dirtybit
Registered
Hi all,
I recently moved to the bay area from Chicago and have finally gotten settled enough that I want to start exploring the local dives. First a bit of background. I am PADI AOW with ~50 logged dives mostly in warm water. I have done several quarry dives etc in the midwest but nothing to write home about. I have my own gear including a drysuit (no tanks so I will need to find a dive shop for gas in the near future). Monterrey is especially exciting to me but I would also be interested in exploring other dive sites in NorCal.
I was hoping people here might be able to point me in the right direction on a few questions.
1. In the next few weeks I want to do some intro dives in Monterrey just to get to know the area and get accustomed to a new drysuit. I gather there are some great beach dives for this type of thing but the biggest issues are not knowing any divers in the area. I was wondering if there are social groups that go every weekend (or even twice a month) which aren't directly associated with dive shops (and charging silly prices for guided dives).
2. I want to find a good dive shop (preferably near San Mateo for things like gas, service, and in the next few months (once I am accustomed to the environment) to do rescue diver with. I would prefer a shop that will also eventually be able to take me through divemaster and hopefully some day into technical diving (Making the right choice on the first try would be awesome). Any suggestions/shameless self promotions would be much appreciated.
3. If anyone has any other suggestions, recommendations, or has gone through the same assimilation process in the past drop me a line and let me know.
Thanks for any guidance you can offer.
I recently moved to the bay area from Chicago and have finally gotten settled enough that I want to start exploring the local dives. First a bit of background. I am PADI AOW with ~50 logged dives mostly in warm water. I have done several quarry dives etc in the midwest but nothing to write home about. I have my own gear including a drysuit (no tanks so I will need to find a dive shop for gas in the near future). Monterrey is especially exciting to me but I would also be interested in exploring other dive sites in NorCal.
I was hoping people here might be able to point me in the right direction on a few questions.
1. In the next few weeks I want to do some intro dives in Monterrey just to get to know the area and get accustomed to a new drysuit. I gather there are some great beach dives for this type of thing but the biggest issues are not knowing any divers in the area. I was wondering if there are social groups that go every weekend (or even twice a month) which aren't directly associated with dive shops (and charging silly prices for guided dives).
2. I want to find a good dive shop (preferably near San Mateo for things like gas, service, and in the next few months (once I am accustomed to the environment) to do rescue diver with. I would prefer a shop that will also eventually be able to take me through divemaster and hopefully some day into technical diving (Making the right choice on the first try would be awesome). Any suggestions/shameless self promotions would be much appreciated.
3. If anyone has any other suggestions, recommendations, or has gone through the same assimilation process in the past drop me a line and let me know.
Thanks for any guidance you can offer.