Northwest Dive Club

My wife dove her new (to her, Craigslist special!) drysuit at Fox Island West Wall today. We stayed shallow just to get her used to it and do some drysuit skills. She really enjoyed being warm and (mostly) dry. Her neck seal has been previously cut and will most likely need to be replaced before to ...

I was certified in April and have about 20 dives now (should have more, I love this hobby!) so this is my opinion. Do not buy anything until after you are certified. I would then look at getting a good drysuit as one of the first purchases. This is a big purchase and one that will make the biggest d...

Nice report. West Wall is a great dive and my wife and I have been there a couple of times. If you have a light, you should see a GPO every time. We have also missed the the wall on the first try, but have always found it the second try. Nice and quite on the weekdays too. Sometimes the current can ...

Just saw this post. Count me in for 2 shirts, 1 medium and 1 large. Surprise me on the colors! Thanks, Bob.

Thanks for all the reply's, great info! It sounds like the DUI weight and trim harness is very popular. I have done my research and think that I will go that direction. There are 2 styles, a classic and II. Not sure if one is better than the other. I will post a review after my first dive with it, h...

Well I didn't think to ask for advice on the local malt beverages but now I'm interested, please tell me more. We have been considering Placencia, Bob, as it looks like the trips to the Mayan villages and ruins might be easier for the nondivers. How was the diving you experienced? The diving in Pla...

I have the DSS backplate with the weight plates, and something like 9lbs of lead in a dui weight harness. The weight harness is really nice-the weights are ditchable, and it rides low on my hips. I think that the weight plates that Tobin sells are the best way to add non-ditchable weight. understan...

I am diving a steel Transplate with the deluxe harness. While diving wet, I wear a 20 lb weight belt and it works well. Trims out very nice. The one thing that I don't like about wearing the weight belt is that it interferes with waist belt for the plate. I end up putting it above the weight belt, a...

My wife and I just returned from Belize. We stayed down South in Placencia and dove with Seahorse Dive Shop. They do a lot of Whale Shark tours which you see from their web site. They are a great shop and we would definitely dive with them again. The problem with Placencia is that it is about an hou...

I have an Oxycheq Mark V wing that has built in roll control, no sta is required. It is a very low drag wing and works well. Bob

My favorite dive buddy (my wife!) and I went for our first dive in the cold water since our return from Belize a few weeks ago. We heard that the viz might not be too bad so we were hoping for almost "Belize-like" conditions! After our dive brief and donning of gear, we headed into the nic...

USAF from 86-90. Stationed for 2 yrs. at Clark Air Base in the Philippines and never went diving. I still have a hard time believing that I passed up such an amazing opportunity!

i will buy a Canon Underwater housing for the 570. The plan is to just kep things simple and experiment with different settings. I am sure that there will be lot's of questions after the first dive with the camera. Congrats Bob, You should be happy with your new toy. It's a good sound camera with be...

Lot's of great camera info. I deceided to go simple for my first underwater camera and housing. I just purchased a Canon A570 is. This camera has a good selection of manual controls and should be a good choice to learn with. There are some good closeout deals to be had now with this camera. Bob

I am looking for a new digital camera that will work well both in and out of the water. I have always been a Canon fan but will consider all. The current short list is the SD870 IS, the SD950 IS and the A720 IS. I have owned 2 PowerShots in the past. The last one was the A540 with mixed results (nev...

My wife and I are off to Belize at the end of July. We are staying in Placencia and will most likely do our diving with Splash Dive Shop. This will be our first time to Belize. Any recommended dive locations around Placencia. Thanks, Bob

spatman wrote:well, i did it! i ordered a DSS bp/w rig last week and it arrived a couple days ago. it's all set it up and i just need some sage advice when adjusting it, which will happen when i dive it tomorrow!

i'll let you all know how it goes!

Did you get that dive in with the new rig?

Why your requirement to be sealed? Are you planning on ice diving or something? I guess that I should have added what my diving MAY be, as I am so new to the sport. Primarily diving the sound. Would like to dive Northern Vancouver Island looks like a lot of fun, trips to Bleize!!, and maybe a lake ...

I am now in the process of researching to buy my first regulator. I like the Atomic Z2 but am now having second thoughts because of the need to environmentally seal the first stage. The Sherwood Maximus reg seems to have good reviews and the first stage is sealed. What other regs have sealed first s...

I just read that the US has the 3rd largest oil reserves in the world. What we need to do is begin drilling, if we pump our own oil the arabs will have no choice but to lower prices. I grew up on the edge of a very large oil field in Montana called the Williston basin. There is a very high producin...

I saw at least one NW Dive Club T-shirt at the dive show and tried to go up and say Hi, but either I or the person wearing the shirt was busy talking! Where/when can I buy a shirt? Bob

My wife and I had a great time at the show. The turnout seemed to be great and hopefully next year will be even better. For a first year show, I think it got off to a great start.

I have been watching this post with a lot if interest as my wife and I are new divers and would like to buy our own gear. Being DINKS, we could scrape up enough scuba units to purchase descent gear now. I have always been a little on the "frugal" side (wife laughing in background) and it i...

You don't even have to go to even 10% of the way to California, just over to Bremerton. Yes there are 3 carriers and a ton of other ships over there. Cause duh, it is a Naval shipyard. Including CV-41, "Midway". I can't figure out which on she is from this angle... http://i199.photobucket...

WOW! Great pictures!