Now What? New Diver Looking for Advice.

[Soba]

I am a relatively new diver and looking for some good ol' Colorado/Rocky Mountain region advice.

I started my Open Water classroom training (Denver area) in October and did the open water certification dives in November while on vacation. Then did the Denver Aquarium dives early this year and was lucky enough to do another Hawaii trip where I did Peak Performance Buoyancy and a couple additional boat dives (nice to hear the whale song while deep). I recently did my AOW certifications dives at the Blue Hole.

Having the diving bug, I am now trying to figure out what’s next. My wife has no interest and kid is too young to dive. I have a couple friends who are certified, but none have gone diving in years and seem to be hesitant. Hence, no built-in buddies.

I plan to take the DAN DEMP and PADI Rescue Diver courses later this year, time permitting. I hope to join an upcoming Shark Bait Dive Club meeting to meet more folks (seem to coincide with my work travel, so don’t know when). As a new diver, I am still working on my skills and building confidence. I admit I am a bit of an air hog.

Any advice on next steps? Any dive buddies willing to let a relative newbie join the fun?

 

[bmlbytes]

See if there is a dive club near you, or on Facebook for your area. The one near me always has someone looking for a buddy for local and semi-local trips.

 

[JeffSadler]

I'm not sure where you are in CO but the front range seems to have some options.

I'm struggling with work scheduling but in a similiar situation. Starting mid-August I would be open for getting out here and there.

 

[g2]

Having the diving bug, I am now trying to figure out what’s next. ... Any advice on next steps? Any dive buddies willing to let a relative newbie join the fun?

Dive, dive, dive! Just get practice in all conditions. Borrow and try out gear. Find out what you like in terms of water conditions and equipment.

If we do a local dive you're always welcome to join in. For dive travel, there are a lot of places where you can enjoy some diving while the family snorkels or finds other entertainment.

I know Colorado can be a tough place to find dive buddies, even during the summer, and local diving is pretty much zilch the rest of the year. Most divers hop down to Cozumel or elsewhere for dive vacations. After freezing my tukas off during cold water dives, I now use a drysuit-- and love it. So I'm game for diving anywhere, at any time of the year... but have yet to find a buddy willing to do a local reservoir or mountain lake in December (harumph!). : )

 

[drrich2]

I don't know the airfare distance & cost issues from where you are. For a fairly new diver looking to have a good time building experience, I'd aim for good diving conditions in a place you can rack up a lot of dives fast (e.g.: 3 or 4/day) and if family will be in tow, with good health care available and non-diving attractions within driving distance.

Key Largo is just such a place. My trip report from a trip using Rainbow Reef Dive Center should lay out the basics.

Just how young is the kid? If not too young, then some other destinations might open up as options. Bonaire can be sweet, depending on how easily the non-divers are entertained, and I recommend you go with a group the 1st time.

Richard.

 

[Soba]

JeffSadler: Around Golden. August sounds like a good time to dive. Had tried to get a friend to do a Blue Hole trip, but didn't seem to be interested.

g2: Thanks for the note back. Umm, I don't understand...difficult to find a dive buddy in Colorado for a December dive?

Richard (drrich2): Thanks for the response and the link. Looks interesting. Son is seven and loves the beach.

 

[redneck23ms]

one of the dive shops here in fort collins is doing a treasure hunt at carter lake aug 15. it costs $20 plus whatever gear you need. but you get lunch and get a chance to win prizes. all money goes to local dive rescue team. i will be there this year.

 

[Dave_lucas]

Soba,

My friend and I are going to Aurora res in the next week or two sounds like we would all be pretty well matched and I am sure you are welcome to join in.

Trying to get in the water as much as possible and keep the skills sharp will likely be going somewhere every Friday and possibly a weekend day as well.

Feel free to PM

 

[Dave_lucas]

Went to Aurora res today

as we were heading out 3 people were coming back in so it was a bit stirred up. Went down to the plane ~32 ft it was 63 degrees and vis was maybe 3 or 4 ft. Decided to do a little navigation and head deeper went to 40 ft and it was 60 degrees with between 0 - 2 ft of viz. great place to work on your navigation skills and a bit humbling for someone that normally dives in clear water

spotted a fire hydrant
1 large trout sadly it was dead and partially eaten
and some large crawdads

 

[boulderjohn]

Sorry I missed this thread earlier. I am frequently trying to stir up interest in dive trips, especially to Mexico. It looks like I will be doing one in a couple of weeks. I am happy to include interested divers. I will be posting--stay tuned!