Wannabe diver stuck in Minnesota

[holophonervirtuoso]

Greetings everyone. My name is Ben and I am a wannabe at this point in my life. I am considering getting my wife and I diving certification classes as a Christmas present. This is something we have been very interested in doing, but never have taken the urge seriously before. The primary reason for our hesitation is we are living in southern Minnesota, which is obviously not a diving hot spot. We are both in grad school as well which means we really don't have a lot of money. Is it foolish of me to consider this at this point in my life? I am definitely passionate about the sport, and think of it often. It would be a very fun and interesting opportunity for my wife and I to share. However, would it be a waste of time/money to do this now whereas we would probably not get a chance to get to an ocean more than once a year? Are there and interesting freshwater diving opportunities in the Midwest?

I have been wanting to dive since I knew water was wet, and I am ecstatic about the possibility. I just want to make sure to be a good steward of our time and resources, and get the most out of our commitments. If anyone has any advice or have been in a similar situation, I would love to hear what you have to say.

Thanks very much, and thanks for maintaining such a strong and friendly community!

 

[Seanpaul]

Hi Ben, I am a former Minnesotan so I know what you are talking about. Scuba can be an expensive sport so my advice to you is to first do a resort course while on holiday somewhere warm (you didn't mention this so I assume you have never dove before). You first need to see whether you have trouble with your ears or anything else physical and generally see whether your expectations meet reality. If you book, for example all inclusives in Jamaica, the resort course is often included in the price. I know you have good charters out of MN. If it doesn't work out you lose nothing, except perhaps a dream. If you find out you like scuba as much as you imagine then by all means get certified, even if you only dive once or twice a year. Many people do this. I was certified in Minnesota, dove the Caribbean, moved to Europe and didn't dive for over 15 years and have since taken it back up very seriously to the point where I will be going for my instructors exam within the next year. I just returned from a wonderful dive trip to Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt and will be going back very soon. When you begin working resources will hopefully become available to you. In anycase, I hope it all works out for you!

 

[horsediver1]

Ben

I live in Northern MN and in the heart of Lake Country. One thing I can suggest there are several good dive shops just north of you. One thing that is very neat for you is you are only a short drive to the Mall of America where they have a huge aquarium and you can dive with the sharks. Rental equipment available. With your passion I think you can go for it and worry about the expensive part of purchasing later. Once you get North of Mpls-St Paul you're never far from a dive shop that rents full gear making for a reasonable weekend retreat.

Jump in and enjoy

TG

 

[MNJoe]

I am a present Southern Minnesotan, and yes I travel to dive. I will occaissionally dive lake Wazee in WI with my LDS. I am also fortunate enough that my grandfather built a lake home back when lakeshore was affordable (he paid a whopping 2750.00 for the lake lot), the lake is clear enough to dive, although there is little to see below 20 feet and nothing below 30 feet. The Brainerd dive shop has a great fun dive program they do at some flooded iron ore pits near there. Lake Superior has wrecks of course. With all that said, I still prefer a warm water reef with a lot of fish. So once a year I pack my bags and do a "dive your ass" off trip.

I will also add, I got certified when I was young and poor, did one dive, and then didn't dive for 17 years ( I did snorkel the lake mentioned previously on a regular basis). Looking back I wish I would have dove more and made it to a warm water destination, even if it was only once every couple years. I know I didn't have much money, was putting myself through school, but had I done a warm water dive earlier in life I would have made it a priority to do more.


MNJoe

 

[diver918]

I agree with seanpaul...give it a shot at one of the resort dives and make sure you dont have trouble clearing your ears, and that you enjoy the experience. My wife is looking to get certified now, and we're going to jump in the pool and let her experience it before signing up...we'll be doing this with her DM, who is also a good friend.

 

[holophonervirtuoso]

Thank you all for the encouragement and kind words! We were able to go to Hawaii for our honeymoon, and snorkeling in Maui and Kona was one of the greatest experiences of my life. In retrospect, should have tried Snuba while we were there.

For those of you who got certified and didn't dive again for several years, does your certification expire after a period of inactivity? What did you have to do before you made your next dive several years later?

Thank you all for the wonderful advice!

 

[SlowRain]

Thank you all for the encouragement and kind words! We were able to go to Hawaii for our honeymoon, and snorkeling in Maui and Kona was one of the greatest experiences of my life. In retrospect, should have tried Snuba while we were there.

For those of you who got certified and didn't dive again for several years, does your certification expire after a period of inactivity? What did you have to do before you made your next dive several years later?

Thank you all for the wonderful advice!

No...your certification does not expire...but if you take (and this is an arbitrary figure) say a year off, it would be a good idea to at least get in the pool and review skills at a minimum. If it is several years you might consider a refresher course, which is a bit more encompassing. More often than not a competent dive operation is going to inquire when the last time you dived was.

PS...I got certified in Ft Lauderdale FL. when I was 16...and within a year we moved to the Minneapolis area where I stayed until I was out of college. Sometimes we would get in Lake Minnetonka, but some of the dive shops ran trips over the Great Lakes. Granted...it isn't like diving in Hawaii...but I loved it anyway.

 

[robint]

We (me, husband, daughter) got certified in 2000, while living in Colorado. Did the classroom and pool at home, then went on vacation to Cozumel and did the OW dives there.

You can enjoy scuba diving, even living in a land-locked area, you just have to find a way to make it work. Trips our of your area are possible for much cheaper than trips to places like Hawaii. Consider diving in Fla and Calif coasts, too.

We live in New Mexico now, yes the desert, and still get in quite a bit of diving every year. We go on 1-2 dive trips out of country and then dive locally (fresh water spring) and in California.

go for it now - get certified. When you are working and can afford it, you will be able to do more diving. For now though, even one trip per year is great.

robin

 

[captndale]

The best wreck diving in the world is in the Great Lakes. You are just a short drive away from the biggest of them.

 

[DET]

I'll give you what I think would be a reasonable scenario.

Go ahead and get certified or do a Discover Scuba class, first, to make sure you want to take the certification class. Purchasing gear afterwards is optional. You can rent nearly everything wherever you dive and purchase at an affordable pace. Keep in touch with local diving. Nearly every shop in Minnesota has Fun dives through-out the season. Some with half price rental. Check their websites and check out mnscuba.com - Index. Hopefully you'll do several dives in a season. If not, at least you'll be certified when the occasion arises.

D