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Scuba anyone?

Hobbies and Pastimes
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  • W
    Wander
    Joined: 8 Nov 2018

    Wander, you fool!

    last edited by 30 Nov 2018, 05:07 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
    • W
      Wander
      Joined: 8 Nov 2018

      Wander, you fool!

      last edited by 30 Nov 2018, 05:08 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • M
        Madame Buttonfly
        IHUK Crew
        Joined: 28 Sept 2009

        Wow, amazing @Wander, @Giles and I are off to the Soccoro Islands end of March, really excited about it.  We both love scuba diving (thanks to @Alex who wanted to dive from a very young age, and got us both hooked too), but I will definitely never, ever venture into an underwater cave…  ???

        Fantastic photos - what an adventure!

        AKA Mrs G

        last edited by 30 Nov 2018, 13:15 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • A
          Alex
          IHUK Crew
          Joined: 28 Sept 2009

          @Wander great thread! I worked as a Divemaster in the Bahamas as a summer job over the course of four years, and then became a commercial diver back in England before joining IH!

          I'll try and dig out some photos from both jobs, they were slightly different!

          last edited by 30 Nov 2018, 13:48 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • A
            Alex
            IHUK Crew
            Joined: 28 Sept 2009

            A few quick ones I found of the later part of my dive career

            last edited by 30 Nov 2018, 14:31 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • W
              Wander
              Joined: 8 Nov 2018

              @Alex, @Madame Buttonfly
              How wonderful! Scuba diving really is a privilege. I’ve been diving/destination diving for about 10 years now and am a PADI master diver myself. We have a pretty good group of friends with military, police, medical backgrounds and highly technical and skilled dive profiles. Absolutely, would love to share the experiences and explore new sites!

              I am not Cave dive certified (wife will not allow it). But as a master diver you can dive the cenotes. (I warn you, try once and you get the bug!) Some of the pics I posted here are from the cenotes we did in Mexico, we are going back in March 2019 and explore some new cenotes and just chill in Cozumel, lost count of how many times I’ve been diving in Cozumel  (you must go dive Cozumel if you haven’t already- we have our go to guy there if you need help)

              @Alex, the Caribbean is great, we had one of our best experiences in Turks and Caicos few years ago! We have booked a catamaran for 2020 in Belize.

              Would love to hear more from you all!

              Wander, you fool!

              last edited by 30 Nov 2018, 14:43 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • W
                Wander
                Joined: 8 Nov 2018

                @Alex , that looks marine grade!
                Sweet!

                Wander, you fool!

                last edited by 30 Nov 2018, 14:46 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • M
                  Madame Buttonfly
                  IHUK Crew
                  Joined: 28 Sept 2009

                  You will certainly be hearing more from us!

                  We consider diving a true privilege too, venturing into a world so close yet so alien and getting to see so much beauty and wonder, it's been a revelation to me.

                  Giles, Alex and I did a blue hole dive about 15 years back which involved going through a short cave tunnel and coming out into a large cave before reaching the deep part of the blue hole (which then became open water).  I absolutely HATED it, and the experience nearly spoiled diving for me for ever.  So whilst I'm sure Giles and Alex would have fun in the cenotes sadly it's not something I'll ever attempt - I'm a scaredy-cat, fairweather diver, and am happy to stick within my limitations!

                  Do post more photos when you have time  🙂

                  AKA Mrs G

                  last edited by 30 Nov 2018, 14:54 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                  • W
                    Wander
                    Joined: 8 Nov 2018

                    @Madame Buttonfly
                    Totally understand! Most of our wives dive too and almost all of them are fair weather divers!

                    Wander, you fool!

                    last edited by 30 Nov 2018, 14:59 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • M
                      Madame Buttonfly
                      IHUK Crew
                      Joined: 28 Sept 2009

                      @Wander we definitely want to dive in Cozumel, will be in touch for your advice and recommendations when I start planning…

                      We've mainly dived in Bahamas and Maldives, really want to start exploring the Caribbean seas - this new thread you've started has got me totally distracted, can't concentrate on work, just want to go diving again!

                      😃

                      AKA Mrs G

                      last edited by 30 Nov 2018, 15:09 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • W
                        Wander
                        Joined: 8 Nov 2018

                        @Madame Buttonfly, please feel free to ask/share. Amongst us, there’s a lot of resource re: people and places but still there’s so much to see/explore.

                        Come to Belize 2020.

                        Wander, you fool!

