i am certifiable!

[kat]

i saw starfish, aneneneneomies, i think a sculpin, possibly a perch, and a crab! we went to les davis, and i was very cold. lots of fun though, a bit scary when you cant see either the floor or buddy.
now i need to practice!

[selkie]

Congratulations Kat

[coachrenz]

Congrats. There are lots better sites than Les Davis. Come up and dive sometime.

[Dusty2]

Congrats Kat! Welcome to the insane asylum. Yep lots and lots of practice. And yes cold you will be til you get a dry suit. Just a fact of life in these parts.

Don't be afraid to come back up you'll find lots of people up here willing to help you practice and it will get easier.

[dwashbur]

Welcome Kat! Les Davis is a good spot, but for a new diver I'd suggest Redondo simply because of the guide ropes. And there's always something good to see at Redondo. Since you got cold I assume you're diving wet, so here's what we did before we got dry suits (just a few months ago, and my daughter still doesn't have one): go to a thrift store and find a 5-gallon thermos type jug, one that's reasonably well insulated. Fill it with bathtub-warm water and have some sort of plastic pitcher handy to scoop the water with. After the dive - and maybe before, opinions differ - just dip up a couple of pitchers of that warm/semi-hot water and dump it down your suit. Have your buddy dump some down the back of your suit if you're like me and your body doesn't bend that way any more You won't be cold for long. That's the beauty of this sport: there's always a way, you just have to find it.

And don't be afraid to ask about dive buddies/guides in the area. There's a truckload of good folks here ready, willing and able to go with you and help you get as much as you possibly can out of the diving experience. Tap into it with reckless abandon!

[kat]

we did the hot water trick, i just dont produce body heat. next time HANDWARMERS! brrrrr. very much looking forward to the next dive. wooooohoooooo

[ORDiver]

Congratulations! I'm in Portland and go up to the sound or out to the coast to dive quite often. I just got a dry suit so I hope to go a lot in the next couple of months. The hot water is a good idea. Also, some kind of heater and shelter (truck canopy/van) arrangement works well for the surface intervals if you have access to them.

[selkie]

I saw the gloves Kat used she was wearing 3mm gloves and her hands are still cold.

[no excuses]

I saw the gloves Kat used she was wearing 3mm gloves and her hands are still cold.

Sounds like she needs to step up to 5mm gloves. and a dry suit lol

[spatman]

we did the hot water trick, i just dont produce body heat. next time HANDWARMERS! brrrrr. very much looking forward to the next dive. wooooohoooooo

hot beverages during the surface interval, too.

congrats on the certification! welcome to the addiction.

[Tangfish]

Welcome to NWDC, Kat. I see you are practicing clearing your mask!

[kat]

i only used those 3mm for about 30 seconds. i had another pair of 5mm that i used for the dives.

i would like to add, i have cats. this means that any time i am in the bath i have always have someone watching. after all of my snorkel clearing etc, i got out, and no cats! can't remember the last time that happened.

next stop is costco for a case of handwarmers

[Aquanautchuck]

Congradulations Kat. I lasted only 25 dives in a wet suit. What really helped a lot and got a bunch of laughs was I would take my regular camping cooler full of hot water (remember it will cool in transport). Before each dive I would put my wet suit into it to prewarm it, then standing in the hot water get in my suit. And the plus side is that the material stretches a lot better when warm. Good luck diving and see you in the water.