I received my NAUI cert. in 1991. I got my PADI advanced in 1997 and my Dive Master in 2000. Just got back from diving Cullebra, a little island off of Puerto Rico. Pristine reefs, huge acro stands, just awesome. Some of the places I have dove include; most of South Florida, Florida Keys, Cayman Islands, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, USVI, St. Lucia, Cozumel, Cancun, and my all time favorite, The Red Sea. I live in S. Fla and try to dive at least once a month. If anyone lives down here and likes to dive, drop me an email.
Check in please: SCUBA divers
- Thread starter Stringztoo1
- Start date
Took NAUI certification through university in 1992...but it was in the mid atlantic. That cold water quarry diving is not for me, but you sure learn to dive under some stressful conditions! Horrible visibility, cold water wetsuits (and all the other divers wearing dry suits!), wrist mounted guages were too big for me, lobster claw gloves, rain, etc. Like the Bahamas and Florida much more!
I agree with galleon about NAUI certification. NAUI was used for my university course because there was a full semester of time to use to cover additional (valuable) skills and theory as mentioned. Some may consider NAUI to be too conservative in their training, but I don't think you can be too conservative when training divers, since fatal errors (which include many of our instincts) can be made in an instant. IMO It is rather risky to take new divers who are just learning on 4 dives a day, some of which were night dives. Obviously, some dive outfits have very low class size so there is a dive master clase at hand, go to shallow reefs, etc., making this sort of scenario a bit better. Many divers do just fine with this training. But I have also heard some horror stories about some of those outfits. Thankfully one of my friends was smart enough to realize that his few hours in the pool were not enough to do the proposed open water dives the outfit he went to offered. Use your instincts with a dive organization...if they seem too easy going, IMO avoid them. If you don't feel secure and comfortable with your skills, equipment, health, then don't dive with them. It is an adventure sport, and without proper training, preparation and good equipment, it can be deadly, even at shallow depths.
NAUI site: http://www.naui.org/index-side.html
PADI site: http://www.padi.com/
----------------------
Brittlestars!! http://home.att.net/~ophiuroid
----------------------
[ July 10, 2001: Message edited by: ophiuroid ]
I agree with galleon about NAUI certification. NAUI was used for my university course because there was a full semester of time to use to cover additional (valuable) skills and theory as mentioned. Some may consider NAUI to be too conservative in their training, but I don't think you can be too conservative when training divers, since fatal errors (which include many of our instincts) can be made in an instant. IMO It is rather risky to take new divers who are just learning on 4 dives a day, some of which were night dives. Obviously, some dive outfits have very low class size so there is a dive master clase at hand, go to shallow reefs, etc., making this sort of scenario a bit better. Many divers do just fine with this training. But I have also heard some horror stories about some of those outfits. Thankfully one of my friends was smart enough to realize that his few hours in the pool were not enough to do the proposed open water dives the outfit he went to offered. Use your instincts with a dive organization...if they seem too easy going, IMO avoid them. If you don't feel secure and comfortable with your skills, equipment, health, then don't dive with them. It is an adventure sport, and without proper training, preparation and good equipment, it can be deadly, even at shallow depths.
NAUI site: http://www.naui.org/index-side.html
PADI site: http://www.padi.com/
----------------------
Brittlestars!! http://home.att.net/~ophiuroid
----------------------
[ July 10, 2001: Message edited by: ophiuroid ]
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by billsreef:
<STRONG>Just got back from 2 weeks in Grand Cayman</STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Nice pics Bill,
What kind of set up were you using to get that type of shot in 60 feet of water and then that beautiful Macro shot of the shrimp. Was it the same camera?
<STRONG>Just got back from 2 weeks in Grand Cayman</STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Nice pics Bill,
What kind of set up were you using to get that type of shot in 60 feet of water and then that beautiful Macro shot of the shrimp. Was it the same camera?
jamesw, I've lived here in Florida all my life and worked for several of the area dive shops and boats. Over the years we have formed a group of about 20 hardcore dive addicts, so finding a buddy for diving is never a problem. At least once a month we all try to get together and we'll take over one of the local cattle boats
I currently free dive for fun and sometimes abalone off central CA coast, which is rocky and so very beautiful! (Okay, it's also a bit chilly.) Hope to do scuba certification in August, though I'll probably have a heart attack from the coolness of it, as I nearly do already even though I can only stay under for a minute or two at a time. Man, Bush had better not keep pushing to drill for oil in the Pacific.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Bomber:
<STRONG>Ah, the glamour of it all. The open sea, fresh salt air, and SCUBA!
All well and fine, until you have to do it, even when you don't want to.
</STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Jerel - I'm sure it's a rough life!
Dan
<STRONG>Ah, the glamour of it all. The open sea, fresh salt air, and SCUBA!
All well and fine, until you have to do it, even when you don't want to.
Jerel - I'm sure it's a rough life!
Dan
I've been scuba diving since right before Kennedy was shot. I guess that was 1963. My Father had a dive shop back then. I have lived my whole life mainly on the West coast of Florida and when I got out of High school I moved to Oahu, Hawaii and got into the tropical fish catching and shipping back to the states. I had helped my dad do that for years. I've been diving in Belize,Dominican Rep.,Mexico-Pacific and Atlantic,Most of the Bahamas and most of Florida. and of course Hawaii. I'm Going to the Keys in 5 days for a week for the opening of lobster season. The week after I come back, my family goes down with me to do it for another week. Weve already been to the Bahamas and the Keys this year, not to mention out of our shores. See ya! Steve
open water cert. by PADI in '96 at Grand Cayman--stingray city is cool. Rub a little squid essence on a buddy's dive suit (preferably crotch area before he puts it on) and let the fun begin. He'll have no idea why they won't stay away, and within 1 minute he will be physically accosted by 10-20 stingrays that won't stop getting personal until all the squid juice has gone. Please help him stay away from the morays who inhabit rock crevices...
Be sure to have your underwater film equipment ready for the first 5 minutes.<<<<<---
Be sure to have your underwater film equipment ready for the first 5 minutes.<<<<<---
Sponsor Reefs
We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.
Click here to sponsor $10:
