New San Diego Diver and ATTN Melbourne Divers!

[shaxs]

Hello All!

I have been posting here a little bit and thought I would introduce myself. I am a college student attending SDSU (San Diego State University) and I am taking a semester course to get my OW Advanced cert card. This is a super extensive course. We did like a month of pool diving before we headed out to the ocean. Our teacher has been teaching for over 30 years. We have a lot of written tests as well and I feel super preparred for anything we might encounter. I honestly can't imagine getting certified in a few days!

Anyways, I have bought just about all my own gear. I have an Oceanic Chute II which I got in great condition for $75 and I bought a brand new Zeagle Envoy and a Dracor Viper octo. I then have all my own wetsuit, fins, mask ect ect. I just need to buy my own computer and tank.

Also, I will be heading down under to Melbourne Australia for a semester to study and "putz" around. I will be attending Deakin Uni in Burwood, which I hear is a suberb in Melbourne. I wanted to know from a local Australian, how far is it to a good dive spot from Deakin Uni in Burwood? Also, is there good diving in the immediate Melbourne area? I am assuming yes.

And lastly, I want to thank the scuba board community for the many great lessons I have learned and all the great information I have asorbed. I have spent many hours at work here! Also, I want to thank Larry from ScubaToys.com for the great gear and help. This is by far the best scuba community out here!

 

[Dan Kom]

Welcome to SB!

 

[Kayla]

Hi there and welcome to ScubaBoard!! I'm so happy that you decided to join us here!!

There is lots of information that you can find.. and make sure to check out the club that fits your area!

If you need help with anything while you're figuring out where things are around here, send me a PM! (Private Message.. click my user name, and it should give you the option of sending me one!)

Otherwise, I hope to get to know you better around the boards! Have fun, and Happy, Safe diving!!


~Kayla :dazzler1:

 

[El Orans]

Hello Shaxs,

welcome to the board! :happywave

Laurens

 

[Matt the Aquaman]

:mostlysun Hello there Shaxs, my name is Matt and I wanted to welcome you to the community. I think it’s the best board on the internet for divers. The people on here make it a really friendly place. It’s a great place to see what’s going on with divers. Just wanted to make you feel welcome! If you’d like to chat, please PM me.
Take care. :butnhome:

Click here to greet a new member! :happywave
No experience needed and it feels great!​

 

[DandyDon]

Howdy!

Yeah, I'd bet that a full semester in OW training would beat a quick course, easily. Do you also carry a Safety Sausage and a Storm Whistle? $30 well spent!

It would help in future diving discussions if you'd complete your Dive Info. You can use the Quick Links above to reach those easily. Sizing a photo for your profile or Avatar can be a challenge; I'm a fumbling amateur, but I get the job done, if you'd like any help?

PM me if I can help you learn your way around; that is - click my username to the upper left, then follow the prompts to send me a "Personal Message."

don

 

[headhunter]

Welcome to ScubaBoard! :happywave

Be sure to check out the SoCal section of the California Kelp Divers forum. We have lots of divers getting together all the time and diving in SoCal.

Although I was certified in 1979, I did take another class at Cal State Northridge in 1985. It was a full semester class and I took it because of the reputation that the instructor had for being thorough and not passing those that should not be passed. My class in 1979 was quite involved and very thorough, but the class that I took in 1985 was taken to another level of detail.

I hope I run into Richard (Dick) Streid someday so that I can thank him for caring enough to take the time to teach such a great class. I understand he retired from teaching a couple of years ago.

You will always be happy and probably thankful that you took such an extensive course at the beginning. It makes the whole diving experience better when you are properly prepared.

Dive safe!

Christian

P.S. Due to the high volume of new posts in the Introductions and Greets forum, it's not always possible to keep up with all the new posts here. So, please help me out and send me a PM if you post anything you want me to read or repsond to in this forum.
almtree: :sunny

 

[shaxs]

Welcome to ScubaBoard! :happywave

Be sure to check out the SoCal section of the California Kelp Divers forum. We have lots of divers getting together all the time and diving in SoCal.

