If I count how many tanks of air I have gone through it must be in the 100-150 range. However, I have never been scuba certified. I learned as a kid in another country where certification was not needed. Also getting an adult to get my tanks filled was never a problem because I was usually diving more than they were!

My wife has become quite interested in getting her certification. So I have decided to do this with her. I suppose it's mostly because we do so much together and share just about all of our adventures. But I need to have that certification now to get rental equipment when we travel within the USA and to get tanks refilled too.

Furthermore, it just seems like a good idea to actually learn the safe and proper way to do this, even though it has not killed me yet. I want her to be comfortable and safe. If you have done this scuba training what did they have you do to get certified?

I'm PADI certified, advanced open water. That said it's been nearly 30years since I've been on a dive. It was a combination of classroom instruction and diving, but mostly dives. I'm sure it's changed a bit in 30 years, I know certifications are no longer lifetime.

Only under the bed sheets

Online course. Weekend of onhand instruction and 8 dives.

SSI, PADI ...

I think, you are on the right track - starting your wife of the right way and going with her...

Instructor, who taught me, was half human, half fish -

contruction diver, active police diver, organized diveing vacations, taught divers on the weekends, certified this and that...

always pushed safety in class - never go alone, check your buddies gear, etc...

died shortly after teaching us - diving alone, using unfamiliar gear - rebreather.

There is a lesson in there somewhere, and it stuck...

Sorry for the sad turn.

Diving is great fun. Never forget, though, we cant breath water.

PADI here, some class meetings in the evening after work at a pool, then a trip to FL to do the certification dives,,, It was pretty basic and made good sense.

PADI Divemaster, have not been underwater in about five years.

I certified through PADI many years ago. We had classroom instruction, swimming pool instruction, and open water dives in Lake Tahoe.

The instructor was an ex-military type, pretty cool. He sort of mocked the macho types that ran out and bought a dive knife right away. His one liner was that it wasn't much use, but if you ever shared your regulator with a panicked diver, you'd find one use for it.

Sure enough, in the open water dive, he paired me with a teenager. We did the ditch and don, and buddy breathing. When I handed over my regulator, and motioned for him to hand it back, his eyes were big as saucers and he shook his head indicating that I wasn't getting it back. So I found his, took a couple of breaths and traded it to him for mine. Couldn't help but laugh about the dive knife joke, though.

You definitely should get certified. My wife and I did our Open Water together and it was a great way to go. The basic Open Water certification is something like 10 hours of class and 4-5 dives. I have PADI and SSI certifications and they are both good organizations. If you are going to dive on any sort of regular basis I would recommend getting both Advanced Open Water and Nitrox certifications. Just got back from two weeks of diving in Palau which has some of the best diving anywhere. It was great.

NAUI here. Went through the program in 1980 @ Orange Coast College. Diving for lobster in the Channel Islands was a lot of fun. Haven't gone in about 20yrs.

Got NAUI certified when I had to live in Kansas just prior to vacation in Mexico. Got to do my checkout dives in Cabo.

Certified & scuba dived in Palm Beach, Cayman Islands & Bahamas many times day and night. Haven't been in few years & doubt I'll go again, thrill kinda wore off. Night-time is one hell of a rush dropping 60-90' to the ocean floor.

I started out PADI but our local dive shop is SDI wo we switched. I have my Solo, Rescue, Master Diver,Nitrox CERTs along with many other specialties. I have about 150 logged dives and we dive every year. This year we go to Curacao.

As has been said already, do the online work then take your paperwork on vacation and finish up at a local dive shop. Nothing beats learning in the ocean where the water is warm and vis is 100ft.

I've been certified a couple of times...first back in 72 when I was in the Navy...got re-certified in 98.

The main thing is that you're comfortable in the water and aren't prone to panic. First, you'll have classroom instruction where you'll learn about decompression, the bends, nitrogen narcosis, high altitude diving, night diving, diving with Nitrox etc. etc. You have to be able to tread water for a while...I forget how long, maybe 10-15 minutes. You also have to swim a certain distance...again, I forget how far...you also have to be able to clear your mask under water and be able to "buddy breath". After you get that far, the instructor will "FORCE" you to ditch your equipment and surface...they do this by shutting off your air, ripping off your mask, pulling the regulator out of your mouth unbuckling your tank and in general, harassing you...remember to exhale while surfacing, or you'll get a surprise...An "open water" dive with the instructor is required too. While doing this, the instructor may have you do some of the things you were taught in the pool....all in all, it's pretty easy and a lot of fun. Things may have changed a bit in the last twenty years though.

