Where was your first OW dive?

[BigJetDriver]

I was stationed in the Philippines at Clark AFB. They had a dive club called the "AquaFalcons" (I still have the club jacket, but it has shrunk a bit!) and the instructor for the club was the NCOIC of the MP Squadron on base named Jack Henderson.

I did my first OW in 82 degree fahrenheit water with 100-200 foot visibility and beautiful fish swirling around reefs blazing with vibrant colours. I fell in love with diving and the sea then, and I have been seriously addicted ever since.

P.S.---I had a K2B cotton flight suit on for protection from scrapes, a Scuba Pro Mk5 with no hoses other than the one to the second stage (rig still works, by the way), an 80 cubic foot aluminum tank with a J-valve, a wrist-mounted U.S. Divers depth gauge, a watch, and a "Horse Collar" floatation device with a CO2 cartridge. The tank was mounted on what can be considered one of the original back-plates, called (I believe) a Dolphin Pack, with a minimalist harness. Weights were strapped on with a standard weight belt with a metal buckle. (I still have both pack and belt.) Oh, and...wait for it...heavy blue rubber full-foot fins. Talk about your original "Amish Diving Society"!

I refuse to say what geological era that was in, but I will say that there was evidence of a very recent extinction of large saurian creatures!!!! =-)

 

[NJDiveGirl]

WileEDiver once bubbled...

Someone with a fondness for Hoboken, NJ? As a native Jersey-ite I gotta say that's pretty scarry. Are you maybe channeling Frank Sinatra?

Fondness for the underwater breath - good riddance to Hoboken!!! I will always have a driveway to park my car in

 

[HammerNoMore]

I did my confied training at a local Y. OW in Cozumel. Spoiled me for anywhere else....

James

 

[timhernandez]

My first legitimate dive was, with my son and our instructor, at the Crystal River Springs in Florida, December 27th, 2002.

We made 3 dives in the springs to do our check outs, skill tests, and to experience diving. The water was around 70, with 100ft. plus visability in the Spring areas. This was a huge change from the conditions the rest of our class had at White Star Quarry in Ohio.

While at Crystal River, we spent our surface time in the water swimming with, and watching the Manatee that stay there for the winter.

:wacko: perfectly describes the look on our faces when the Manatee swam up to us and let us scratch their bellies.

The next day, we went to Jupiter, Fl. and did a drift dive off a reef in about 60' of water. We saw an Eagle Ray, a nurse shark, and hundreds of fish.

While I remember the dives, my most vivid memory is that of standing in the sand on the 'bottom' of the Atlantic with my 13yr old son and writing, on a slate, to him "We are standing on the bottom of the Ocean !" ... That moment, and the look on his face as we drifted over the sea life and structure, will be with me forever.

I sometimes wonder why diving has 'trapped' me as it has, becoming an obsession. When I think back to that time, and that dive together, I cease to wonder.

Happy Holidays all, and thanks for this thread and reminding me of this memory.

-Tim

 

[divebomb]

Bluewater Park in Pelham, AL. 2 months ago. Really bad timing on my part. Now I go to sleep dreaming of diving in warm water. I'll have to wait till March for that. Arrgggggg!

Beck

 

[neve]

I did my OW just off the coast of Singapore, a busy port city in the Malacca Strait.

Due to the lack of land, the country is actively "reclaiming" to expand what little space they have... Which means they are constantly dumping dirt in the sea to make space for more apartments and condominiums. The water, therefore, is just slightly better than mud.

The dive site, called Pulau Hantu, is a stone's throw from an oil refinery plant. The water had a nice black sheen to it... I had a hard time washing the oil off my hair that evening

Viz was at best 3ft, and during one of the dives I was just blindly holding on to the mooring line for 30 mins coz the current picked up and viz was 0. (See, not all dive sites in Asia are pristine clear water dives )

The best thing about my OW dives: I didn't see anything. Not even one fish. Zilch. I sometimes wonder why I continued diving after that...

But after that experience, even diving in 5ft viz seems great =-)

 

[Curly]

DarkFrog once bubbled...
Lake Winnepesaukee, Wolfeboro, NH. Off the dock at the back of the shop my instructor owned. Water was 48 degrees; ill fitting rental wetsuits - holes in my gloves. It was still more fun then the pool dives, but I don't ever want to go back THERE again.

Then you must've gone with Tom @ Dive Winni! Cool. My favorite place to hang when up in the area. We have a place in Melvin Village, about 8 miles north of Wolfe City -- so I do their charters regularly.

 

[Rick Murchison]

Mustang Island side of the Corpus Christi ship channel.
A mudhole.
Rick

 

[VanGirl]

My first OW dives were at Deep Cove in North Van, BC. We ended up in the cove because there was a wind warning at the preferred coastal sites. While we saw a few "creatures of the deep"...it was ++ cold & pretty murky as me 'n my buddy were still working out the kinks on our neutral buoyancy with our BCD / drysuit combos and ended up stirring up the bottom quite a bit. LOL Still, a great time! and the best perk of all was that there were heated, public change rooms and showers!! Whee!!! I just stood under the shower in all my gear for a good 5 minutes..Bliss as the outside temp was at least 0' celsius. Brrr.... :cold:

 

[LobstaMan]

My first diving experience was the early 1980's at a salt water creek/beach area in Sandwich, MA. My father, an avid diver at the time, taught me how to dive in that creek using his equipment. I don't think I was 11 or 12 years old. Shortly after that I did my first offical OW course dives in Hull, MA. I'll never forget the first time breathing u/w! Nice memories. In fact, my brother and I still dive the beach at that creek(Sandwich Town Beach). My kids are little too young for diving, but I hope to bring them there someday to continue the memories.

LobstaMan:viking: