OT: Anyone In To Scuba?

CTMike · February 14

Took my original cert class back in 1978 in the Puget Sound area at the age of 16. Paid for that and my gear with money earned from washing dishes at a Chinese restaurant.

SWMBO and I are headed to Hawaii on 25Feb, so I am in the process of redoing my open water certification.

I’m doing this so that I can do the night time manta ray dive at Kona:

https://youtu.be/yhtx3b5X3oc?si=b6FzshPvPi78YL63

The lights attract phytoplankton which then attracts the rays.

I eventually plan to complete AOW and EANx certs.

So from you seasoned pros, I’m looking for recs on regulator, BCD, and computer.

alaskanassasin · February 14

@DuckDogDr but he hasn’t posted in a while.

fishlessman · February 14

too long ago for me to recommend equipment and most of my dives were in the winter off the coast of maine. sounds like a great dive experience

Foghorn · February 14

I am similarly no help. I've logged over 100 dives but I've always used rental gear. I have my own mask, snorkel, and fins from the 1990's and some tanks that were given to me by a buddy who was moving and had no more use for them...

stlcharcoal · February 14

I've done the manta ray dive in Kona and it's incredible. They're like big underwater cats--very curious and love to rub against you. Since it's dark and you're not moving, you'll get cold quick. Wear a thicker wet suit than usual and a hood. You'll also want to have more weight than normal to help you sit on the bottom, because if you're buoyant, it's you'll be floating around. If you have a reef hook, take that along. (One other note, if you have life insurance you are applying for or you are renewing, do NOT mention you night dive!!)

I also did a few other dives in Kona. Oahu's Shark Cove lava tubes on the north side was even better. There are some lava tubes in Kona, but they're not shore dives like on Oahu. Looking forward and diving the crater south of Maui next time.

I'm a master diver (with rescue, dry suit, EAN, mine, deep ratings). I normally dive in a 58F billion gallon old lead mine in southern MO in a dry suit with a bunch of tech gear. For Hawaii and travelling, I have a lightweight Mares Magellan BCD. Then my reg is an Atomic T2 titanium piston with a D2 transmitter. This is a really expensive rig, so it makes me very nervous to travel with--that being said, it would make me 10x more nervous to dive with someone else's stuff.

For a computer, I use a Garmin Descent Mk3i. They just came out with a new big screen computer, but unless your doing some really technical stuff, or are monitoring your family or students' tanks, it's kind of overkill. If you're only doing the manta ray dive, you really don't need a computer. If you're going to be doing some other dives, Garmins are great computers and really cool because you can use them for other activities. I wear my Mk3i when I go skiing and mountain biking (it shows all the trails and connects with the speed and cadence sensors on the bike). It also has all the golf functions, HRM compatibility, and pretty much everything else that a Fenix 8 has. I've been using Garmin stuff since they released their first aviation GPSs in the early 90s--the connectivity of all their products is really impressive whether it's in the cockpit or recreation. I'm a dealer for them, so give me a shout if you want a good deal on any of their products.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/3z/uuvmybcvmmo4.jpeg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/j7/7k57na1w58fs.jpg

RRP · February 14

Very impressive Jonathan! BTW I'm curious where is that old lead mine in southern MO? Bonne Terre I assume? My wife inherited some worthless mineral rights near there that are now under a shopping center and 4 farms.

stlcharcoal · February 15

RRP said:

Very impressive Jonathan! BTW I'm curious where is that old lead mine in southern MO? Bonne Terre I assume? My wife inherited some worthless mineral rights near there that are now under a shopping center and 4 farms.

Yep! That's the one. They were done with it and sold it in the late 70 / early 80s to the current owner. Incidentally, if you ever make it to Bonne Terre, there is an amazing space museum right around the corner from the mine. It's pretty much the collections of all the retired McDonnell Douglas guys in STL, plus some stuff they got donated. Very impressive museum for middle of nowhere Missouri.

CTMike · February 15

Jonathan,

Thanks for the intel, I appreciate it. I plan to get me AOW and EANx certs to allow for deeper dives, longer bottom time, and reduced surface interval. At
my age I don't see the need to go any further. I will likely get a dry suit at some point to better enjoy diving here in New England.

I appreciate the information on the other dive sites on the Big Island to check out, but that will have to wait for another trip. The day after the Manta dive we are going up in elevation to do volcano related stuff.

lousubcap · February 15

Let the record show-this place has such a broad spectrum of knowledge and skills and always willing to share.
Toss a question out here and you will get expert advice.
Happy Friday!

stlcharcoal · February 15

CTMike said:

Jonathan,

Thanks for the intel, I appreciate it. I plan to get me AOW and EANx certs to allow for deeper dives, longer bottom time, and reduced surface interval. At
my age I don't see the need to go any further. I will likely get a dry suit at some point to better enjoy diving here in New England.