Had credits to burn in college so took the NAUI course over a semester. We dove alot in the pool and then in the spring went to a lake for the 60' training dive. Haven't been since that day in 1993.

One more thing: Learn to pike. Trust me.

PADI for me but it has been over ten years since I have been under.

Certified many many years BUT after several winter deep water night quarry dives in Northern Virginia I gave it up.

All it took was one bad experience and I had it. Never again.

Got YMCA certification spring of 1975. Did all the pool stuff late winter into spring, made our first open water dive mid-May. Then in 1976 I got my YMCA advanced certification. Did lots of diving for about 10 years, Florida Keys once, Bahamas twice, Massachusetts Bay, Coast of Maine a few times, Plus lots of diving in NY state's Finger Lakes, Lake Ontario, and some Canadian Lakes in Ontario. Got married in '82, that's when it started to slow down. Haven't dove since about '85 and just retired last year and now I'm thinking "hell, I'm too old for that stuff now". But it was fun and I always enjoyed it. Grew up around Lake Ontario and started swimming about the time I was getting out of diapers so it was kind of a natural progression.

Why on earth were you night diving in a quarry???

cos I was an idiot with way too much testosterone and watch this mojo. BUT never again.

BTW...The tart cherry juice has made me much smarter!!

Certified in two weekends, first Sat and Sunday was books and pool, 2nd weekend was the 4 open water dives,

I love water, but I really struggled that first open water session which required the full mask removal down at 30' in cold murky water, had a little anxiety with that manuever, but it's intended to possibly save your life so it is a valuable lesson,

Junior and I will be in Bonaire in a few weeks, 7 days of nothing but diving,

Cant wait.

PADI Open Water in 1986. Did a fair amount in my Navy travels including a 125 foot deep dive in the Med off Haifa to an Italian U-Boat sunk with shellfire from shore.

Last dives were in Monterrey CA in 95. Kind of lost interest after that but if I were in a place with warm water and some who wanted to go in a less than 30 foot dive I'd go again.

I'm NAUI certified

If you have not, get your nitox cert. when we went to Bonaire we got in 6 dives a day. There is so much shore diving you can dive 24 hrs a day. You won't do that on straight air.

We would do a sunrise dive, eat bfast, do two dives, eat lunch, two dives, eat dinner and then a twilight or night dive.

Friends and I got PADI certified about 30 years ago and never dove again. Mostly due to the $$ required to get somewhere good to dive. Northcentral Pa. isn't high on the list.

We found it to be a pretty easy course but we were 'water junkies', we had earned every aquatics merit badge the Boy Scouts offered and half of us were Red Cross Lifeguards. Clearing a mask was second nature to us. I do remember the first breath underwater, that was pretty cool. There were a couple of folks in the class who had some problems because they weren't as comfortable in the water.

Worst part for us was the 2nd day of open water dives. It was the last weekend in October and the temp. had dropped below freezing overnight. The $%^&* wetsuits had been stored in a trailer outside and were froze stiff!

Dale

I got naui certified. There use to be an old tank sunk out there.
a guy would crawl in and bang a dive knife. Bugs came crawling out to meet a gunny sack.
about 2minutes of so in a microwave, mighty good.
i later did it for the sheriff's department, dead bodies that kind of thing.
wierdest i think was diving on a D9 cat in about 70 feet of water, pitch black.
i found the cat when i bounced my head off it.

PADI certified in, or about '95. IIRC it was a couple nights of classroom, a day (maybe two) in a pool and then a weekend of open water. Hard to keep excited about diving in Wisconsin and I haven't kept it up. Would want to recert if I were to do it again. Diving is an activity that is worth respecting and I'd not half-ass it...which leads into the last time I dove story.

We were in PTO Vallerta on a night dive to poach lobsters out of Los Arcos natnl park. Perhaps in my middle age years I'd not be game for poaching lobsters, a 'dive master' with pot leaf tatted on his bicep OR leaking tanks, but at that age it seemed fine. Plus, poaching lobster in Mexico, you're not always going to get the best quality help.

