What was some of your most memorable dives
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stretchthepenn
Contributor
Quite a few memorable dives...but one of my favorites is a dive shortly after I was certified. My buddies and I were on a cattle boat in Southern California, and although the water conditions were tolerable, the weather topside was crap. Drizzly, breezy, chilly. All the small things that make a surface interval suck. That, plus a clammy wetsuit, made gearing up for the second dive deeply unpleasant.
But as soon as I splashed, everything got magical. The boat was right overtop of a canyon-esque split in a reef, and as I descended (in awful trim, like I was sitting in an easy chair), I slowly drifted past a sheer wall. Down, down, down...and the colors on the wall just went up, up, up... I was utterly relaxed, the water felt great, and the sight was gorgeous. It was super.
But as soon as I splashed, everything got magical. The boat was right overtop of a canyon-esque split in a reef, and as I descended (in awful trim, like I was sitting in an easy chair), I slowly drifted past a sheer wall. Down, down, down...and the colors on the wall just went up, up, up... I was utterly relaxed, the water felt great, and the sight was gorgeous. It was super.
Four dives with Brian Kakuk in Dan's cave on Abaco Island in the Bahamas. Do yourself a favor and watch a few of the gazillion videos posted.
Here's one.
Here's one.
1. Seeing my first big animal underwater at around 100 dives. A sawfish at Pulau Redang, Malaysia. It's size took my breath away!
2. Watching an oceanic whitetip shark destroy my DSMB as I sent it up to the surface. Brother Islands, Red Sea.
3. Seeing my first manta at 40 metres while on a safety stop. Went stray back down, got a few seconds of video and came back up with a huge smile on my face (and a little deco!). Brother Islands, Red Sea.
4. Doing a complete dive on the Giannis D, Red Sea; then my buddy gave me his AL80 bailout cylinder (he was on CCR) so we could do a complete tour of the Carnatic. Epic, two wrecks on one dive!
2. Watching an oceanic whitetip shark destroy my DSMB as I sent it up to the surface. Brother Islands, Red Sea.
3. Seeing my first manta at 40 metres while on a safety stop. Went stray back down, got a few seconds of video and came back up with a huge smile on my face (and a little deco!). Brother Islands, Red Sea.
4. Doing a complete dive on the Giannis D, Red Sea; then my buddy gave me his AL80 bailout cylinder (he was on CCR) so we could do a complete tour of the Carnatic. Epic, two wrecks on one dive!
WinfieldNC
Contributor
Diving the Aeolus and the Spar out of Morehead, NC in December of 2020. Sand tiger aggregation.
Socorro December 2019. I think it was San Benedicto, typical dive with many sharks and 3-4 mantas. Last 10 minutes of the dive, a school of dolphins come into shark cleaning station and then we saw a huge whale shark.
I have been very fortunate to dive the one site from my bucket list. I worked weekends at a dive shop beginning in the early 90s. I met a few divers who told me about the UB88 and their search for it beginning in the 1950s. When I finally found it two decades later, I had a dream dive. I descended right next to the conning tower, surrounded by a thick school of Sunset and Squarespot rockfish. I had never before encountered so much marine life in California on one dive. It was, and still is the best dive I've ever made.
Cthippo
Contributor
Just about a year ago, my first dive on the Charlotte.
I had been working this wreck for years, learning to use sonar and later sidescan and underwater camera rigs. I had even snorkeled the wreck, but when I finally got to dive it the first time....
Just amazing.
I learned more in a 20 minute dive than I had in all the years leading up to that day. I discovered the anchor, still leaning on the bow and identified that the big box on the sidescan was indeed just a fuel tank.
That one dive made all the effort and waiting and struggle to get in the water and get certified worth it. I was doing what I set out to do and it was awesome!
I had been working this wreck for years, learning to use sonar and later sidescan and underwater camera rigs. I had even snorkeled the wreck, but when I finally got to dive it the first time....
Just amazing.
I learned more in a 20 minute dive than I had in all the years leading up to that day. I discovered the anchor, still leaning on the bow and identified that the big box on the sidescan was indeed just a fuel tank.
That one dive made all the effort and waiting and struggle to get in the water and get certified worth it. I was doing what I set out to do and it was awesome!
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