2 new NE WA divers

[Nwcid]

As it said we are 2 new divers living in NE WA. The GF and I are in our mid 30's and got our OW certs though http://www.atlantisaquatics.net/ in Spokane in October. I was on Scubaboards asking lots of questions and was suggested to sign up here too.

Outside of our class we have only been diving two days. The weekend after class we rented gear so we could go try out some of the things we had learned. We live about 5 miles from Lake Roosevelt so that is where we choose to go. The other reason was the outside air temp was about 40*. This way we were able to just throw our gear in the truck and change out of our wetsuits in the warm house.

The water temp was 53* so that was not too bad. We ran a tank of air on Saturday and again on Sunday. Max depth we went was 45'. We also practiced out navigation skills some. We had lots of fun.

The initial gear we bought before class was 7mm full suits with 7mm hooded jackets. 5mm boots and glove. Of course masks, snorkels and fins. For black friday we each got a set of the HOG D1 Regs. We have decided to with BP/W and bought 2 used sets. We have not been able to try any of the new gear yet (too cold here). We are in the process of buying steel HP 100's for each of us right now. Next we need to get some weights and the misc gear we need.

We do plan on doing local diving in the lakes around here just for fun, practice and just to be in the water. I know there is not a lot to see, but I dont see a reason not to. One of the big reasons for joining up on this form is to try to make some contacts in the Seattle area to maybe get a dive in every month or two during the winter. Also looking for experienced folks that can give us pointers.

Thanks for letting me join the group

[ljjames]

congrats on joining this crazy addiction! Didn't someone warn your family that it could be a ...problem and they should stage an immediate intervention?

all joking aside, my brother lives out in Spokane, and is also diver... and has been known to do a road trip to seattle once in a blue moon and dive with me I can put you in touch with him, or you are welcome to come dive with me as well! (he understands the benefit of a BP/W also)

[Jeff Pack]

for weights, check ebay (stargzr I think). There's a deal for 70pds of weights for 150$.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SOFT-SCUBA-DIVE ... 943wt_1358

[Nwcid]

Thanks for the replies. I look forward to doing some diving after the first of the year. Right now I am a "trainee" with ski patrol at http://www.ski49n.com/ but as a medic I am just challenging their course. I am getting ready to start teaching an EMT-B class that starts the second week of Jan and if things go right starting a new job. So once I narrow down my schedule a bit I will be adding diving in there too.

This is just one of my many addictions. I am the first in my family to get into diving so they have no idea.

As for weights I had planned on making my own after seeing the price of them. I can get 100 lbs of shot (2 of us) for about $80 and I just bought a commercial sewing machine so I can make a lot of little bags for the $70 difference. I am hoping to be at about $1/lb vs $2 +/lb.

[Willis]

Howdy.
I don't post here much, mostly just live vicariously through the beautiful pictures and neat dive reports from the west side.
As I live in Spokane, most of my diving is on the east side and in ID, which doesn't produce much for dive reports or pictures. I think the most active place you'll find for dive scheduling and the like is our local groups facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Inland-No ... l&filter=1
Not as much activity through the winter as you might expect, though we have some die-hards for sure.
I'm not diving much at the moment, especially since it's ski season. Things will probably pick up in the April/May time frame.
Until then, you're in good hands for any questions between this board and the folks on the facebook page there. Well, mostly good hands

[Nwcid]

Not going to happen this year but I have plans to buy a 24' enclosed tailer. I dont "camp" much but we do use the ATV's and do other outdoor activities quite a bit. So my plan is to use it for those times we do make overnight trips and better then staying in a tent and cheeper then a hotel.

One of my other thoughts for use is winter/bad weather diving since the water stays a decent temp long after the air temp is cold. You would just park close to your dive location and kick on the propane heater so the trailer stays warm. When you get out of the water there is plenty of room to drop and take care of your wet gear in warm comfort. Then change into your dry stuff and stay toasty the whole time.