Well, it is not only lucky as hell no one died that night but that the boat didn't get wrecked on the reef with the changing tide. Also, no lobsters on account of almost dying.

I'd say, even though nothing bad ever happened it would be WELL worth your time to get some knowledge on the subject...I don't think the courses are prohibitively expensive either financially or in time invested...plus then you can get your tanks filled without a 'strawman' purchase

PADI certified in 77, NAUI in the 80's

Scuba Schools International in Subic Bay, late 80's. Anybody ever heard of them

PADI Open Water, Advanced Open Water, Rescue, Nitrox, Deep, Night, EFR, and Oxygen Provider. I am working on my Dive Master now.

Shreck Yes SSI is still around. More so then NAUI is now a days.


Diving without being educated is just plain stupid. A lot of people will say you should get certified by (add your favorite) Just get certified. PADI is the international standard, though I am sure someone will challenge that. BSAC is the toughest and from what I have experienced produces a very knowledgable diver. You'll be surprised how much you will learn! Diving is a lot of fun and in some conditions very safe. But sort of like flying when chit goes wrong, it goes wrong fast!

I have only been diving a year, but in that year I logged 120 dives. From Brunei ship wrecks, Big drifts and serious currents in Labuan Bajo (AKA Komodo) Indonesia, Bali, NUSA Lembongan, Lembeh, Bunaken, Kota Kinabalu Malaysia, to the reefs of Miri Malaysia. Every dive site I learn new things.

Once I finish my Dive Master I'll be focusing heavily on Tech Diving.

PADI Master Diver here. Have been for 20 years or so. In the beginning I would dive in a mud hole if it was deep enough. But I'm 3 hours from any decent location and 6 hours from the coast, so I eventually became a vacation diver. I dove all over the Caribbean, Hawaii, East Coast, West Coast and etc. Wish I had all of that money back! Just about quit now, been 3 years since I've been wet. Was thinking the other day that I need to sell all of my gear.

Was for many years, but after I moved to the interior West, I discovered other things on which to spend my time and money.

Did the NAUI course back in about 77. As I recall, it was mostly safety related. Some coverage of gas laws and dive tables. The equipment has changed a bunch since then, but human physiology hasn't. Generally can't get in too much trouble on a one tank dive, but if you do too many too close together, you can. Don't change depth too fast and never hold your breath while ascending. Learn to clear your ears. (that was the thing that gave me problems) Bouyancy control and clearing your mask takes practice but isn't hard. We probably spent 10 hours in the classroom, a couple hours in the pool, and did one open water dive. I don't know how long it takes these days.

Jerry

Was certified before NAUI/PADI were invented, by a Navy UDT WW2 vet.

2 laps without gear in the olympic size pool, no stopping for air. Classroom study, written test.

Deep water check: 60', ditch the gear and surface, return and don, end of story.

Drained more tanks than I can recall while diving the 1715 fleet wrecks off the east coast of FL. Never cared for scuba for anything other than the salvage stuff.

[/quote]
Generally can't get in too much trouble on a one tank dive, but if you do too many too close together, you can.

Jerry
[/quote]

This is not true in any way, shape, or form! One tank or multiple tanks there is always risks in diving.

Entanglement, lost/missing diver, currents, Narcosis and the list goes on doesn't care how many tanks you have dived.

First cert. was NAUI by an ex EOD diver. He was one of the original divers in the "Man in the Sea" program. We had to do a harassment swim where mask was took off, air turned off etc. it really prepared me for some tough dives.

Tomt52

My understanding is that NAUI was a great training program. To bad they didn't market it well. It has really fallen off. I thought about taking their course, my dive instructor who is BSAC, NAUI, SSI, and PADI certified told me at this point I would just be wasting my money. I really wish PADI would incorporate some of the old NAUI ways.

NASDS certified in the mid-'70's. Mainly spearfishing. Still equipped, but haven't dove for years.

SSI here a few years back previous to traveling to Belize.

One LONG night in the pool. Supposed to be a couple/few pool sessions. But I was on a short timeframe so they made it work. Homework previous to that. Then a couple open-water certification dives. Did this in late October-early November in northern Wyoming. My open-water was completed when the ambient temp was at or below freezing. Water temp, I believe, was in the low 50's.

Instructor was a former navy diver. Dove everywhere. Technical diver now. His stories about his deep dives were enough to spook me just a bit. And I don't spook that easy.

