Science diver* transplant looking to find community and keep up my diving experience

[freneticmango]

Hi all! I'm a marine science PhD dropout. I have had rescue and AAUS scientific dive training but have since left my institution (UCSD) in around May of last year and moved to Portland. The experience taught me academia is not for me, but diving absolutely is! I miss it very much, and would like to keep up my experience and find community here in the PNW. Grateful to have finally found this forum and looking forward to getting to know y'all in the new year.

[60south]

Welcome! What kind of marine science were you into?

[Tangfish]

Welcome to NWDC! Glad you found your passion even if there was a wrong turn toward academia along the way. Better to realize it before going even further in that direction!

You’ll find many divers here but what’s probably the best is to jump in on a weekly dive in the South Sound sometime. ScubaJess, Yellow Eye and others get together regularly at a dive site called Redondo which is probably about a 2 hour drive from Portland. It’s a bit of a haul. You could also try Hood Canal.

It’s best to link up with someone who’s familiar with a dive site, but if not there are detailed dive site listings here on the board.

Welcome!

[freneticmango]

Thanks for the warm welcome! I am a physical chemist turned ocean scientist, my research was centered around kelp forests and the study of viscosity in the water column using viscosity sensitive dye. Happy to give more detail if anybody wants to be bored to sleep.

I would love to link up for a dive! I know zero about the area, I am originally from Texas. I will be hunting around the boards looking for buddies and dives. Hope everyone is staying safe in the snowpocalypse!

[Norris]

Welcome! Hope to see you at some dives.

[ScubaJess]

Welcome to the PNW! It would be great to dive sometime. Do you have a drysuit? If not I highly recommend a drysuit and drysuit class. It will make diving year-round a lot of fun!
I hope we can dive together soon

[freneticmango]

Thanks for the advice! I don't have a dry suit unfortunately, most of my dives have been in SoCal where my 8 mm was sufficient. Do you have any recommendations for cost effective ways to get my hands on one? I'm not working at the moment (work opportunities and ideas welcome!!) so cost will be a factor, but I'm very flexible as far as scheduling!

[60south]

I don't have a dry suit unfortunately, most of my dives have been in SoCal where my 8 mm was sufficient. Do you have any recommendations for cost effective ways to get my hands on one?

https://seaskin.co.uk/

Have someone help measure you. I recommend the membrane rather than the neoprene suits, quality seems to be higher. Lead time after the order is submitted is sometimes ~8-12 weeks. I recently ordered a simple, nice custom drysuit from them for about $900, which sounds like a lot but is actually super cheap.

Oh, and take a drysuit class like ScubaJess suggests. It's a whole different buoyancy challenge. That, a hood, gloves, and a fluffy undergarment (Weezle Extreme?) will keep you diving happy all year 'round.

[60south]

Bonus: I stumbled on this the other day-- the most screaming deal for soft weights I've ever found! Less than $1/pound. Holy smokes, am I reading this right? Soft weights are usually $5 a pound or more. (Might be a mistake, grab it fast.)

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Soft-Weight- ... om=/search

[freneticmango]

Oh wow this is very cheap for a dry suit and weights!! Thanks for the heads up!!

[Tangfish]

Bonus: I stumbled on this the other day-- the most screaming deal for soft weights I've ever found! Less than $1/pound. Holy smokes, am I reading this right? Soft weights are usually $5 a pound or more. (Might be a mistake, grab it fast.)

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Soft-Weight- ... om=/search

What a deal, thank you I grabbed some!

[Norris]

Bonus: I stumbled on this the other day-- the most screaming deal for soft weights I've ever found! Less than $1/pound. Holy smokes, am I reading this right? Soft weights are usually $5 a pound or more. (Might be a mistake, grab it fast.)

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Soft-Weight- ... om=/search

AND FREE SHIPPING?!?!?!

wow

[Rockfish]

I have a Diving Concepts "crushed" neoprene drysuit that I am looking to sell. It has Viking dry glove rings attached and I have drygloves that I will send with the suit.

Send me a PM with your size and we'll see if it will work for you.

Mike

[ktuli]

Pretty sure you're not going to get all 5 weights with that Walmart link... if you look on the direct website for the seller, $13.50 corresponds to a single 2lb soft weight...

But if you do, definitely post here so we can all load up on weights!

[Greg Jensen]

yeah, if you read the disclaimer it says it isn't necessarily showing the actual item. Extremely misleading.

[Tangfish]

Ouch, mine showed up and indeed it was only the green weight!

[Norris]

yeah someone from B+S ordered, they are returning