to meet others who dive.

Puffer, check the club listings in the back of California Diving News (www.saintbrendan.com) or, for LA County, try the list on www.ladiver.com.

 

[Robert Phillips]

You will find my friends and me at Crescent Bay in Laguna on Sundays. Most of these guys dive no matter what the conditions are, but there is no macho thing going on so if you dont feel comfortable with the conditions, you dont have to dive. If I'm there I always take it easy anyway, as I am not a speed swimmer. Dead Mans is quite a surface swim, but the reef around the rock is an easy entry and exit wiht a max depth of 40'. Lots of Garibaldi and Opaleye, you might even get to swim with the resident Sea Lion harem! Drop me a message if you need directions.

 

[pasley]

http://www.sandeaters.org

The sandeaters is the best little non-dive club you never joined.

They are NOT a dive club, no membership, dues or officers. They are a website that schedules a dive every Sunday at 8:00 a.m. somwhere between Laguan Beach and Malibu with occasional forays into Deer Creek and San Diego La Jolla areas.

If you want to dive at that site on that day just send an e-mail confirming and show up. We usally have anywhere from 2 to 40 divers on a Sunday. You can normally find someone to team up with.

If you add your name onto the e-mail list then you can ping it or get pinged by divers looking for a dive at a different time or location from the one scheduled.

 

[Gill]

The rest of my dive buddies either no longer live in the Los Angeles area or are too busy to go diving.

Lots of good info. It'll give me more diving opportunities and to meet other divers.

 

[ChrisM]

Another vote of confidence for southcoastdivers.com....

When I started diving with them in Nov 2000, I had just over 100 dives, but no Calif. beach dives. I learned so much from that group, just by getting experience, reading conditions, visiting new sites, surf entries and exits....... And the viz that November was AWESOME!!!!! 50 ft at deadman's the first time I went there!

Now 300+ dives later, I rarely dive with them anymore because I have regular beach buddies in the LA area, and if I dive on a Sat. it's usually off a boat, but the confidence I gained in diving with Rich Parker and his crew was invaluable.

And NOTE---- NOT overconfidence. In fact, the most important thing I learned was when NOT TO DIVE. Even if it's just a feeling or a hunch or whatever. Especially off the beach and thru the surf, this is a very important skill to have (perhaps the most important).

Anyway, I know it can be intimidating puffer, so just get out there and use any of these resources!

Chris

 

[wrinkles]

I just started diving in March 03, I been having a little difficulty finding buddies to dive with. I found and still find this board very helpful in finding people and places to dive. I usually boat dive but am now since i am meeting different people i have had a few experiences beach diving. The first one not so good but with the tips from people on the board the rest not bad. Thanks All. Feel free to announce dives and maybe i can tag along.

Ana

 

[Gill]

wrinkles once bubbled...
I just started diving in March 03, I been having a little difficulty finding buddies to dive with.

Ana -- You're not the only one. I've been having trouble convincing my friends to get certified for the longest time. They all think the idea of scuba diving would be fun, but they're all too lazy to take the class. Either that or they make up a sorry excuse to say that they're too busy and keep putting off the class. Welp, if they're too lazy then they probably wouldn't make a good dive buddy anyways I guess.

Once I get the rest of my gear I'll start diving on a more regular basis. Until then, gotta save up a bit before I can go shopping.

 

[puffer]

Its me Puffer. I finally got under the water last weekend at Catalina. I went on a guided tour with Divers supply at Casino point. Going on a guided tour gave me the confidence to get back in the water as on my final last certification dive I did not have a good time, scared the whole time. This time I went with a friend who was doing a resort dive and just the two of use had the dive master to ourselves. Water was warm and vis was excellent. I saw more on this dive then I did on all 4 of my training dives. California diving rocks!

 

[ChrisM]

Its me Puffer. I finally got under the water last weekend at Catalina. I went on a guided tour with Divers supply at Casino point. Going on a guided tour gave me the confidence to get back in the water

Congrats! yep, going in without a DM or instructor can be nerve wracking for a while. I well remember my first unguided dive --- lasted all of 20 minutes cuz we couldn't find our way around!

Baby steps.........

Chris