He was PADI and SSI certified instructor. Told me he preferred SSI because it gave him latitude to adjust the training based on his judgment. Case in point, when he and I did the open-water, he asked if I had gotten everything done during the pool work as he had another instructor take me through the pool work. I admitted they had not made me do my treading and lap-swim. I told him I had been training and could do it. He looked at me and said he was comfortable with my comfort-level in the water after watching me during the 2 different open-waters. That was good enough for him. In SSI, he had that latitude. Not with PADI.

I was a NAUI instructor back in the mid 80's for retail dive shops. We did not do the harassment stuff back then, and I doubt that you will find any recreational/basic courses that do it today.

Most of my experience was in lakes and quarries around the Midwest. One of my deepest dives was 95 feet in a quarry in Redgranite, Wisconsin. It was dark and cold! Most memorable dive was about the same depth in a crystal clear freshwater spring in Florida at night with a full moon. I have not been underwater for about 15 years.

I did the PADI in Edmonds, WA in Jan.2016. The class was 5 days over 2 weekends and 1 weekday. 1 day in the classroom to go over the work and test the material that was supposed to be completed before we showed up. 2 days of half pool half classroom then 2 days for the 4 open water dives. We did all the basics:flooded masks, sharing air, compass navigation, buoyancy control, etc.

Since then I probably have 50-60 dives in the last year. I would recommend underwater sports in Edmonds if your going to travel a little ways.

There's an old Corsair fighter from WW2 just offshore btwn Newport & Laguna down about 50-60ft. You wouldn't recognize it as a Corsair but as an old wrecked plane with growth on it. Great area for spear fishing especially in the kelp.

NAUI and PADI about 10 years apart. Most recent dive was well over a decade ago.

NAUI certified, but that was in 1971. As much as I enjoyed it at the time, I haven't been diving in decades, doubt that I'll take it up again anytime soon.

Well, it seemed to work pretty well for Bob...but he doesn't drink it.

Spent time is SCUBA, Shallow water rigs and a LOT of time in MK 5 hard hat dress but never been certified nor have I ever had a clean water dive. Diving was brutal hard work and hypothermia every day for me and I am service connected disabled because of it. No thanks.

I'm certified for Sky, Scuba and muff diving.

PADI certified nearly 40 years ago. Still dive periodically, primarily in the Sea of Cortez.

I'm certified scared schitless of Great Whites...don't want to hear how good my odds are...if you are in the water, you have been checked out.

Me

me too....

Certified with SSI in the early 1970s

Certified NAUI Open Water and Advanced Open Water with my wife in the early 1990s.

Still love it, but my dive buddy (wife) no longer has any interest. Last time was on a cruise ship excursion in Grand Cayman about 6 years ago.

Have logged a little over 100 dives total, mostly in Belize, Roatan, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, and Bonaire. Love the Caribbean!

I've always considered them more of an ambush type predator for schitt floating near the surface...it's the only reason keeping me from going after abalone...murky shoreline water combined with having to use a snorkel exclusively creeps me out.

Well she is through what I think is the tough part.

The compulsory 200 meter swim, and the 15 min treading water in the deep end. The written tests are also complete. The rules are that no scuba equipment is allowed. There were about half the class using wetsuits. Not exactly to the letter of the rules! A full wetsuit is almost as good as a life jacket!

The swim and the tread water were actually easy for her. I'm always surprised by her ability to do stuff like this. Her only struggle so far is equalizing pressure in her ears. So far they don't like to cooperate.

There are other skills to master in the next 4 weeks of class and the puget sound final dive. However, I think she is over the hump, and getting more comfortable. I'll update this again ins few weeks.

PADI certified Master Scuba Diver with six specialties. However, it has been some 26 or so years now since I have been wet. I would not think of diving again without taking a refresher course. A lot of fun, but potentially very dangerous if you are not properly trained. Enjoy, but be safe!

I'm a PADI certified Rescue Diver. I first got my Open Water certification in 1992, and earned the Advanced Open Water and Rescue Diver certifications in the late 90s.

If I can swing it I try to take a diving vacation every year. I've done more than 300 dives, and I still love it.

