Scuba/Freediving Diving Thread

Because DM's can teach EFR there are quite a few of them. However, most won't have the real life experiences you will which makes the class a lot more interesting.

 

Be sure and get your drysuit cert... though I am in complete disagreement with Padi's philosophy of using the suit for buoyancy control.
The experience with the dry suit will give you a jumpstart on training for recovery operations in your regular job.

I prefer trilam, but for your job, compressed neoprene would be more durable.
DUI makes some really nice suits, and their zip-seal technology makes seal changes a breeze, plus they allow you to opt between drygloves or regular latex wrist seals.

 

I'm actually taking nitrox tonigh and dry suit when I can, my s&r is in November and my rescue diver is in December so dry suit is a must anyways

 

What I ultimately ended up doing on Nitrox was to avoid the whole "best gas" thinking and just stuck with EAN32.

While EAN40 was great, it can't be taken below 80ft.
Nothing like having your buddy call you up to go dive on a beautiful site that runs down to 120ft and you have three 120's loaded up with EAN36 and EAN40.

Not having my own compressor, I couldn't down-mix by bleeding off a couple of hundred psi and adding air, so the only option was to dump a $10 tank and refill, or rent a tank of air.

The bottom time benefit of EAN36 over EAN32 is not that big of a deal compared to moving from air to 32. 40 is a sweet mix, but with a recommended floor of 80ft and absolute hard floor above 100, it's not worth having.

 

I've had about enough of nitrox numbers for a day!

I think ill run ean32 on Saturday since I'm going offshore and maybe ean38 on Sunday since the deepest dive is going to be 85 on the bottom

 

Hi guys. Just saw this pop up and figured id say hey. I'm currently working on my OW cert, and il be going to Sea base in Florida for a week next year, that will be 10 - 15 dives including a night dive.

 

It's really not that big of a deal.
After a couple of years of it (or months) you'll learn that there's no point in tracking your toxicity level (especially if you are running 32 for everything).

The dive shops will flip you out over having dedicated equipment and O2 clean gear... that's a qualified "bullshit"

"Qualified" because anything up to 40% is fine in ANY gear.
Your normal regulator is fine. Your normal tank and valve are fine as long as you are buying premix or getting fills from a DNAx system (still premix).

O2 cleaning, Viton o-rings, and O2 compatible grease are important on the tank valve for tanks that will be filled using partial pressure... that's where the shop takes your empty tank, primes it with 500psi of pure O2, then tops it off with air to get the mix you want.

If a part never sees FO2 above 40%, it doesn't need to be O2 cleaned.

And for the record, I use nothing but Viton o-rings and ChristoLube... but none of my gear is dedicated... it's used for both air and EAN.

You DO need dedicated gear when you get into tech diving and move into 50% and 100% for decompression stops. Not fun having microcombustion in the 1st stage running 100% because a little oil from some shop's compressor got in there and you get a nice hit of CO during a 30 minute hang at 20ft.

 

Another advantage to simply running EAN32 for all dives is that a lot of shops stock EAN32 premix, so you get a fill faster, and sometimes cheaper, than requesting a "custom" mix.

The shop I used to use banked 40%, so they could in-tank mix anything you wanted without exposing your tank to 100%.

 

I just wanted 32 the first day because of the possibility of going down to 130 ft the next day it no concern so I figured a higher mix would buy me more bottom time

 

Anybody still here? Or have we all gone south for the winter lol

 

Still here. Winter here means waves. Expected 25 feet tomorrow.

 

Jeebus, no shore entries for you!

 

Even the dive shops have been holding off. Too rough.

 

Okay... just for some eye candy, crosspost from another sub...

 

that sucks..... sadly my dive shop probably wont survive the winter

 

BTW... For those not from California, this fucker is the Pacific Torpedo Ray.
Also known as the Pacific Electric Torpedo Ray.

He likes to "hover" facing into the current, and electrifies the water in front of him with around 200v, stunning his dinner and hoovering it in.

They are said to be aggressive, but in my contacts with them, I have simply found them to be curious. If we have encountered one and just gone about our business, they have followed us, but if we take a few minutes to check it out and for it to likewise observe us, it will stay put and be in the same place when we return to the anchor line.


An acquaintance came across one and thought it was an halibut.
He shot it.
Hilarity ensued.
He paid the "stupid tax" of one new Riffe speargun.
Like the Great White, we are above them on the food chain, we are not shark or ray food.
Like a 12pt buck during the rut, they can hurt us.

 

Glad I dive the right pond... And sorry for your friend.. I bet that hurt

 

Currently a recreational diver, was half way through my instructor course when COVID put it on pause, was doing tech diver training/CCR training but also on hold for COVID/life circumstances.

Anyone have any scuba related mods? I saw a few posts (like this, and this) in the different generation specific forums but figured this could be a nice place for anything diving related.

How was your last dive, see/do anything cool?

 

I always wanted to learn scuba but never pulled the trigger. I used to go to the local Sport Chalet & drool. Could have learned on the cheap in Mexico - they stick you in the hotel pool to learn then take you out to open water. Didn't think that was very safe though. But I'm an avid snorkeler. I've snorkeled Hawaii, Cancun & so-Cal.
Some highlights:
Snorkeling at laguna Beach in 10-12 feet visibility, a baby sea lion swam up to me. He looked at me, I looked at him; kinda scared me a little because mama (or a shark, lol) couldn't have been far away. Still very cool though.
Snorkeling Cancun (also during low visibility) a nurse shark came swimming by out of nowhere & just as quickly was gone. It figured - It was the one time I didn't have my camera with me. Got out of the water & told the Mrs. She didn't believe me but a lady sitting on the beach near us overheard our conversation and freaked out, lol.
Same Cancun beach a few days earlier I had 50-75 feet of visibility easily. Clearest conditions I've ever been in.
Snorkeled a freshwater Cenote (name escapes me) in the Mayan Rivera. It was a guided tour in that we were instructed to follow the guide under rock ceilings for x amount of feet before being able to surface for air again. Little bit intimidating! But it was so beautiful! Came up into an underground room/chamber/grotto that had a skylight (hole) in the ceiling far above us.
As we swam from one area to another among stalactites & stalagmites, we could see scuba divers far below us swimming in & out of rooms(?), their flashlights illuminated the water around them - they were bathed in incredible blue light - just amazing.

As a scuba diver, have you seen/ done anything cool?

 

Haven't been diving in years, but I got my basic, nitrox, and boat dive certs while stationed on Okinawa. By far some of the most incredible underwater scenery I've ever seen. Following thriving reefs, gliding over massive underwater cliffs/shelves. Once I even stupidly shoved my gopro into the face of a lionfish(ignorance is bliss, luckily my partner pulled me away before it got too pissed off). My fondest memory is finding an underwater "beach," a large clearing of clean white sand with life swimming all around it. Nothing like sitting at the bottom of ~75ft of water, crystal clear enough to watch the bubbles float all the way up and ripple on the surface.

Unfortunately, haven't pulled my wetsuit outta my dive bag since I moved up to Maine but would love to get back into the hobby. I'm very curious to see some of the shipwrecks around these parts.