New to the board

[seattlepaul1975]

Hello all...new to the board...got the link from TSandM on Scubaboard.com.

I have always wanted to do Scuba diving and my wife set us both up with certification class. We start next week and I can't wait.

We are doing a delayed honeymoon as well the end of Feb or start of March and considering Thailand or somewhere in that area of the world with a possible dive option during the trip. So any thoughts on that or advice would be great to hear.

Look forward to talking and hopefully meeting many of you on some dives after we have our cert!

[Mortuus]

Welcome! Whereabouts are you located? We have a number of weekly dives in various regions of the Sound, and they tend to be a good first step in getting out to meet divers

[seattlepaul1975]

Welcome! Whereabouts are you located? We have a number of weekly dives in various regions of the Sound, and they tend to be a good first step in getting out to meet divers

My wife and I are in Seattle...I was reading and saw the West Seattle dives...and am thinking I will do one after my cert is complete and hope to do more and more as time goes on.

[Mortuus]

Awesome! Hope to see you there one day

[Dusty2]

Welcome to the board guys and good luck with your certs. It awesome that you want to do this as a couple. Saves a lot of grief when you start buying gear and such and you have a built in dive buddy when you travel. We have several people on the board that have done the Thailand thing and just about any other destination you might come up with. Be aware if you are planning dive travel vacations that every dive destination has seasons and you need to talk to experienced people to find out what they are in the area you would like to go to. Even the tropical paradises have bad seasons for diving and you need to plan carefully lest you spend a week hold up in your hotel hoping for a break in the weather or good conditions for diving. Also a lot of these places have special underwater things to see that are only there at certain times of the year.

Welcome to the addiction and northwest diving

[BASSMAN]

Welcome Paul!
I hope you and you other half get a chance to come South and let me show you an easy South end site.
I enjoy showing new diver's Three Tree N., Redondo or Les Davis as they are usually not current sensitive and are always fun dives. You two are welcome to come join us on a Thursday South Sound dive. Keep us informed on how the training goes, it's always fun to read about what goes well and what things go not so well. The excitement of a new diver, always brings life to the board.

Keith.

[Tom Nic]

Welcome Paul!

Go for it with your certification, then dive dive dive!

The more you dive in our cold, green waters the better your warm water trip will be, both from a contrast point and your personal dive skills growth that will lead to confident, fun diving wherever you go!

[seattlepaul1975]

Thanks all for the greets and offers on dives for some rookies! We start tomorrow night and can't wait!

[seattlepaul1975]

First class was last night.....afraid to say it...but I think I can see how this becomes a serious addiction!

[LCF]

Hi, Paul! (I'm TSandM on SB). Welcome to the pleasure of breathing underwater -- it only gets better from here!

We are blessed, here in the Seattle area, with some of the best and easiest access shore diving anywhere. Yes, it's cold, but with the right exposure protection, you can be very comfortable while floating amidst some of the more interesting and dense marine life you'll ever find. And nobody lacks for dive buddies here!

Keep us posted on your class. I love to read about other people's fun discovering scuba.

[seattlepaul1975]

2nd night of pool work done! Mask clears all 3 done without issue.....my "gitters" from the first time doing them are gone and was even able to do the full mask remove and replace without issue...thought that was easier than half or full clear. Go figure! Excited to keep going and do our cert dives at the end of the month!

[LCF]

Congratulations! It feels good to get past those obstacles.

One hint: If you had problems with mask clearing, don't let your class be the last time you flood and clear a mask. Do it often, until you just plain don't care. That way, if you're in the middle of handling some other kind of problem and flood your mask, it won't add to your stress. I learned that one the hard way.

[seattlepaul1975]

I actually did a few just while in the pool so I could get used to the feel and also plan on doing them extra in the "real" water...as I know that the pool water is not going to be the same as the open water around here.....the cold will make it all different Thanks for the advice.

[Norris]

I enjoy reading your posts and remembering when I did it. To be honest it has been a few years now and diving is STILL very much a part of my life. Matter of fact some of us are heading up to Sitka Alaska for a few days of cccooolllddd water diving here in a couple weeks.

Its also cool that your wife is learning too. My wife has absolutely NO desire to learn to dive.

[seattlepaul1975]

Norris,
I have been watching the Alaska thread and wonder if one day I might wanna try that.....who knows.....will have to see how diving goes for me and if I do wind up wanting to go to that extreme.

[Norris]

Well if you do happen to get it going at that rate I am sure one of the trips may open for you. I have to say it is the epitamy of cold water diving but the nutrients and life up there remarkable.
I look forward to diving with you. I host a group called bubbles and suds and we dive on Wednesdays at either edmonds underwater park or Mukilteo T-dock. During this time of year they are night dives but this summer they will be sunlit. I encourage you to join us sometime.

[seattlepaul1975]

Norris,
I do plan on joining in the dives once I am done on certification. :-) Look forward to meeting up with many from the board....will be out the end of this month at both sites with Silent World doing my cert dives :-)

[seattlepaul1975]

1st Drysuit class is done. :-) :-) :-) Being dry is great!

[LCF]

Especially this time of year!

[seattlepaul1975]

3rd night done. Got to use dry suit again as well. Dry suit and buoyancy is pesky :-). One more class in the pool next Thursday than open water dives!!!!!

[LCF]

The keys to dry suit buoyancy are understanding what your position in the water does (if you are head up, you're likely to vent when you don't want to) and anticipating buoyancy changes, because the suit vents slower than a BC. But honestly, managing buoyancy in a dry suit in the top 15 feet of the water column (in other words, in the pool) is challenging!

[seattlepaul1975]

Thanks LCF.....I know it takes time to get it and am sure it will be a totally different monster when I am in the open water and not in the pool. It's a learning curve....but it is one that I am excited to take on!

[Gdog]

Good luck Paul. You are in the right place to meet folks who are ready to help you along. Welcome to the board

[seattlepaul1975]

Dry Suit Written Test - Passed
OpenWater Test - Passed
Cove2 Tomorrow - WOO!!!!
Edmunds Underwater park Sunday - WOOO!!!!
Boat Dives Next Sunday - WOO!!!

[Norris]

WTG!!!