I'll dive nearly anywhere. I've dove in frigid quarries(42 F), black water rivers so sediment filled you might as well be blind, high current deep ocean dives in rough seas, and a great many absolutely beautiful high visibility dives on calm warm water Caribbean reefs. I've even managed to log a few hours underwater diving in a surface supplied hard hat (Kirby Morgan 37). My deepest dive to date was 140' in the Great Blue Hole off the coast of Belize.

You are on the right track in taking a certification course, you will learn things you should have known before now, and I suspect you will come out of it better and safer diver.

I definitely learned some things that I either took for granted or did not know.

One thing is for sure, and I have always been a good swimmer. If you think you're too bad ass for a life jacket go to the deep end of the pool and tread water for 15 minutes, in warm pool water. Betcha think about that life jacket much differently at about the 6-7 minute mark! The last few minutes is really tough.

However, we also learned that fat is way more buoyant than muscle. The few of the more "healthy" people did have a much easier time at this than those of ....... well let's say slender or more fit participants did! The trainer told me " you are built for scuba, you sink like a rock" " you probably won't need any weight to get down to the bottom. On the other hand, one fella needed 40 pounds to get to the bottom! The fat factor is huge in your personal buoyancy!

Swim the 8- 25 meter lengths for 200 meters, that's not all that long in a big lake or big river. Betcha rethink the life jacket idea about the first 50 meters with a hella long way to go! And that is in warm flat pool water, not cold water with waves pounding you!

Good for you.

After you and the wife are certified you should treat yourselves to a dive vacation.

I see you're in the NW, if you've only dived the Pacific get yourselves over to the FL Keys or elsewhere in the Caribbean and enjoy a nice warm water reef dive. Diving is much more enjoyable when a wet suit is not necessary.

I am a PADI certified open water, advanced and rescue diver. I took my certification in the summer of 1993 and worked for a local PD on their marine patrol boat.

Enjoy but be careful.

So am I. I got that in the Navy in 1979. I haven't been down since I came back to Ohio in '82 other than in quarries three times. What do we have her, a big mud hole of Lake Erie or a quarry here and there.

PADI certified open water, and advanced open water, rescue diver.I was working on dive master rating when I figured out the Instructor was using me to watch the students while he spear fished, letting me do all the work and pay full price for air fills and boat trips.

NAUI Advanced Open Water in '87. College sweetheart was a divemaster, then instructor. We dove a LOT back then. Haven't been in a few years.

Almost bent myself good one time accidentally bouncing while cave diving in north central FL. Sick as a dog only. Didn't have to do the tank.

It's really not that hard....a lot has to do with keeping your lungs full of air...I could float all day long if need be...but you need to relax...the more you can relax, the easier it is. If you can get back in the pool, go there and concentrate on relaxing and floating. For schitts and giggles, take some snorkeling gear...when you first get there, jump in the pool and see how long you can stay under water...then get on top of the water and try your best to lower your heartrate and breathing, all the while trying to RELAX....once you're relaxed, head back to the bottom of the pool....keep in mind you can go back up and get a breath of air at your leisure...loiter around on the bottom and RELAX...you'll likely double the time from your initial first dive...another couple of benefits in learning to actually relax in the water, is that your bottom time will be greatly extended, you won't tire nearly as quickly and you'll enjoy it a lot more....JMHO

Many years ago, but got tired of fetching unexploded dynamite and live shunted caps, sometimes under the ice.

PADI certified in 91 at Pennycamp in the keys.

Got PADI certified in 94 along with the ex...Got to dive Grand Cayman... took dive trips to Malaysia, Indonesia and spent a week on a live aboard in the Maldives off the coast of Sri Lanka. I was lucky to dive with some very experienced fantastic dive masters who taught a ton.....Have not been diving in over ten years but now my Son uses most of my equipment after I had it all serviced.
A great trip to do together but there is a need to pay attention and learn all you can cause things can turn bad quickly, especially in big open water with a lot of current.

Naui certified in 91 or 92 at Penecamp reef off of Islamorada in the keys. Seems like a long time ago.....

NAUI in 85.

Okinawa.

Well, she has passed all tests and cleared all the hurdles now but this last one which is not going to be a problem. The final open water dive is this weekend in Puget Sound. She has already performed all the other dives, tests, and checks. This last open water dive now is about 70% recreational with the instructors watching her underwater skills. I am going along to be her "dive buddy" on the trip.

