Scuba Diving

[ALawicki]

Is anyone on here interested in scuba? I am thinking of going on a dive trip with my instructor to Key Largo, but I wanted to know how nice it is there. It would be right when Lobster season starts, so we would get to catch our own lobster and then they cook it for us that night! I know it is rather expensive, but I wanted to know if it is like diving in Hawaii and around a really nice reef or if it is more like diving in Florida lakes and freshwater dives. What types of fish you see and such. It is for my check out dive to be a Dive and Rescue diver and my Nitrox checkout dive. After those checkout dives and a few other classes I will be going for my Master Diver's certification! So hopefully in about 3 years from now I will be certified to be an instructor and be set to get my close friends certified and go to work for a dive company!! That would be the best thing to do! I love to dive and I love marine life. Hopefully I am not the only one on here that loves all of this. It is amazing and if you have never done it I really suggest you do it. You can Snuba if you are not certified to dive, which is a line attached to the boat, even though its not as much fun.

[SSIAnkie]

I don't know anything about diving, but my daughter and her boyfriend are going in June to Crystal River, FL. They have never done it before, and they teach them there. Then they get to dive. She is excited!

[ALawicki]

Originally Posted by SSIAnkie

I don't know anything about diving, but my daughter and her boyfriend are going in June to Crystal River, FL. They have never done it before, and they teach them there. Then they get to dive. She is excited!

I went on that dive about 2 years ago. They will LOVE it. It is a rather relaxing dive. It was one of my checkout dives for my Advanced Open Water Certification. They might get lucky and see some otters! I didn't get to see any. One of the groups with us, their boat sank while they were driving them up the river to the drop spot to start the dive. It was pretty funny. No one got hurt of course, but it was SO funny! She will love it. Tell her to go to Wal-mart or somewhere and get one of those cheap underwater cameras to take with her. She will see some cool fish. Also if she goes to the bottom and digs in the sand, the fish will get RIGHT by your hand waiting for little things to come out of the sand. We tried to catch them for so long, but they were just way to fast.

[SSIAnkie]

Gosh....thanks so much for the info! I hadn't thought of an underwater camera, I don't think she has either. I will tell her about this story. That is too funny about the sinking boat. LOL Do you have any suggestions about where she should stay?

[ALawicki]

Originally Posted by SSIAnkie

Gosh....thanks so much for the info! I hadn't thought of an underwater camera, I don't think she has either. I will tell her about this story. That is too funny about the sinking boat. LOL Do you have any suggestions about where she should stay?

We stayed in a motel that was probably 20 minutes away. That was one of many dives we did as we were there for a week doing atleast 2 dives a day. I think there are a few campsites not to far from there that she can stay at for cheap if she doesn't mind camping. Also tell her to make sure and pack some nasal spray just in case. If she has trouble popping her ears, the nasal spray will help with that. The first few times she goes on dives she will forget things and be somewhat overwhelmed, but after about 4 or 5 she will be a pro at it. She just has to remember to relax and not freak out underwater. Just take long, slow breathes. She will love it. It will be her new favorite thing to do!

[GeorgiaMom]

A group of my hubby's friends all dive. They are all on the rescue dive team here and they go down to Key Largo every year for vacation. I don't know much about what the diving is like, but it must be pretty nice for them to keep going year after year. If I wasn't so darn claustrophobic we would go with them, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.

[SSIAnkie]

Thanks for the info....I have printed it out to give her.

[ALawicki]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaMom

A group of my hubby's friends all dive. They are all on the rescue dive team here and they go down to Key Largo every year for vacation. I don't know much about what the diving is like, but it must be pretty nice for them to keep going year after year. If I wasn't so darn claustrophobic we would go with them, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.

It really is not that bad. You should just try it once, and if you like it then you could try a longer dive. When you are under the water with all the fish, it is like you are in a completely different world. You probably just would not like cave dives or dives where you go in different sunken objects. If you were just doing a dive in the ocean or lake, you would probably like it. It is a really good way to get rid of stress. It is just so peaceful. I am rather excited to go, but I know it is going to be super expensive, so I have to start saving now. My dive instructor is on the dive and rescue team here, he said its fun but when they have to recover cars that were put in the lake its sad cause alot of times there are kids in the car. I don't know if I will try to be on a team cause I would not be able to handle that, but it will be nice to have the certification just incase I change my mind.

[momsangel]

my dh is actually doing his dive certification right now for the next two weeks...He is excited and enjoys it......He will be on the dive& rescue team once he gets done!

I would love to do it one of these days,myself.I love the ocean

[ALawicki]

Originally Posted by momsangel

my dh is actually doing his dive certification right now for the next two weeks...He is excited and enjoys it......He will be on the dive& rescue team once he gets done!

I would love to do it one of these days,myself.I love the ocean

Ya, it is the one thing I could do for the rest of my life. I LOVE it. I was a marine biology major, but with the way the economy is, it is next to impossible to get into research let alone get money from the government for it. I wish they would give out the money because they have found a few things in coral that are very helpful to the human body and said that the cure for cancer could be found in something in the ocean. The government just thinks it is more important to give the money to things that we really don't need to live. But if you love the ocean, you will be in heaven when you dive. I would live underwater if I could.