New Mexico Divers

[BlairJ007]

Hey guys,

I am new to scuba diving and I am looking for a good (recommended) place to get certified in Albuquerque or Rio Rancho. Also I am just looking to make some friends that live in the area that love to dive.

I understand that our local dive is the Blue Hole out in Santa Rosa. What does everyone think of this?

Anyone made any trips out to Puerto Penasco or two the two diving spots near Dallas, TX (Athens, Clear Springs)?

Anyways, hello to all the NM divers!

Blair

 

[georoc01]

I know many of the front range colorado dive shops all use the Blue Hole for their OW dives, especially in the non summer months. The plus of the cold springs of the Blue Hole is that it refreshes itself often enough that you will have better visiblity than your other options. That said, the water is a consistent temp in the lower 60s.

 

[robint]

there are 3 dive shops in Albuquerque and they all do certifications.
Scuba Company is PADI
Sandia Snorkel is PADI
NM Scuba Center is SSI

there are several independent instructors also.

My husband is an instructor at the Scuba Co. ABQdiver (Kevin) is an instructor with NM Scuba Center. You can't get better than either of these two guys, IMHO.

Blue Hole in Santa Rosa is a great place to do certification dives. Check out my videos to see what it is like.
[vimeo]5829074[/vimeo]

all my videos at Blue Hole: http://www.vimeo.com/album/20416
robin

 

[BlairJ007]

Thank you so much Robint and georoc01. I have already been over to New Mexico Scuba Center(though I have not yet met the instructor), but I was very pleased with what I saw there. Plus I live within a mile of that area so it is not a bad location. I will check out the Scuba Co. though as well before making any decision as I want a top notch scuba education. Robint, the videos are awesome and I am looking forward to diving at the Blue Hole.

Where does everyone go ocean diving? I think Puerto Penasco (Rocky Point) looks to be the closest. Has anyone been there?

Again, thank you all for the info. What nights does your husband instruct over at Scuba Co.?

 

[BlairJ007]

I will head by and try and visit NM Scuba again before going home tomorrow. Maybe I can meet Kevin.

What is your husbands name? You can PM me if you do not want to give it out.

Thanks!

 

[robint]

Thank you so much Robint and georoc01. I have already been over to New Mexico Scuba Center(though I have not yet met the instructor), but I was very pleased with what I saw there. Plus I live within a mile of that area so it is not a bad location. I will check out the Scuba Co. though as well before making any decision as I want a top notch scuba education. Robint, the videos are awesome and I am looking forward to diving at the Blue Hole.

Where does everyone go ocean diving? I think Puerto Penasco (Rocky Point) looks to be the closest. Has anyone been there?

Again, thank you all for the info. What nights does your husband instruct over at Scuba Co.?

I will head by and try and visit NM Scuba again before going home tomorrow. Maybe I can meet Kevin.

What is your husbands name? You can PM me if you do not want to give it out.

Thanks!

My husband's name is Ron, they will know who you mean at Scuba Co. He does not work at the shop, he has a real job to make money, and teaches scuba occasionally for the shop. I think he is scheduled to teach again the first class in June. So it will be the 1st(Wed evening), then 4th-5th(Sat-Sun) for classroom pool, then over to Blue Hole the following weekend 11th-12th for cert dives. Get a complete schedule at the dive shop with details.

As far as where we all dive in the ocean... check out my website:
RnR Scuba
we go lots of places.
Cozumel is probably the most popular for most people in Colorado as you can get cheap flights direct from Denver.

robin

 

[M_Bipartitus]

It sounds like you've founds some good leads, but I'll mention that I had a good experience at Sandia Snorkel several years back.

I personally like Blue Hole in that it offers a simple dive with minimal costs. Blue hole has the lowest entry fee of any organized dive site i've been to. The annual permit cost is comparable to a single day in the quarries I live by now. Also many of the hotels in town offer a diver discount.

Good luck in your diving.

 

[BlairJ007]

Thanks again all for the tips. Robint, I have been going through your photos and they have come out very nice and clear. What kind of camera do you and your husband use?

 

[BlairJ007]

My husband's name is Ron, they will know who you mean at Scuba Co. He does not work at the shop, he has a real job to make money, and teaches scuba occasionally for the shop. I think he is scheduled to teach again the first class in June. So it will be the 1st(Wed evening), then 4th-5th(Sat-Sun) for classroom pool, then over to Blue Hole the following weekend 11th-12th for cert dives. Get a complete schedule at the dive shop with details.

As far as where we all dive in the ocean... check out my website:
RnR Scuba
we go lots of places.
Cozumel is probably the most popular for most people in Colorado as you can get cheap flights direct from Denver.

robin

You guys obviously live in ABQ so do you drive up to Denver to catch the plane to Cancun. We are going to Cancun in July and if that is much better than flying out of here, we will do it.

 

[robint]

no, we fly out of Albuquerque to Cozumel. We have never flown to Cancun but you can do it. All flights have a layover though but we haven't had any problems through Houston or Dallas (Continental or American) going there.

My husband has the Canon Xsi-450D dslr camera, housing, 2 strobes, focus light... we call it the Death Star for a reason. It is not a beginner camera and costs about as much as a car.
My videos are currently done with a Canon HG-21 HD camcorder, housing by Ikelite.

I would recommend you get certified and get some dives under your belt before you even think about photography. Bouyancy is so important and doesn't happen without practice. Adding a camera into the mix is just a disaster until you have great bouyancy - it can mean you damage the reef or endanger yourself by losing track of your air supply or your depth.

robin