There are 7 people in the class to do this final dive. The water is kinda chilly at 50 deg, but they have good equipment through the dive school. I'm hoping to see one of those giant octopus, I have only ever seen the smaller ones. In the area she will do this final open water test, it is famous for the giants. Some being 20 feet across.

An interesting side note on this. One of my friends has said he always wanted to learn scuba and get certified but it's just way to expensive a recreation. I asked him how much his KTM motocross bike was ........ Ha ha... Scuba is cheap compared to that bike, and many recreational pursuits. It's all about what you're interests are! I had a motocross bike at one time. That was not only expensive but far more dangerous in my opinion too! It's easy to get carried away with bad decisions that happen VERY fast on a great dirt bike!

Good for your wife! PNW saltwater diving is beautiful but cold.

Like you, burned a good number of tanks but never certified. Bought a complete scuba outfit from a fellow who got drafted in 1965 and dived till 1975. Dived with certified experts a lot in CA and learned most if not all of the stuff they teach in classes and more. I did more free diving without compressed air for lobster, halibut, white sea bass and loved it to addiction level. I haven't dived in years except to recover a friend's lost fishing rod from a lake in northern Saskatchewan.

Master Class swims available at many pools and fitness clubs will redefine what seems normal. Life Time is $35/month for two classes per week. A routine warmup during a master class is 400-600 yards. An hour long class will often end up over 2,000 yards, and an hour open swim around 3,000.

NAUI-certified in '75, but I haven't used it in years. I do a lot of open water swimming including a 5-miler this summer - Lake Minnetonka, Excelsior Beach to Wayzata Beach.

Glad things are going well for your wife. I wish her the best and most pleasurable dive ever. If she has a good first one she may keep diving to recapture the excitement of her first.

I just found my card, NAUI Master Diver, '95. Certified at school in NW Cali. Who said get a first open water dive in warm water. Try off the Mendocino coast with +/- 50F water and 3' (yes 3 feet) visibility. 1992, no dry suit, 6 mil wetsuit only. We had a triangle of rope on the bottom we students were arrayed on. We had instructors stationed on the apexes. Supposed to swim down the line (so as not to get lost) to the next instructor for our mask, don-doff exercises. Vis was so bad our lead instructor said stay in place and the assistants would come around to us. Dive buddy and I got two out of three and watched the third instructor pass us by in the gloom. When we came back up at our apex and told the instructor he said he never saw us. That was just the start of my wonderful learning curve. Doin g the compass work for a higher cert off Trinidad head in water filled with wrack was another great experience. Probably a few more exercises in conditions not normal for "regular" certification classes. After a few more semesters/courses I got the Master cert.

Interesting anecdote, after the first semester, as a newbie, I went down to San Diego for a visit at Christmas break. Decided to try a dive boat adventure, went to a local shop, lady there said conditions were poor, water about 59F and "only" 15' vis. I said that's wonderful, she asked where I learned to dive if I thought those conditions were great.

Unfortunately, we moved to NW PA (see the above comments on Lake Erie) and I haven't been under with tanks since about '99.

As mentioned by another member, for me to go back under with bottles, I'd have to take a refresher course. For now, mask and snorkel only. Which was plenty on a vacation to the Big Island a few years back.

JJ, enjoy it out there with your wife and stay safe. You more than likely already know it, but reinforce it with your wife if she doesn't...... if something starts to "go south" DON"T PANIC!!

Geno

Going to Cozumel in August. Great reef there. Not reefer, although you can probably find it if you look.

Cozumel is beautiful. Stopped there for fuel and provisions while helping to deliver a couple yachts from Ft Lauderdale to the Panama Canal. I understand the diving is remarkable, though you can't collect anything.

All national preserve

This. Learn to relax. PADI open water certified around 1992. Haven't dived in years and would not go until I had some refresher desk work and a good bit of pool time. I'm sure there's new tech that I most certainly want to take advantage of. Our regular offshore fishing captain (28 years old) died last year on a spearfishing trip. Don't take diving lightly.

Make sure you ask em if they can get enough people together for a night dive.

Just like bein on land, you'll see stuff you never see during the day.

The only Great Whites around here are the Big Helga's frolicking in their beach skirts. They actually glow in the dark until that first summer sun turns them a little pink.

Just don't get caught between a Helga and a snow cone and you'll be safe.

