TN-Steve
Contributor
Been off the board a while due to one thing and another, and just wanted to share my observations and experiences (not my experience ) after diving for 6 months.
A little background, I first got certified back in the early 70's, but never did anything with it after that. Those of you who have some grey in the muzzle remember that training then was a bit more rigorous than the current rec diving training.
Early last year I went to a family function down in Florida, and did a quick shallow dive with a cousin. I immediately fell back in love with diving, and considering the huge changes in gear since the last time, decided that I would start from scratch again.
Got my OW from one instructor near where I worked in July, and then hooked up with my local dive shop / club for the rest of my training. Got my AOW and the usual assortment of specialties (Deep, Nitrox, Search / Recovery, PPB, Dry Suit). The two owners / instructors of the shop (Waterdogs Scuba and Safety, Clarksville TN) are fantastic, have helped me grow tremendously as a diver)
In this short time, I've had wonderful experiences. Diving the local quarry, watching the bass and being attacked by bluegill, diving Molasses Reef and hovering up and down with turtles, diving the Atlanta Aquarium with the whale sharks. Quarry or Keys, the opportunity to be weightless, to do something that few do, to experience all the wonders around me, sometimes it's hard to keep the reg in my mouth because I'm smiling so hard. I love the critters, great and small, and enjoy looking for and watching them.
In a couple of weeks I'll be going down to Devils Vortex in Florida with the club for a fun dive, Bonne Terre Mines (about 3 hours from the house), and in March to Curacao for a week with the club. The chance to travel, to hang out with great people, to just have fun and learn has been so rewarding.
I know that equipment is always a topic of discussion, I will say that I've learned that when it comes to life support equipment, there is a lot of truth to "you get what you paid for". I've got a good solid set of gear now, after a few items that were less than optimal. My poor choices were strictly due to internet buying without detailed knowledge. Now I've got a set of gear that works well for me, and even a bit more than I need.
I've got a whopping 50 dives at this point, but I'm very comfortable with my skills, and I can see them grow with each dive. Can I do GUE demo quality performance? Oh hell no!!! Can I keep a good horizontal trim in the water, control my placement in the water column, move without flailing, have decent air consumption, not have things dangling off me, and feel like I've got the tools and the knowledge to handle the situation if things went sideways, Yes, I do. I know that "Dive until you get to 750 and then start to surface" isn't a dive plan. At least not a plan that would work at 100 foot if something went wrong at the end of the dive at depth (at least not as far as my safety is concerned).
My next step is Rescue diver, and then once I get the required prerequesites I'll probably do the SDI Solo Diver. (My LDS is PADI, but for personal reasons I want the Solo, not the Self Reliant card). The LDS is starting the Tech series of classes, that's a place I see myself going, not immediately, but not too far down the road.
For anybody who's still reading at the end of this.... if you're considering diving, give it a try. You might find something that is a perfect fit for you. For those of you who have been there, thanks to you and the rest of my cyber friends on SB for your wit and wisdom.
A little background, I first got certified back in the early 70's, but never did anything with it after that. Those of you who have some grey in the muzzle remember that training then was a bit more rigorous than the current rec diving training.
Early last year I went to a family function down in Florida, and did a quick shallow dive with a cousin. I immediately fell back in love with diving, and considering the huge changes in gear since the last time, decided that I would start from scratch again.
Got my OW from one instructor near where I worked in July, and then hooked up with my local dive shop / club for the rest of my training. Got my AOW and the usual assortment of specialties (Deep, Nitrox, Search / Recovery, PPB, Dry Suit). The two owners / instructors of the shop (Waterdogs Scuba and Safety, Clarksville TN) are fantastic, have helped me grow tremendously as a diver)
In this short time, I've had wonderful experiences. Diving the local quarry, watching the bass and being attacked by bluegill, diving Molasses Reef and hovering up and down with turtles, diving the Atlanta Aquarium with the whale sharks. Quarry or Keys, the opportunity to be weightless, to do something that few do, to experience all the wonders around me, sometimes it's hard to keep the reg in my mouth because I'm smiling so hard. I love the critters, great and small, and enjoy looking for and watching them.
In a couple of weeks I'll be going down to Devils Vortex in Florida with the club for a fun dive, Bonne Terre Mines (about 3 hours from the house), and in March to Curacao for a week with the club. The chance to travel, to hang out with great people, to just have fun and learn has been so rewarding.
I know that equipment is always a topic of discussion, I will say that I've learned that when it comes to life support equipment, there is a lot of truth to "you get what you paid for". I've got a good solid set of gear now, after a few items that were less than optimal. My poor choices were strictly due to internet buying without detailed knowledge. Now I've got a set of gear that works well for me, and even a bit more than I need.
I've got a whopping 50 dives at this point, but I'm very comfortable with my skills, and I can see them grow with each dive. Can I do GUE demo quality performance? Oh hell no!!! Can I keep a good horizontal trim in the water, control my placement in the water column, move without flailing, have decent air consumption, not have things dangling off me, and feel like I've got the tools and the knowledge to handle the situation if things went sideways, Yes, I do. I know that "Dive until you get to 750 and then start to surface" isn't a dive plan. At least not a plan that would work at 100 foot if something went wrong at the end of the dive at depth (at least not as far as my safety is concerned).
My next step is Rescue diver, and then once I get the required prerequesites I'll probably do the SDI Solo Diver. (My LDS is PADI, but for personal reasons I want the Solo, not the Self Reliant card). The LDS is starting the Tech series of classes, that's a place I see myself going, not immediately, but not too far down the road.
For anybody who's still reading at the end of this.... if you're considering diving, give it a try. You might find something that is a perfect fit for you. For those of you who have been there, thanks to you and the rest of my cyber friends on SB for your wit and wisdom.