I appreciate the information on the other dive sites on the Big Island to check out, but that will have to wait for another trip. The day after the Manta dive we are going up in elevation to do volcano related stuff.

Nitrox actually reduces your max depth because of the oxygen toxicity. You'll test the O2 level, then figure out what your max depth is and plug it into your computer. I try to get the exact mix for certain wreck dives in the Keys because I don't want to miss out on certain rooms in the ship because I'm on nitrox vs air.

With nitrox you get more bottom time, reduced surface intervals, and more repetitive dives though. Plus, you generally feel better at the end of the day.....not so tired. That's why I almost always dive with it if available, even if going shallow.

Don't worry too much about the mountains, you're only down about 30 feet with the Manta rays. An overnight will be fine. Volcano was really cool, especially the lava tubes....go there first while you can get parking. Drive down to the coast to the lava cliffs in the park (was closed this summer though). Take the hike out to the green sand beach down by the southern most point south of kona if you have time. Black sand beach wasn't worth it. The waterfalls north of Hilo were pretty incredible.

Back on scuba......

Funny story, when I did my deep dive cert in the mine, then took me down to 80 feet and had me do this baby's game when you have to put the shapes through the holes in the box. Took me 30 seconds, then we went down to 110, and it still took me about 30-40 seconds to get the 8 shapes in the 8 different holes. So as we descended another 20 feet to 130 I was kinda laughing, because it can go from 12000 ft to 14000 ft in my plane and not have any issues, so what's 20 ft? Yeah ..... After 2 minutes of trying to cram the oval in to the circle and vice versa they made their point and we moved onto other tasks. 20 ft means a world of difference when it comes to nitrosis.

alaskanassasin · February 15

Interesting thread! I know nothing about diving thanks for sharing you guys

CTMike · February 15

Jonathan,

I'm actually doing the twilight reef dive prior
to the mantas.

When I mentioned the reasons why I wanted to do the additional certs, I meant that the AOW would allow me to go deeper than the 60' limit imposed on the OWD cert. I want the nitrox cert for reduced surface interval and increased bottom time.

Thanks again for the tips.

Sea2Ski · February 15

I have been in the water a few times. I have multiple certs including Search and Recovery, Rescue, EAN, Deep diver, cavern and self reliant. Going for my drysuit cert this spring.

Unless you plan to really get into it, take your refresher, then EAN as you said. Get your advanced open water - but that may be before EAN - can’t remember. At that point you are set for 99% of the dives you will probably do

Gear:

If you are doing it all for just this one incredible dive you will remember forever, just rent. It is much cheaper and it is a safe and relatively easy dive.

If you are going to get all back into it, I would buy your stage 1 and 2 regs, then a computer. Easy to travel with. Know these pieces of equipment inside and out. Integrated air is great but not necessary. I have it and love it but I also have an analog gauge as a backup. Once you get into it more, then get your BCD and other things. I travel a lot. I dive a lot. Many times I will only bring my regs, computer, mask and fins, and I always bring a dive light too. ( @stlcharcoal are you an Orca rep? ) I will rent everything else unless I am doing something more technical or it is a dedicated dive trip when I will do 15+ dives in a week

Most gear is really good for the recreational diver. Just be familiar with it and keep it serviced and it will serve you well. There are a ton of options at low price points and a ton of options at high price points and everything in between. It really depends on what you are planning on doing in the future to make the right call. Just remember that SCUBA equipment are all part of a life support system, but that system is dependent on your training and familiarity.

Have a wonderful and safe trip. I know you will…

stlcharcoal · February 15

Sea2Ski said:

( @stlcharcoal are you an Orca rep? )

No, just Garmin.

fishlessman · February 15

CTMike said:

Jonathan,

Thanks for the intel, I appreciate it. I plan to get me AOW and EANx certs to allow for deeper dives, longer bottom time, and reduced surface interval. At
my age I don't see the need to go any further. I will likely get a dry suit at some point to better enjoy diving here in New England.

I appreciate the information on the other dive sites on the Big Island to check out, but that will have to wait for another trip. The day after the Manta dive we are going up in elevation to do volcano related stuff.

Have done the dry suit a few times, don't like the bouyance. Like a thick wet suit better up here, even in the winter, you see thru the water better in the winter months

stlcharcoal · February 16

Dry suits can get you in trouble with the balloon of air going all the way to your feet if you get upside down. You can also get into "dry suit squeeze" if youre not inflating as descending. Lot to learn with them, but if you can figure your minimum weight for buoyancy with the proper trim in your BCD then there's a lot less worry because you'll have a minimum amount of air in the suit to offset. I really like my dui suit with the gloves and boots that are built in.

JohnInCarolina · February 16

stlcharcoal said:

Dry suits can get you in trouble with the balloon of air going all the way to your feet if you get upside down. You can also get into "dry suit squeeze" if youre not inflating as descending. Lot to learn with them, but if you can figure your minimum weight for buoyancy with the proper trim in your BCD then there's a lot less worry because you'll have a minimum amount of air in the suit to offset. I really like my dui suit with the gloves and boots that are built in.