OW in 2000, AOW 2001

I haven't dove in 3-4 years, but I'm looking to update some gear and go out soon.

Yep, night dives are great!!

just when I throw the goggles on and chase the old lady around.

Hey folks, here is an update on the progress of the missus and her dive certification.

Three tries in the open water test, first two cancelled middle of the dive testing due to insanely bad conditions. It was more like seal or coastguard training then a simple open water certification test. Nevertheless the third time was the charm for her.

She has now made 27 dives with me. Deepest 76 feet so far. Here is a link to some of the photo's we have taken. It's such a pleasure to be back in the water with my best friend sharing it with me! She is also pretty hardy diving in Puget Sound. 47-52 degree water for multiple dives per day. Can't wait to get her into a tropical high vis location with light weight equipment and 40-60 foot visibility compared to 4-8 feet here at times!

Click here for some of her photo's this year. These were taken with an Olympus TG-4 point and shoot camera. Although I have an external flash on it. It's pretty freaking dark in the sound at 50 feet deep or more.
https://goo.gl/photos/i6hu7wcxEAc5rBQbA

Not on paper but learned one summer at 14 from my old Naval Uncle.

Get out your billfold. My dive computer was $1000 but it's far better than having all the gear hanging off you.

What wetsuit are you diving? 5mil or 7mil ?

I love diving but am not ashamed that I am a warm water diver. If I need more than a 2-3 mil, it is to cold. If we were closer to the water, I might invest in a dry suit and a good set of undergarments.

We are going in Dec. There may be better places to dive but you just can't beat the cost and quality of diving in coz. July is our trip to Curacao. Not been there before but have been to Bonaire. Should be very similar..

I dove years ago in Nevis in the Caribbean. Was fortunate that I was the only one on the small charter that day, it was awesome! The dive captain said something that to this day still makes me laugh. We got to one dive site and he said "you will be diving to 65 feet here, if you want to go deeper then bring a shovel!"

Certified before PADI/NAUI were invented. One breath-2 laps under water at the base pool, no fins or mask. Ditch and don in 65' of brine. Classrooms and tests-1964 way of doing it.

WeimsnKs

7mm wetsuit, with another 7mm step in hooded vest. 14mm over the core. typically 2- 50-60 min dives back to back changing tanks. I have a dive computer on my wrist, and a consol with full gages on the regulator. Redundant info as well as the octopus for backup to OOA for another diver.

None of which existed in the 80's when I started diving!

PADI Open Water
2010

That is a lot of mm.

If you haven't, you need to tryout the air integrated computers. Screw in a transmitter at the first stage regulator and get rid of all the extra crap. Everything you need is on your wrist. I use a back up Scuba pro meridian computer as well just incase my main computer dies or locks up. That way I don't have to sit out any dives to lower my CNS02.

Are you diving nitrox?

I'm nitrox certified but my wife is not. So I have only used nitrox without her in a few dives. I don't go below 100 feet very often but I do spend time in the PP02 1.25 range so the nitrox is a benefit then.

Air integrated is nice but I'm good with my direct Hose connections. In the future it may happen? I'm very comfortable with the analog consol. Just a thought for me, I've never seen a single analog consol failure. I have however seen more than a couple air integrated computer malfunctions.

Diving gear is the same as the ford /chevy debate. No wrong no right just what you are comfortable with. Yes electronics can fail, that is why we use redundancy. I am a technology geek. I like gadgets.

Started diving with gear i found staxked next to a dumpster,was padi certified in the mid 80's.
met a girl whose father had been a hyperbaric welder in the 70's.he gave me the name of the diving school he went to in Texas.
i graduated from commercial divers school in feb. Of '88,three days later me and my used kirby morgan band mask were on a oil rig.
i had a 24 year career as a comm. Diver untill my legs were crushed by a steele beam under water in '09.retired ever since.

This time tomorrow, we will be landing in Curacao. Most likely will be wet by 4pm and have our second tank for a twilight dive. 15 boat dives and unlimited shore dives for the week. Life is good.

PADI Advanced Open Water certified in Okinawa back in 1978. Had over 150 dives while there. Left in 1981 and haven't been on a regulator since. I' m thinking of donating my gear to some museum.

