Scuba

[KrazyHorse]

I went on one of those intro "Discover Scuba" things while I was on vacation last week in Puerto Rico. Un****ingbelievable. It's definitely an experience I'd like to repeat.

I live in NYC, so the options for local diving are limited. However, I can certainly see myself diving twice during each vacation * 1-2 tropical vacations per year

Are there any experienced divers here? Is it worth it to get certified for this level of involvement? With 2-4 dives a year will my skills be good enough that I can manage to not be a hazard to myself or others? It's not that money is no object, but a few hundred/thousand dollars here or there doesn't matter that much. If it matters, I'm 31 and in better than average health. The only ill effect I had after the two dives was a mildly sore left ear for 5-6 hours. I felt quite comfortable down there. The deepest I got was probably 13 meters/40 feet or so.

[KrazyHorse]

I saw these things while diving:






as well as some beautiful coral reefs

[Al B. Sure!]

You like swimming with the fishes, do you?

[KrazyHorse]

Today, 01:08
Al B. Sure!

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Please don't spam another of my threads to death, you ****ing idiot.

[Dinner]

Lion fish are monsterous pests which are taking over the Caribbean.

[Egbert]

You like swimming with the fishes, do you?

Are you going to spam this thread to death?

[Egbert]

Lion fish are monsterous pests which are taking over the Caribbean.

Frightful thought, lion fish taking over the Caribbean.

[KrazyHorse]

Lion fish are monsterous pests which are taking over the Caribbean.

Perhaps, but they are pretty.

[Egbert]

Does anybody have a picture of a tin of spam for this thread?

[Aeson]

I like to snorkel here when I get the chance. Never been scuba though.

[SlowwHand]

Just out of curiosity, do you have negative or positive buoyancy?

[Berzerker]

My sister was into scuba, she'd spend her vacation time in the Caribbean and Down Under... But she got messed up on a dive, I think it was some pressure related issue with the inner ear and she had to stop diving. She got into photography while diving so she's got a nice visual record of her ex-hobby... Its something I'd like to try, albeit I have snorkeled in California.

[Jon Miller]

I know a lot of people who love scuba and do it when they can. I should try to improve my swimming so I can do it sometime.

Some of them do seem to do it a bit rarely. I don't know the numbers of dives per year.

The opportunity cost thing you have to evaluate yourself, I think.

Based on my memory of some of the scuba divers I know, there are perhaps things you can do as part of an exercise routine at a pool that will keep you in shape?

JM

[dannubis]

I went on one of those intro "Discover Scuba" things while I was on vacation last week in Puerto Rico. Un****ingbelievable. It's definitely an experience I'd like to repeat.

I live in NYC, so the options for local diving are limited. However, I can certainly see myself diving twice during each vacation * 1-2 tropical vacations per year

Are there any experienced divers here? Is it worth it to get certified for this level of involvement? With 2-4 dives a year will my skills be good enough that I can manage to not be a hazard to myself or others? It's not that money is no object, but a few hundred/thousand dollars here or there doesn't matter that much. If it matters, I'm 31 and in better than average health. The only ill effect I had after the two dives was a mildly sore left ear for 5-6 hours. I felt quite comfortable down there. The deepest I got was probably 13 meters/40 feet or so.

(1) Diving certificate

In general I would strongly suggest you to get the basic certificate: knowing why certain things happen to you when you are diving is very helpfull because it places you in a position of understanding (which is in my opinion the first step in avoiding panic which will kill you down there)

Also, guides tend to take more advanced divers to better (more difficult) diving sites.

(2) Skills

2-3 times a year will not get you acclimatized to Nitrogen narcosis. So don't go too deep, listen to the instructor and you will be fine. As with everything, safe scuba diving is staying inside your comfort zone. If you want to learn / do new things, always take someone with you who has experience in a similar type of situation (a no brainer really).

(3) Health

Anybody of your age will be able to scuba dive, especially at low depts (above 30 meters). If you want to go deeper and are not fit you need to adjust your decompression profile. The sore in your leg is most likely because they gave you too much lead and you strained your muscle.

Congrats on your newfound love. It is an intoxicating one.

[dannubis]

Lion fish are monsterous pests which are taking over the Caribbean.

They are obnoxious as hell on night dives too. Have 50 in front of your lamp is fun for 5 seconds but then they get in the way of what you want to see.