That dry suit squeeze reminds me of this horror story of a young woman (early 20’s) who was literally crushed by her suit. I don’t remember the details but she rented the suit from some sketchy people running the dive and something was either broken or malfunctioning. Doesn’t take much at reasonable depths for things to go sideways fast.

stlcharcoal · February 16

JohnInCarolina said:

show previous quotes

stlcharcoal said:

Dry suits can get you in trouble with the balloon of air going all the way to your feet if you get upside down. You can also get into "dry suit squeeze" if youre not inflating as descending. Lot to learn with them, but if you can figure your minimum weight for buoyancy with the proper trim in your BCD then there's a lot less worry because you'll have a minimum amount of air in the suit to offset. I really like my dui suit with the gloves and boots that are built in.

That dry suit squeeze reminds me of this horror story of a young woman (early 20’s) who was literally crushed by her suit. I don’t remember the details but she rented the suit from some sketchy people running the dive and something was either broken or malfunctioning. Doesn’t take much at reasonable depths for things to go sideways fast.

I remember reading about that. I don't think she had a way to power inflate the suit and was going to use her BCD for buoyancy. But if the suit is too big for you or you're going deep, the suit can squeeze the hell out of you, pinching or locking up your movement. Last resort, if you can't inflate or the power inflator gets stuck, pull the zipper or neck seal, or use your dive knife to cut the suit.

JohnInCarolina · February 16

stlcharcoal said:

show previous quotes

JohnInCarolina said:

stlcharcoal said:

Dry suits can get you in trouble with the balloon of air going all the way to your feet if you get upside down. You can also get into "dry suit squeeze" if youre not inflating as descending. Lot to learn with them, but if you can figure your minimum weight for buoyancy with the proper trim in your BCD then there's a lot less worry because you'll have a minimum amount of air in the suit to offset. I really like my dui suit with the gloves and boots that are built in.

That dry suit squeeze reminds me of this horror story of a young woman (early 20’s) who was literally crushed by her suit. I don’t remember the details but she rented the suit from some sketchy people running the dive and something was either broken or malfunctioning. Doesn’t take much at reasonable depths for things to go sideways fast.

I remember reading about that. I don't think she had a way to power inflate the suit and was going to use her BCD for buoyancy. But if the suit is too big for you or you're going deep, the suit can squeeze the hell out of you, pinching or locking up your movement. Last resort, if you can't inflate or the power inflator gets stuck, pull the zipper or neck seal, or use your dive knife to cut the suit.

Here’s the wikipedia summary for those interested:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Linnea_Mills

Brutal.

stlcharcoal · February 16

WHOA......that's more of a story than I remember. 44 Lbs?!?!?!? That is a ridiculous amount of weight, especially that's not easily releasable. For comparison, I use 24 Lbs with my dry suit.

JohnInCarolina · February 16

stlcharcoal said:

WHOA......that's more of a story than I remember. 44 Lbs?!?!?!? That is a ridiculous amount of weight, especially that's not easily releasable. For comparison, I use 24 Lbs with my dry suit.

Yeah it was essentially one mistake after another by the dive instructors. To me it's a crime the lead one (Snow) wasn't jailed.

xfire_ATX · February 17

Got my Cert in 1983 under a YMCA program. Dove on this Cert for 20 years and maybe 40 dives. In CZM one summer the Dive Master offered to upgrade my Cert to PADI so I went ahead and did it, logged another 40 or so dives since.

TX Lakes, Cancun, Bahamas, HI, DR but mostly CZM for my dives. I only own my mask at this point no point in owning all the gear for once a year dives. I do take my GoPro Hero+ (8-10 years old) as my camera. I have filters for different depths and the floating handle.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/kz/qh9vjmqfy7i8.jpg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/t9/3nkhvl3c1zxv.jpg

Been looking for a Lionfish for years, first one spotted in the wild

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/ve/q76kkngt72iu.jpg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/7b/eo7o4lp6tyws.jpg

CTMike · February 17

stlcharcoal said:

WHOA......that's more of a story than I remember. 44 Lbs?!?!?!? That is a ridiculous amount of weight, especially that's not easily releasable. For comparison, I use 24 Lbs with my dry suit.

What a horrific chain of events that led to this young woman’s death. How criminal charges were not filed is beyond me.

CTMike · February 17

@xfire_atx,

What set of filters are you using for your GoPro. I am bringing two for the manta ray dive.

xfire_ATX · February 18

CTMike said:

@xfire_atx,

What set of filters are you using for your GoPro. I am bringing two for the manta ray dive.

I have these https://www.sandmarc.com/products/gopro-filter-hero-7-6-5-super-suit

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