What to take to warm water?

[smike]

OK - what equipment do I take with me to Florida and Cancun? 6 dives planned, and some snorkeling with the family too.

Reg set -yep.
BCD - yep.

Fins ?
Mask & snorkel ?

Anything else?

What would you take with you - this is my first warm water, don't know what to expect.

S'Mike

[Sounder]

Definitely take your hood... those "brain freezes" can be a killer. (kidding)

You'll want your mask, fins, etc too... everything you need here, minus the drysuit. Tanks and weights will be available from a shop or charter service. Snorkel is optional, but a lot of people who dive with them here will take them along. If you dive a computer, you'll want that.

If you don't own a wetsuit, most shops and charters have them for rent. If you forget anything, they'll no doubt have stuff to sell or rent.

If you really want to be styling, you'll dive a SCAP. http://www.thescap.com - I was actually quite impressed with mine in Bonaire... kept me warmer and more comfortable - it was "just enough."

[spatman]

i would take everything that i could comfortably pack and schlep around. well, everything except my drysuit, tanks, hood, gloves and weights, of course.

if i had to weed things out, i would leave my primary light and shorty wetsuit at home, and use my backup light and rent an exposure suit, if needed. if i still needed to pair down, the last things to go would be my regs and BC. life support, y'know.

have a great time and tell us all about it when you get back!

[LCF]

If you are doing any boat diving, you might consider some safety gear like a small mirror, a Dive Alert, and an SMB and spool. One of the scariest things that happens to people is drifting away from the boat and not being able to let them know where you are. Florida has some currents, too. I always carry the named things for boat diving (even here at home).

I also take a small kit of spare o-rings with me. It probably wouldn't be too hard to get o-rings replaced in Florida, but it might be a little more difficult to accomplish that in Cancun. (I had an o-ring go in Indonesia, and was very happy that someone ELSE in the group had spares -- thus the addition to my kit.)

[Ken G]

And make sure your DAN insurance is current

[smike]

Thank you all for your input - I'm getting my bags packed now!

S'Mike

[John Rawlings]

And make sure your DAN insurance is current

I would DEFINITELY encourage you to do this as well!

Even one trip in a chamber can break the bank if you haven't covered yourself adequately.

I know whereof I speak......

- John

[ArcticDiver]

And make sure your DAN insurance is current

I would DEFINITELY encourage you to do this as well!

Even one trip in a chamber can break the bank if you haven't covered yourself adequately.

I know whereof I speak......

- John

Doesn't even take a diving problem to make DAN Insurance worthwhile. The insurance covers you for the entire trip for many non-diving things. Check it out.

[Tom Nic]

if i had to weed things out, i would leave my primary light and shorty wetsuit at home, and use my backup light

Ditto on the light, but it depends on what your primary and back up are.

I have a 10 W HID as my primary here, and I use it in the tropics as well. Night dives in warm water are awesome!

[smike]

I'm diving with a charter for a 2 tank night dive. I am expecting they will supply a light, but I am bringing my little Q40 eLed backup too.

I just read the thread about ear/equalizing issues, so I am bringing the ibuprofen & sudafed.

Thanks for the advice on DAN, I just ordered up their basic package. I'm glad for that reminder, I was planning to do that before I did deep dives or dives away.

Thanks everyone. Only 7 days till my first warm water dive!

S'Mike

[Sounder]

I'm diving with a charter for a 2 tank night dive. I am expecting they will supply a light, but I am bringing my little Q40 eLed backup too.

I just read the thread about ear/equalizing issues, so I am bringing the ibuprofen & sudafed.

Thanks for the advice on DAN, I just ordered up their basic package. I'm glad for that reminder, I was planning to do that before I did deep dives or dives away.

Thanks everyone. Only 7 days till my first warm water dive!

S'Mike

My recommendation is to get the "preferred package." It's SOOOO worth it... I highly highly suggest you upgrade from the basic.

In my opinion everyone should have insurance covering themselves for dive injuries before doing ANY diving, not just "deep" dives. Mrs. Sounder and I had our preferred DAN insurance before we started our OW certification dives. One trip to the chamber will make you wish you had it!!

[CaptBligh]

I've worked in both mainland Florida and the Keys and most people take much more than needed. If you know the dive op you're going with you can ship your gear down ahead of time which will save space and your back in lugging. Take all of your basic dive gear. If you need a suit and don't have one there are many places down there to either rent or buy very inexpensively. For 6 dives total, I'd probably just rent something for between $5-$10/day. You don't need a lot of clothes as both locations are v e r y casual...shorts and t shirts will get you in just about anywhere. Good advise on the DAN perferred program. Chamber rides usually run around $15K each and you never know but the perferred program will cover you if you trip and break a toe on the way to the boat. Lights are easily available for rent for night dives but a good, small backup is handy even during the day, and doesn't take up much room. A cutting tool is good but sometimes hard to get on the airlines. A cheap pair of EMT shears can be picked up down there for about $5 or less. Some operators require a snorkel and others don't so if you know who you're diving with just ask. I wouldn't take up the room in my bag if I didn't need to. The diving in Cancun is not that spectacular but if you're going to be there a couple of days, take the ferry to Cozumel and it'll be worth the effort. If you know the areas you'll be going to and not left yet I may be able to recommend some sites and dive ops that will offer the most flexibility. If this is your first trip there you want to make the most of it and not get stuck on a mooo boat. Let me know if you have any other questions and I'll be happy to answer them from a "been there, done that" perspective. Good diving!
Capt Bob

[smike]

Well, thanks for all the input. Very much. I ended up not diving at all. I was supposed to dive in Florida, and that dive was called off because of weather. Then I went to Cancun and the same thing happened. The seas were quite rough, and from the shore it was doable, but from a boat it was impossible, plus the visibility was lousy. The day after I was scheduled, the water at shore was chocolate colored.

Well, anyway, I did get some snorkeling in (our hotel was at Playa Langosta), on the calm ocean side of touristy cancun, and I saw lots of neat things. Most everything I saw was juvenile, like lobster and barracuda. I saw small stingrays and grunts by the thousands, tunicates and nudibranches (big ones, dark green, 6" long or so) - wow there was a lot of life there.

Again, thanks everyone for the help, wish I could have finished off the experience.

S'Mike