Newb says Hi-

[Mike_D]

Hi, everyone...new to the board here. Thought I'd introduce myself in the local forum as well as the main newb/into section.

Living in San Diego at the moment. Learned to dive in 2000 while in Okinawa with the military; logged a few months of tropical diving, and got back to California excited to continue. However, most of my diving buddies and I were split up shortly after, and I had a bad experience or two diving after that... I'm heavily into mountain biking, so just stuck with that for a while. Gave it another go last year, briefly, got nitrox and dry suit lessons, but still had some less than stellar experiences (nothing horrible, just not so much fun). But I was in New Zealand for a few months recently, biking and celebrating my separation from the military, and finally got the bug to do a dive. (Coromandel peninsula in the marine reserve off Cathedral Cove.) Had a blast, and got the thought to get back into it in Cali.

And then yesterday, the fiance and I took a trip to Scripp's aquarium, and the kelp tank...wow...I want to dive in that environment and see all that life. Looks like there's a LOT of stuff I've missed in California. I'm sort of embarrassed that I've been sitting on the shore missing out this whole time. Plus, I'll probably be taking a job this fall that will move me worldwide, and I wouldn't want to miss any underwater opportunities I may come across.

So I guess I'm back in the fold. Seeing as my fiance doesn't dive (and probably never will-I'm working on it, but she's slightly claustrophobic, very nearsighted, and hates being cold and/or uncomfortable more than she enjoys adventure...), I thought this board would be a great place to meet people and set up some dives...as well as answer a few questions I had. I'm pretty inexperienced here.

So, if you'll indulge me...I've tried searching, but didn't find any answers.

What kind of exposure protection do you all usually wear here in SoCal? Can't say I've always been happy in dry suit for several reasons...mostly overheating on the boat/surface and the general delicacy and care involved in their handling. Plus, I have a small bladder, especially under pressure. Does a 7mm 2-piece work in most conditions for most divers here? What about the "semi-dry" suits I see advertised from Mares and such? Or the neoprene dry suits that don't have delicate rubber seals?

Any good places in San Diego to get a custom wetsuit made? How much do they cost? I've been fine in a 7mm 2-pc myself for all the dives I've done, except that I always get lots of water in the small of my back...cold kidneys...brrr. None of the stock suits seem to fit me well-I'm a little longer and leaner than the generic fit models.

Finally, can someone explain (or direct me to a FAQ/link; again, I tried searching because this must have been answered...) the difference and/or link between the PADI and NAUI systems? I knew a few experienced divers who urged me to forego PADI for NAUI training when I first began diving; they told me it had a less 'commercial' feel (not to offend anyone, I hope) and taught you more thoroughly, while giving the instructors more independence. PADI sure has given me the impression of being a slick money-mill at times-but that may have been individual experiences or just my own cheapness talking. I've visited the NAUI website, but didn't find much info for non-members. Is NAUI purely an organization for instructors, or what?

Thanks for indulging me; hope to meet some of you in the water soon.

-Mike

 

[jetfixer]

Hi Mike, welcome aboard! Glad you've decided to explore local waters. I'm sure that our SD divers will have more info for your local questions. There is no shortage of dive buddies here! Try to make it up to LA/Orange counties too!

 

[scubainspired]

Learned to dive in 2000 while in Okinawa with the military; logged a few months of tropical diving, and got back to California excited to continue.
... And then yesterday, the fiance and I took a trip to Scripp's aquarium, and the kelp tank...wow...I want to dive in that environment and see all that life.

Looks like there's a LOT of stuff I've missed in California. I'm sort of embarrassed that I've been sitting on the shore missing out this whole time. Plus, I'll probably be taking a job this fall that will move me worldwide, and I wouldn't want to miss any underwater opportunities I may come across...


I thought this board would be a great place to meet people and set up some dives...as well as answer a few questions I had. I'm pretty inexperienced here.

So, if you'll indulge me...I've tried searching, but didn't find any answers.

Hey Mike! Welcome,

I also started diving in Okinawa. One of my more productive hobbies during my year and a half in the 31st MEU on Camp Swab and Hansen!!! Wish I would have had time to take advantage of the island; however, we were pretty active during my stay. You should check out the Wrinkles dive this month, there will be lots of fun and great dive buddies. (Good Food Also!)

It's never too late to start California diving and your right, the Kelp Forests are very cool. The first time I saw one it felt like I was in 16th century medieval cathedral!

If you plan on diving throughout the world, California is a great place to perfect your skills. I have heard some say that if you can dive here, you can dive anywhere...

