»SCUBA Diving«
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Do any of you SCUBA dive? Where have you dived? What charter services have you had good or bad experiences with? I grew up in Florida, and we used to dive a lot in the Keys, especially at Looe Key. I also dove Hawaii (Molokini, Cathedrals) and Aruba (Pedernales, Antilla) and some springs near my hometown. Be sure to provide links to your favorite dive-sites and dive websites.       posted by sleuthslayer |
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| in-my-opinion.orgEntertainment & SportsSports topics/newsSCUBA Diving |
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 Well, I took up scuba a few years ago and got certified. Dove at a lake in northern Ohio called Gilboa. Pretty cool there.  divegilboa.com… [JPG] They have sunken a bus, a plane and various other things there for you to explore. Not too bad for being in the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately I haven't done much diving since, because there just isn't really anywhere else that interesting near here. If I lived near the ocean/Caribbean/Great Barrier Reef then I would DEFINTELY be diving often. It's just hard to get really excited about diving when you are in the middle of a continent w/o cool diving places. I mean, sure there are lakes and other areas near Ohio, but several hours away though. posted by volonteshiva |
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volonteshiva: Well, I took up scuba a few years ago and got certified. Dove at a lake in northern Ohio called Gilboa. Pretty cool there. How is the visibility in the quarry? And temperature: wetsuit or drysuit conditions? Where I live, in North Florida, there is very little good ocean diving because the visibility is so poor. But there are springs like a mofo, and the water there is crystal clear and the same temperature all year round. Still, most of the good diving in springs is cave diving, which I am chicken to do, because so many people have died doing it. You ought to do a Keys trip if you're in Florida. I first dove Looe when I was fourteen, and it blew me away. It's a finger reef, which means there are canyons you can get down into. Aruba was okay...a little picked over, lots of dead coral, but the shipwrecks were amazing. Hawaii rocked; did you check out the Molokini links? posted by sleuthslayer |
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sleuthslayer: How is the visibility in the quarry? And temperature: wetsuit or drysuit conditions? Visibility is pretty good. There were alot of people diving at the same time when I went, so that could have murked it up a little bit. Temperature-wise... well, it was about 90F+ that day, and I would say the water was 50-60 or so. Down at about 35feet I found it pretty cold and was shivering a bit, but that could have just been me on my first trip. But I would assume it is generally a bit chilly there. Was wearing a wetsuit. Not nearly as warm as the ocean/heated spring, I am sure. sleuthslayer: did you check out the Molokini links? Indeed, that area looks awesome. If I can ever get South to do some island traveling I will definitely do some scuba diving. Probably need to do a refresher course since it's been a while. I mean, going down the 30ft or so is no big deal since you don't really have to worry about nitrogen and such and can stay at that depth all day w/o really needing too much of a break(other than more O2). posted by volonteshiva |
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 i have never dove, but have always wanted to learn...just cant afford it. i had a girlfriend once who was big into scuba diving. she has been to a lot of places...some place where the jellyfish don't sting, has been with a whale shark, guam, palau, something called the blue hole (i think) all sorts of places, every year her father takes her on a scuba trip (sometimes twice a year) to some new place, and its always somewhere exotic. her father bought an airplane a little while before she dumped me so that they wouldnt have to pay for airfare anymore, they could just load up and go. that was a while back, who knows where they have been since. i would give out her email address so you could ask her about all the places, but i don't think that would be a good idea. but for me, nope. i don't have the money to spend on lessons, nor would i have money for scuba trips. i live near the gulf of mexico...but, i wouldnt dive in that crap! i wont even go in the water, its nasty! last time i went in i cut my foot open on...well, i have no idea. and there be sharks. posted by allone |
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One place I would like to dive is Bonaire. My parents went there and said it was the best they'd ever done. It is in the island chain called the ABC's: Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao! They are in the Netherlands Antilles, which means lots of Dutch people visit there. The local beer in Aruba is Balashi. It comes in little cans because of the heat: a big can would be warm before you finished it. Aruba is like a desert, very hot and dry, but with a constant wind. I have heard Jamaica is not good diving because of the poverty and consequent environmental degradation. When people are kept in poverty, they tend not to understand the importance of tourism to the economy, so they don't take care of the environment. Fishtraps are a problem in poverty-stricken dive destinations, where the people have to trap tropical fish to sell on the pet market. Caymans is supposed to be good wall diving. One thing I would advise people who have never dived coral reefs before is: don't touch the coral! I always see the Crocodile Hunter diving the Great Barrier Reef, and he grabs that coral with both hands. Dumbass! Not only can it cut and/or sting you, touching kills the coral polyps, so the coral dies. Also, if any of you saw posted by sleuthslayer |
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allone: .
and there be sharks. Read my previous post. Don't worry about the sharks, allone. And SCUBA is not that expensive...you can rent just about everything you need for pretty cheap. If you are in college near the coast, a lot of times there will be an academic diving program with a discount on student certification. posted by sleuthslayer |
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sleuthslayer: Also, if any of you saw oh, i agree. i have been to several city/zoo/large aquariums and really enjoy watching the sharks. there is just something about them, the way the move...i don't know. i have some pictures that were taken underwater by my previous girlfriend that are amazing, i should track them down and post them. its just that i saw jaws at a young age, and i can never forget it! 
posted by allone |
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allone: i would give out her email address so you could ask her about all the places, but i don't think that would be a good idea. Just caught that. Good one. The thing is, she's probably been to a lot of good dive spots, but does she know what she is seeing? A lot of people I have met that really get into global diving are clueless about marine biology. Some of them just want to say "I dove St. Bart's" or "I dove Bali." I'm not saying your ex is that way, yadda yadda yadda. posted by sleuthslayer |
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youre right. don't get me wrong, she is totally in love with seeing all there is to see and really enjoys going on the trips. but...she does not know much of marine biology...atleast she didn't when i dated her. but she did dive bali, i remembered that one when i read bali. now, i have a really good friend who got his masters in aquatic bilogy, which is different, but he has a huge interest in any form of water studies. when we lived together he had close to maybe $10,000 worth of aquariums/fish, he had some salt water tanks and some freshwater tanks. they were really cool. he took his time to learn all he could about marine biology on his own. he now lives in florida and has (or is currently) taking scuba lessons. he works for a company that provides large city and zoo aquariums with salt water fish...such as sharks. he told me that he could get me a shark but i would have to have a very very large tank. he hasn't been diving to any exotic places, but i know he would really love to be able to see that sort of thing first hand. posted by allone |
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allone: he now lives in florida and has (or is currently) taking scuba lessons. he works for a company that provides large city and zoo aquariums with salt water fish...such as sharks. he told me that he could get me a shark but i would have to have a very very large tank. Interesting...I bet he knows about this place:  It's on the coast close to where I live. I was going to apply for a job there collecting animals for sale to scientists, but I heard the guy who owns it is difficult to work for. I actually thought about marine biology for a career as a kid, since that's what my Dad did (stil kind of does, but more genetics type stuff of marine organisms), but I couldn't concentrate well enough to do the classwork in college. So I majored in English ("You want fries with that?") Just to write on to no one in particular, one thing a lot of beginning divers do is overbreathe, which is the first thing you have to learn not to do. At first, you are nervous, so your breathing becomes more rapid, but you learn to control it, if you want to get all your bottom time in. And you have to learn to use the dive tables, even if you have a dive computer. Here is a simple one:  The reason for the dive table is complicated, but it goes like this: When underwater and breathing compressed air, it actually takes more air to fill your lungs than it would on the surface, due to water pressure. This means that more nitrogen gets into your blood than normal (nitrogen is a component of air, along with oxygen). If too much nitrogen gets into your blood, when you surface, it will come out of solution and form bubbles in your vessels. This is called the bends (having the bends is called being "bent"). So you have to calculate two variables: A: how long you want to stay down; and B: at what depth. There is also something called nitrogen narcosis, which is a little like being drunk. But I write too much. posted by sleuthslayer |
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I went to Aruba last summer, and we did a lot of snorkeling off Arashi Beach. Rather chillingly, this is the place where the guys who were arrested in the Natalee Holloway disappearance said they took her before she disappeared.  Great snorkeling though, and a beautiful beach. arubavilla.com… [JPG] posted by holy_of_holies |
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This map of Aruba shows Arashi beach on the northwestern tip of the island.  We stayed in Malmok, on the map just a little ways southeast of Arashi. Arashi is pretty remote; there's just a lighthouse there and lots of dunes. But they said they took her from Oranjestad, which is the main city of Aruba. It's not that long of a drive - small island - but still, why would she let three strangers drive her all the way out to Arashi? Doesn't make sense unless she was really drunk or something, and even then, all the way out there with three guys and no other friends? posted by holy_of_holies |
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Egypt, Red Sea... goredsea.com... We usually board a ship for 1 or 2 weeks and stay on the ocean, spending the night at the reefs. Best moments: During a night dive,... a 1 hour dance with a huge shoal of babyfish which was drawn to the lights of our boat. The Big Blue,... in the deep waters between reefs,...enjoying the weightlessness in the middle of nowhere... Sharks,... every time; even though they are scared of humans and it's pretty hard to get close... and those two sites: redseadivers.com... flowersofsinai.com... ...to name but a few... posted by tozy |
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Cool links, Toz. Middle Eastern diving: now that's an adventure! But I'm confused - are you Israeli? Because I thought we established that you were German...if that's the case, do a lot of Europeans go to the Mideast for diving? I just don't know anything about where they go. A lot of them seem to come to Florida. posted by holy_of_holies |
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The time now is 12 February 2012, 14:47 php B.B. |