Although I was certified in 1979, I did take another class at Cal State Northridge in 1985. It was a full semester class and I took it because of the reputation that the instructor had for being thorough and not passing those that should not be passed. My class in 1979 was quite involved and very thorough, but the class that I took in 1985 was taken to another level of detail.

I hope I run into Richard (Dick) Streid someday so that I can thank him for caring enough to take the time to teach such a great class. I understand he retired from teaching a couple of years ago.

You will always be happy and probably thankful that you took such an extensive course at the beginning. It makes the whole diving experience better when you are properly prepared.

Dive safe!

Christian

P.S. Due to the high volume of new posts in the Introductions and Greets forum, it's not always possible to keep up with all the new posts here. So, please help me out and send me a PM if you post anything you want me to read or repsond to in this forum.
almtree: :sunny

Yes, I am super happy that I am getting kind of training. A situation happened underwater last Thursday and I was very very glad I had the proper training. I was using all my own gear, which was new to me, and it was my first dive on this equipment. We had bad conditions. There was a bad longshore current and the viz was about 3-4 feet. Anyways, our instructor had us take off our mask in about 15' of water like he always does. For some reason, you always stop breathing for a second when you do this until you remember to breathe and adjust to the initial shock. My instructor always has us do this since he says we need ot be ready for that in case it gets knocked off some day. He recalled a diver who died becasue his mask got knocked off, he panicked, and shot to the surface, but in the process got tangled in Kelp. Anyways, my regulator hose was a tad to short with the hole I had it in in my first stage. So, it kinda pulled on me. So, after I took my mask off, I went to get some air and the strong undercurrent kind of knocked the reg a little off center in my mouth, for some reason it felt like the regulator skipped and no air came out. I stopped sucking to keep what air I had in my lungs. Panic came over me in an instant, but I remembered my training and all the drills we had done before. I repositioned my reg and had no problem. Needless to say, that was the most scared I had been under water. Luckily, due to my training and tons of drills we did with masks, I calmed down in about two seconds.

Also, since the viz was so bad, everyone was holding each other's gauages to keep us attached; kind of like a buddy line. Needless to say, we were all swimming very close together and the guy next to me somehow knocked my reg out of my mouth. But, I calmy put it back in my mouth and was on my merry way!

As soon as I am certified in December, I will definitely look into joing a club here in SoCal. I hopefuly plan on diving twice a week after I am certified.

 

[shaxs]

Howdy!

Yeah, I'd bet that a full semester in OW training would beat a quick course, easily. Do you also carry a Safety Sausage and a Storm Whistle? $30 well spent!

It would help in future diving discussions if you'd complete your Dive Info. You can use the Quick Links above to reach those easily. Sizing a photo for your profile or Avatar can be a challenge; I'm a fumbling amateur, but I get the job done, if you'd like any help?

PM me if I can help you learn your way around; that is - click my username to the upper left, then follow the prompts to send me a "Personal Message."

don

I have a whistle, signaling mirror, and two flares. I will definitely invest in my own sausage as soon as I have my cert and I am diving on my own.
Im a very good with computers and will someday get around to resizing a picture for my Avatar.

opps, any by my own, I mean outside of class with a dive buddy

 

[headhunter]

Yes, I am super happy that I am getting kind of training. A situation happened underwater last Thursday and I was very very glad I had the proper training.

As soon as I am certified in December, I will definitely look into joing a club here in SoCal. I hopefuly plan on diving twice a week after I am certified.

Glad to hear it's paying off already!

When you are ready you have a club right here on ScubaBoard, which is more active than most "official" dive clubs out there. We have a very active group of divers in your area that you may want to dive with. It seems like some of them are in the water every day!

Hope to meet you at a SoCal dive!

Christian