I use a 7mm with a hood and I am fine even during the winter.



Thomas

 

[headhunter]

Welcome to ScubaBoard! :happywave

I use a 7mm one piece Henderson Hyperstretch wet suit with an old 1/8 inch hood with a large bib on it, 2mm gloves and 7mm booties. I feel pretty comfortable down to about 49-50 degrees. Of course, I don't know if you'll feel comfortable at those temperatures, but it doesn't usuallly get that cold. This also feels pretty good up to water temperatures in the low 70s.

If the norm in SoCal was 49 - 50 degrees then I would get a 7mm hood and 7mm gloves. If I was regularly spending more than an hour at that temperature then I would get a dry suit.

This is a great place to get together with people and dive. I'd recommend coming to our monthly Wrinkles Dive. There are lots of people you can meet there and dive with throughout the rest of the month.

As far as training organizations go, I'm not going to get into the differences between Naui and Padi because it usually turns into a flame fest from there. It's all about the instructor. You'll find excellent instructors from both organizations.

Since you are in San Diego you might also want to look into GUE training from Marc Hall. I believe that he is teaching DIR-F classes through Dive Pro in San Diego. Marc is also a NAUI instructor.

You can click on the links throughout the previous paragraph to find more info about DIR training from GUE. It's not for everyone, but may be an option that you may not have considered. I mention it because I believe you expressed a concern about how thorough training might be.

Hope all this helps and that we all get to meet you soon.

Christian

 

[Frank O]

What kind of exposure protection do you all usually wear here in SoCal? Can't say I've always been happy in dry suit for several reasons...mostly overheating on the boat/surface and the general delicacy and care involved in their handling. Plus, I have a small bladder, especially under pressure. Does a 7mm 2-piece work in most conditions for most divers here?

Hi Mike, I dive with a one-piece hooded custom 7mm wetsuit from a company in Torrance called JMJ. I'm sure there are similar companies down in San Diego. It's much toastier than the previous wetsuit I used for about four years -- a one-piece Aquaflite that had a detached hood. I'm fine in the JMJ down to the low 50's F, adding a 1-mm and/or 2-mm rashguard at the lower end of that range.

About drysuits and bladders ... one of the greatest inventions of all time (at least for male divers) is the p-valve.

http://www.halcyon.net/exposure/discharge.shtml

When I wear a drysuit (mostly for boat diving), I put it on first thing in the morning and don't take it off until we're heading home maybe eight hours later. The main downside I've found from drysuit diving is that I have to wear a fair amount more weight. So a drysuit is ideal for me for lounging around on a boat all day. For those beach treks up and down bluffs, I prefer the wetsuit ...

 

[Mike_D]

Hey, everyone...thanks for the welcome and the advice. I'll see about making the wrinkles dive, but don't know what's in the cards for the next month or two...

Would definitely love to meet up for the July dive on Catalina, for sure!

MD

 

[DiveMaster176493]

Hi Mike, welcome aboard!

 

[slyder]

Welcome to ScubaBoard! :happywave

with an old 1/8 inch hood with a large bib on it, Christian

This is a understatement hee hee

 

[pasley]

Welcome,

I will also confirm the hood attached to the vest or wetsuit is better than a hood you tuck in to keep the water from shooting down your neck.

PADI Vs NAUI Now there is a can of worms. Both are good and bad PADI is the leader and as all leaders go, attracts a lot of sniping. - The following is IMHO and derived by reading both PADI and NAUI website. Both organization are as good as their instructors and that will vary from instructor to instructor. All instructors are in it for money (and not making much of that either).

Both PADI and NAUI have essentially the same standards an age limits. PADI spends money advertising to attract new divers and is working to make dive training available in small inexpensive bites to attract a larger crowd. That can be good (more divers equals larger customer base and cheaper dive equipment) or bad (more divers, crowded conditions). I constantly read a PADI bash about how it trains children or something, then read the NAUI site and they do the same thing (but only because PADI does so they have to is the retort).

PADI is a for profit organization with a fixed training plan that the instructors must follow. The good news is that every student in the world will learn the same material. The bad news is that the instructor must follow the plan.

NAUI is a non-profit organization of For Profit Dive Instructors (at least that is the idea) and offers rules about training and minimum standards, but the individual instructor is free to devise his own training plan. The good is the instructor can set his own training, the bad is the instructor can set his own training.

Bottom line, look at the instructor and not the agency. Los Angeles County has one of the oldest and toughest dive training programs anywhere.