PADI, since 92.... Out of homer ak and Kodiak for cuke's and urchins.... All dry suit diving... Some close calls with monster sized sea lions, salmon sharks and a pizzed off ouctapussy ...and running OUT of air at 83' ....man air is great ! My good times were spent in just a dry suit /snorkel/mask, floating the clear water rivers around fbks when the salmon are nesting...u float from hole to hole just watching from above! Good times indeed!

I dove a spot off the Shuster parkway down your way, they had dropped a lot of concrete pipe an stuff not far out in the sound, big azs shrimp glowing eyes and all !

JJHack texted me some great wreck dive photos. I hope he'll share them here.

I have dove some wrecks but an old ship is just an old ship to me and quality underwater photography equipment is pricey if not more so than above water equipment. I'm just as happy with my $40 spear and shooting lionfish for 3hrs a day. If you have never tried them, they are tasty.

Which resort?

and I checked all my messages, it appears you forgot to invite me.....

Grand Cayman's next spring.

We are staying at sunscape. We want to do Cayman Brac. That may be next year but it depends on where our dive club decides to go. They tend to go to Bonnaire every other year. Bonnair is nice and you can dive a lot but it is a lot of work as well.

pm sent.

What was the water temperature? I know the Sound is not warm!

Advanced PADI. Great Lakes diver tho - never seen a pretty fish.

I got PADI and NAUI certs about 20 years ago, but just never kept up with it. Did our open water qual dives in Whittier in dry suits. Cold water diving just doesn't turn my crank. We're going to Costa Rica for our 25th next spring. May have to take a refresher course, and enjoy some warm water diving.

Jeff

4 dives today, 58min, 59min, 60 And a 45min quickie to burn the rest of a tank. Water temp is a balmy 84 degrees. A 3mm was to much. Vis 100-150 ft. Lots of marine life. The reefs are in very good condition. Now I remember why work so hard.

My oldest boy and myself are Padi advance certified. Wife and daughter are open water certified. Next week-end youngest boy 11 years old will get open water certified. We go to Cayman in August for vacation.

Just a few pics of the dive trip. The diving was great. 22 dives in 5 days.The reefs are doing well. Not many big fish but lots of small life. More dang lionfish than you can shoot. They sure are tasty though. While we were in the water, the captain cleaned some of our catch and we had lionfish sushi. doesn't get any fresher than that. I did get stung once. that was a miserable two hours.













[img]https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/gallery/80/full/47786.jpg[/img]

Confession time, pangs of envy here.....You're killing me......

Cool to see you rockin that Luna!

Eel pic is epic. 4 footer?

First thought was you're diving with the octo! that yellow hose threw me!

I am since 1987, current level Advanced Scuba; oldest son (18 year old) is Advanced Scuba; Wife is open water, 15 year old daughter is open water and 11 son is open water.

Oldest son and I are working on our Rescue Diver cert

Cool pics WeimsnKs!

I was certified PADI when I was 17 but haven't done much diving since I was 18-19 years old. Might have to get recertified next time I'm in Maui.

The eel is probably at least 6ft. The pic doesn't do it justice.

If you blow up the pic, you can see the screen I dive. This is the full screen. If you don't care about all the info or your vision is iffy, you can go to the large font screen.

I normally dive a 3 mil but the water was to warm. I dove in a rash guard and shorts all week. Had to be careful on one dive. Fire coral was everywhere. That is not something you want to range with.

https://goo.gl/photos/i6hu7wcxEAc5rBQbA

Those pictures are from cold water diving, 49-52 deg 2' to 15 foot visibility. Around vancouver island the visibility is better 30-50 feet but still very cold diving.

"Cool" pics - What wreck was that?

Seriously, "Might"?

Hawaiian Rafting Adventures, super good people, very reasonable rates. HRA does a lot of dives in and around the underwater volcano formations just off Lanai. Spinner Dolphins swimming along side us was off the charts cool.

HRA

Now that you mention the yellow hose on the second stage,

it all makes sense.

When using the Air2 as your octo, you put the normal yellow octo hose on the second stage. A color coded heads up to your fellow divers..

Good idea.

I was scuba certified in 1990. Haven't been diving since then.

Nice photos. What camera/lens/strobe?

Canon Rebel T6i. I don't have info on all the rest of his equipment. We had a photographer join us on a couple of dives. The equipment and time it takes to get quality shots like these is more than I am interested in investing in. It cost us $70 for all ( 288) of our pics. I would rather spend my time shooting lionfish.