melliodora
Registered
Hi everyone, I'm super new to this board but already grateful for the advice I've got for a big dive trip I'm planning!
I certified in 2011 (Pulau Weh), then didn't dive for YEARS due to being a broke uni student. I was then backpacking Nicaragua in 2018, and headed to Little Corn Island to see if I still had the diving bug (I did!). I did a bunch of dives there then did my AOW. Dove O'ahu and Paraty (southern Brazil) in 2019, but then another forced break during the pandemic...then late last year I decided this was something I really wanted to get back into, and it's only been building from there! In the past ~year I've dived La Paz Mexico, back to Little Corn Island (not the most amazing diving but the island truly is paradise!), then got my drysuit cert in Vancouver, Canada where I live.
Unfortunately, after my 1st/2nd drysuit dive after certifying, I got skin DCS and was once again forced to take a break while going through testing/getting cleared to dive. In the end, we figure it was a combo of being pretty cold (6C/42F) + massively overweighted for the 1st dive (partly on me, also I think on the instructor/dive shop who knew I was a newbie in cold water) and also getting close-ish to (but still sticking within) NDL. Anyway, I got back in the water in Vancouver in November and was joined by a sea lion darting right around me, which was a magical sign and experience to reconnect with the water. I've recently dived in Sydney and Melbourne (my hometown) while back in Aus over Christmas, have a handful of dives booked around Vancouver over the next couple of months, and am now planning a month-long trip to Indo for Sept/Oct. A bit nervous as I have limited experience with currents, but I'm hoping to get some experience with them/drift diving off Vancouver Island before I go. I'm sure I'll be on this board a lot more in the lead up to that!
Edit: also getting my nitrox cert to hopefully avoid the situation described above!
I certified in 2011 (Pulau Weh), then didn't dive for YEARS due to being a broke uni student. I was then backpacking Nicaragua in 2018, and headed to Little Corn Island to see if I still had the diving bug (I did!). I did a bunch of dives there then did my AOW. Dove O'ahu and Paraty (southern Brazil) in 2019, but then another forced break during the pandemic...then late last year I decided this was something I really wanted to get back into, and it's only been building from there! In the past ~year I've dived La Paz Mexico, back to Little Corn Island (not the most amazing diving but the island truly is paradise!), then got my drysuit cert in Vancouver, Canada where I live.
Unfortunately, after my 1st/2nd drysuit dive after certifying, I got skin DCS and was once again forced to take a break while going through testing/getting cleared to dive. In the end, we figure it was a combo of being pretty cold (6C/42F) + massively overweighted for the 1st dive (partly on me, also I think on the instructor/dive shop who knew I was a newbie in cold water) and also getting close-ish to (but still sticking within) NDL. Anyway, I got back in the water in Vancouver in November and was joined by a sea lion darting right around me, which was a magical sign and experience to reconnect with the water. I've recently dived in Sydney and Melbourne (my hometown) while back in Aus over Christmas, have a handful of dives booked around Vancouver over the next couple of months, and am now planning a month-long trip to Indo for Sept/Oct. A bit nervous as I have limited experience with currents, but I'm hoping to get some experience with them/drift diving off Vancouver Island before I go. I'm sure I'll be on this board a lot more in the lead up to that!
Edit: also getting my nitrox cert to hopefully avoid the situation described above!
