New Diver... any tips?

[Joseph Rainville]

Hi all,

I am one dive away from my Open Water Dive cert and that will take place Friday.

I am in the US Navy, and am currently stationed in Bahrain. The diving here, I imagine, is a lot different than the diving I will experience when I move back to Maine next year. I a looking to begin purchasing some gear, but I want to make sure it will work for me in the colder New England water.

Does anyone have any recommendations for me in regards to looking for gear, or anything that may help me as I grow as a diver?

Joseph

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Pm sent. You may want to look at a BPW set up and sealed regs. In addition to a drysuit.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Cowboy_Diver]

PM sent as well.

Get as many dives as you can while your in Bahrain and if you can take some dive trips through MWR while there also.

 

[large_diver]

Congrats on making it through the course...a couple of quick tips =
- To echo what was said above...dive as much as you can
- If you have a chance to get over to the Red Sea while you are there - excellent diving
- One overall recommendation on gear may be to rent while you are over there....since shops here will be more helpful when it comes to recommending cold water gear

 

[DCBC]

Congratulations Joe! I'm an ex-Navy diver, so it's good to welcome you aboard to SB. As far as advice...

1. Take it slow (watch your depth, log every dive and calculate air consumption)
2. Get more training (dependent upon certification agency, but at least know how to rescue your buddy)
3. Dive with someone who has been trained in rescue
4. Get training in cold-water diving (at least dive with an experienced cold-water diver until you get some experience)
5. Have fun!

Hi all,

I am one dive away from my Open Water Dive cert and that will take place Friday.

I am in the US Navy, and am currently stationed in Bahrain. The diving here, I imagine, is a lot different than the diving I will experience when I move back to Maine next year. I a looking to begin purchasing some gear, but I want to make sure it will work for me in the colder New England water.

Does anyone have any recommendations for me in regards to looking for gear, or anything that may help me as I grow as a diver?

Joseph

 

[tye1138]

Yea cold water is a totally different thing. I know a lot of people who dive in warmer water with good vis and once they hit New England, they just don't like it. Personally, I really enjoy the more technical diving of the North East. I've been shore diving up and down the coast from Portland all the way down to Rhode Island. When I was teaching in Boston, we used protective coves which had slightly warmer water, so 7mm wetsuits were totally adequate in the summer. However, Maine is a different can of worms, its a whole heck of a lot colder up there and your gear needs to be more in tune for it.

I had a lot of kool gear when I was teaching and the three "must-have's" for cold water in my book (anything below 50f on the surface) were the drysuit with dry gloves, rubber hood with beanie. Backplate/wing BC and my favorite; full face mask. My whole world changed with the FFM in terms of cold water. You can dive anywhere at any time with a good FFM and seal to your hood. Its amazing how well the good ones work. Ya throw it on at the beach, open up the ambient breather valve and do your swim out to the dive site with the mask on. Close the valve and go for your dive, without any water hitting you. No more mask clearing, no more jaw fatigue, nothin'! I was kinda hooked on FFM's before I moved to So Cal where they're pretty unnecessary since the water here is like 70! LOL

I agree on proper training, its an entirely different world in the North East. But once you have the training and the gear, its a whole boat load of fun. I miss NE diving because its technical without even really being overly complicated. My final rig was dual hp80's, with double poseidon jetstream regs, set up in a DIR config and of course my FFM! Problem is, I taught so much, I rarely got to use my rig except for the off season when only the stupids (me) would dare go into the frigid water! Diving in the snow is a funny experience, but man is the vis great!

I'm not suggesting you need to buy a FFM up front, but it is a great toy to have for the future.

 

[Green_Manelishi]

(Almost) any gear will work (almost) anywhere unless you are planning to dive in the middle of winter; if that's the case you will want regulators that are not likely to be adversely effected by the extreme temperatures. You will also want a dry suit unless you are very tolerant to cold; there are some tough guys and girls out there. I suggest you rent or borrow your gear until you know what works and is comfortable in a real world environment (a pool is not the real world, nor is one dive a reliable indicator), otherwise you will quickly accumulate a pile of gear you don't use and will never be able to sell for close to what you paid. "Quick release" buckles on fins are a nifty idea until sand gets into the mechanism; then it's the suck. Regular straps or springs are much better and you will not need to phutz with the strap every time you dive. Finally, "just say no" to plastic buckles if steel can be used in its place; plastic breaks and it usually does so when you are diving or preparing to dive.