                        last edited by 30 Nov 2018, 15:38 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • M
                          Madame Buttonfly
                          IHUK Crew
                          Joined: 28 Sept 2009

                          Belize 2020 sounds extremely tempting…  😉

                          AKA Mrs G

                          last edited by 30 Nov 2018, 16:13 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • J
                            JDelage
                            啓蒙家
                            Joined: 13 Jan 2012

                            @Madame:

                            … I will definitely never, ever venture into an underwater cave...  ???

                            There are denotes where you can snorkel. Most have an opening above and are therefore not considered true cave diving. You can dive the basic denotes with a basic OW cert (but as I said, you can also choose some that are open to snorkelers.)

                            I've been diving for >30 years. When I started, we had no BCDs or computers, and the tanks had those horrible mechanical reserves. Good times!  :-\

                            I don't dive very often. I went to Bonaire 2 years ago; it was great. Probably the best bang-for-bucks if you are in the US and not looking for big stuff.

                            My favorite dive vacation was spending a week on a live aboard in the Red Sea, back in 2014. Here are a few pics:

                            last edited by 1 Dec 2018, 01:07 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • W
                              Wander
                              Joined: 8 Nov 2018

                              Excellent opportunity for Divers in Austin

                              Wander, you fool!

                              last edited by 12 Dec 2018, 19:47 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • nurunuruN
                                nurunuru
                                Raw and Unwashed
                                Joined: 16 May 2018

                                Enjoying the pics!

                                Love a bit of diving, though I've only actually been on two dive trips.  My wife and I learnt to dive in the Bunaken National Marine Park off the northernmost tip of Sulawesi.  Beautiful coral reef drop-off dives with great visibility.  After moving stateside, we took a trip down to Grand Cayman and had a lot of fun diving with the stingrays at Stingray City and exploring the USS Kittiwake wreck.  The only minor downside to diving in Grand Cayman is that, if you're diving with a dive operator, they stop you from going deeper than 100 feet.  That was certainly our operator's policy, but I think our guide mentioned it was a blanket deal for the island.  Not really a terrible idea I suppose, in the grand scheme of things.  I was just younger and not a parent yet and itchy to get a little deeper at the time.

                                That last trip was nearly five years ago now!  Really should get back after it!

                                last edited by 13 Dec 2018, 19:00 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • W
                                  Wander
                                  Joined: 8 Nov 2018

                                  We were in Grand Cayman and I don’t remember diving being anything special. But I hope you have come off age and don’t itch to go deeper for the sake of going deeper ( assuming you are a recreational diver).

                                  Wander, you fool!

                                  last edited by 17 Dec 2018, 15:24 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • W
                                    Wander
                                    Joined: 8 Nov 2018

                                    Leaving for Mexico tomorrow. Diving Dos Ojos + checking out some new sites.

                                    https://aquaworld.com.mx/en/blog/dive-of-the-week-cenote-diving-in-dos-ojos

                                    Will try to get some pics. ✌️

                                    Wander, you fool!

                                    last edited by 23 Mar 2019, 18:40 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • GilesG
                                      Giles
                                      IHUK Crew
                                      Joined: 22 Sept 2009

                                      Leaving for Socorro Islands, Mexico on Monday, will def ponce some pics of people who can be bothered carrying a camera underwater - I cant…. 🙂

                                      "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

                                      last edited by 23 Mar 2019, 22:04 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • J
                                        JDelage
                                        啓蒙家
                                        Joined: 13 Jan 2012

                                        @Giles:

                                        Leaving for Socorro Islands, Mexico on Monday, will def ponce some pics of people who can be bothered carrying a camera underwater - I cant…. 🙂

                                        Next time, look at the GoPro. It's tiny and fairly cheap, and the image is 80% of what you get on a full rig (even better at low depth).

                                        last edited by 24 Mar 2019, 07:37 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • GilesG
                                          Giles
                                          IHUK Crew
                                          Joined: 22 Sept 2009

                                          Cost is not the issue.  I have a GoPro, I also have another underwater camera (which I use when out on the water).  But my view is, that when diving, I am in an alien environment which is inherently dangerous and things can and do go wrong, so,  1) I don't want a camera to distract me from looking after myself or my buddy (usually Paula) - I have seen people completely ignore what is going on around them for long periods of time because they are fucking around with a camera and 2) I like to really concentrate on what I see, not take what in all honesty will be fairly shit photos.

                                          We are diving with some semi-professional underwater photographers, I will have access to photos and videos and it won't matter to me that I did not take them

                                          "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

                                          last edited by 24 Mar 2019, 08:00 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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