I was NAUI certified in 1980, did a lot of dives in the lakes of NW Washington and northern Idaho. My last dive was off Grand Cayman in 1988. I sold all of my equipment after I got married, as there aren't many good places to dive in north Georgia. Most (all?) of the lakes are mud holes with very poor visibility. If I lived near the coast or had access to clear water lakes, I would probably take it up again.
Any SCUBA divers here?
- Thread starter forestswin
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Scuba
Retired from Divers Alert Network and Duke University Med Center in 2003 as a Diving medical Tech (DMT)
Dive Master, Master Diver, tons of other certs related.
Started at the Hyperbaric facility at Duke in 1990.
One nice thing about the job was you got paid to Dive in great locations around the world.
An MVA cut my diving career short, but I'm thankful for the opportunity to have had a career in Diving and Diving medicine.
Retired from Divers Alert Network and Duke University Med Center in 2003 as a Diving medical Tech (DMT)
Dive Master, Master Diver, tons of other certs related.
Started at the Hyperbaric facility at Duke in 1990.
One nice thing about the job was you got paid to Dive in great locations around the world.
An MVA cut my diving career short, but I'm thankful for the opportunity to have had a career in Diving and Diving medicine.
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I hope you guys are using Neoprene Holsters! 
I used to dive on a regular basis and am PADI and YMCA certified but have not taken the plunge in a few years now. In the 70's I did quite a bit of Diving off of Long Island and routinely went to the Florida Keys for two weeks at a time for the purpose of Diving. I've also done my share in the Caribbean on vacations and in Aruba, Antigua & Hawaii.
Not that I use them anymore (I have replacements now) but I still have my original pair of AMF/VOIT UTD DUCK FEET from 1971 and they are still in excellent condition.
While I fully understand and agree with all the new safety equipment that Divers don now, I kind of miss the "freedom" of diving with only a tank, regulator mask, fins, knife and weight belt from the early days. Took me quite a while to get used to the new BC's and Octopus rigs.
I used to dive on a regular basis and am PADI and YMCA certified but have not taken the plunge in a few years now. In the 70's I did quite a bit of Diving off of Long Island and routinely went to the Florida Keys for two weeks at a time for the purpose of Diving. I've also done my share in the Caribbean on vacations and in Aruba, Antigua & Hawaii.
Not that I use them anymore (I have replacements now) but I still have my original pair of AMF/VOIT UTD DUCK FEET from 1971 and they are still in excellent condition.
While I fully understand and agree with all the new safety equipment that Divers don now, I kind of miss the "freedom" of diving with only a tank, regulator mask, fins, knife and weight belt from the early days. Took me quite a while to get used to the new BC's and Octopus rigs.
BillK01
Member
Met my wife while I was helping teach an open water class 20 years ago - we had a diving honeymoon in Roatan. I've dove Dominica, Antigua, north Florida caves, Morehead City, NC wrecks and crappy PA quarries (sometimes in the dead of winter).
I have asst instructor, dive master, rescue, nitrox, wreck, cave and several other certifications. Cave was always my favorite and my biggest regret is not fully completing the full cave course before we had kids. It will likely never happen now. I have a garage full of dive gear from open water to cave/wreck diving that I probably should have sold 10 years ago.
I have asst instructor, dive master, rescue, nitrox, wreck, cave and several other certifications. Cave was always my favorite and my biggest regret is not fully completing the full cave course before we had kids. It will likely never happen now. I have a garage full of dive gear from open water to cave/wreck diving that I probably should have sold 10 years ago.
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UncaGrunny
US Veteran
Having grown up in the Midwest watching Jacques Cousteau on National Geographic, diving fascinated me but there were no good opportunities to pursue it.
I made another pass thru college in 2005-2007 to work on a degree, and I needed a PE credit. When I saw that the school offered dive certification for credit, I signed up. Got completely hooked on it.
I ended up taking every class offered for SCUBA while I was enrolled, and certified via NAUI for both Rescue and Master Diver. Joined the local "drinking club with a diving problem," went on a number of memorable excursions both locally & not: tons of coastal beach dives, Catalina both lee and wild side, Channel Islands, Mexico, Florida... Best trip was a week in Bonaire - - absolutely amazing wall diving just about anywhere you fall in the water there, & WARM!
Couple pics from that trip; First is me touching down on the screw of the Hilma Hooker, which is lying on her starboard side in around 100ft of water.
I've been in sort of a dive hiatus the last three years. After my dad passed away three years ago, my head wasn't in the right place for such activities for a while, and of late my life has been too ridiculously busy to make time for it. I've lost a bunch of weight since then so my wetsuit is probably in need of some alteration, and all my gear needs to be annualed/hydroed. But I still have hopes of getting back to it sometime soon.
Night diving in cold water, whether bug hunting or just for the fun of it, is certainly the closest I'll ever get to my childhood dream of being an astronaut. Amazing sensation.
I made another pass thru college in 2005-2007 to work on a degree, and I needed a PE credit. When I saw that the school offered dive certification for credit, I signed up. Got completely hooked on it.
I ended up taking every class offered for SCUBA while I was enrolled, and certified via NAUI for both Rescue and Master Diver. Joined the local "drinking club with a diving problem," went on a number of memorable excursions both locally & not: tons of coastal beach dives, Catalina both lee and wild side, Channel Islands, Mexico, Florida... Best trip was a week in Bonaire - - absolutely amazing wall diving just about anywhere you fall in the water there, & WARM!
Couple pics from that trip; First is me touching down on the screw of the Hilma Hooker, which is lying on her starboard side in around 100ft of water.
I've been in sort of a dive hiatus the last three years. After my dad passed away three years ago, my head wasn't in the right place for such activities for a while, and of late my life has been too ridiculously busy to make time for it. I've lost a bunch of weight since then so my wetsuit is probably in need of some alteration, and all my gear needs to be annualed/hydroed. But I still have hopes of getting back to it sometime soon.
Night diving in cold water, whether bug hunting or just for the fun of it, is certainly the closest I'll ever get to my childhood dream of being an astronaut. Amazing sensation.
Malpasowildlifer
Member
Diver here. Basic and Advanced Open Water.
Dove quite a bit back home off of Carmel, Pt. Lobos and over in Monterey.
Dove quite a bit back home off of Carmel, Pt. Lobos and over in Monterey.
dpowers311
Member
I have my card, haven't done it in a while.
RYNO
Member
Been a while since I have been diving, just did an open water through NAUI when I lived in Southern Cal in '91. Tried a couple times in Nebraska but when 5' is good vis., it's kinda pointless... I miss the salty stuff though. When I lived in Cali my dad had a boat we would take up & down the coast and to Catalina once in a while. Loved spearfishing the kelp for calicos & sheepshead. I always wanted to try for some blue water pelagics. I still 'pratice' free diving during the summer when swimming at the sandpit.
John Moyer is a diver with the mid atlantic wreck divers. I meet him once on Jean Marie dive boat. I was the mate and the teem from mid Atlantic divers charted the boat to find a US sub that was sunk by a German Sub. They went down over 300 ft. It's wasn't there first trip. Capt. Ken took them out a few times to find this sub. I will look for some picture.....
That's great. He's my cousin. He also dove the Andria Doria a few times. I never dove with him though, he's way out of my league.
Pictures would be nice, thanks!
that is what i was looking for. I have pictures of Sal noble when he took the port hole from one of the ships. He was able to get both sides of the port hole. That's hard to do, you got to go inside the ship to get it. Tell your cus, that Sal has died this year 56 years old..
Here are some pictures -- Capt Ken and some of the divers. I once lost my suba gun doing a dive off of montauk. A year when by and Ken come over my house for dinner. Ken said to me --can i go look at your pool ? We both went in my back yard and in my pool was my gun that i lost a year ago. Some diver found it off N.J. beach- 100 miles away from were i lost it. Ken know the guy and got it for me. Now- 34 years has past and my son has the gun....I sure do miss Ken.....RIP buddy !!
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Capt Steve
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Got certified (YMCA), when I was 39...23 years ago. Haven't been down for a number of years but sure enjoyed some great diving out of San Diego and the many trips to Mexico. Diving in southern California takes a little getting used to as the water is cold.
Every year we would go out to San Clemente island for the opening of lobster season. The visibility would be close to 100' and we usually had the place all to ourselves as it is 70 miles offshore. Since the Navy uses it for a gunnery range we did to. Always brought lots of guns and once the diving was done but before the drinking commenced the call "Fill your hands!" would ring out. Dinner would always be lobster and Prime Rib followed by a Dirty Harry or Die Hard movie. Waaay too much fun!
Every year we would go out to San Clemente island for the opening of lobster season. The visibility would be close to 100' and we usually had the place all to ourselves as it is 70 miles offshore. Since the Navy uses it for a gunnery range we did to. Always brought lots of guns and once the diving was done but before the drinking commenced the call "Fill your hands!" would ring out. Dinner would always be lobster and Prime Rib followed by a Dirty Harry or Die Hard movie. Waaay too much fun!
MDGasman
Member
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Key West, Nassau Bahamas, Puerto Rico; don't want to have to dive in cold water! I remember the first time I had my younger son scuba diving off Key West he had a 200 lb. minimum, goliath grouper nibbling at the drawstring of his swimsuit until the nurse shark came along and nudged the grouper out of the way!
hangnoose
Member
SCUBA
Just enough to clean boat bottoms for 1$ a foot when a teen & look for lost stuff, but never certified. deepest dive? the bottom of a quarry in NH & it was cold down there. Now I'm app 15 miles from the eagles nest in Homosassa Fl which just claimed 2 more lives of 1 "experienced diver" & his son. The nest seems to claim a few each year. It's a spring fed cave system that is HIGHLY warned about diving in. There is even a sign app 100' down telling all but the best to go back. Too bad more don't heed the sign.
Just enough to clean boat bottoms for 1$ a foot when a teen & look for lost stuff, but never certified. deepest dive? the bottom of a quarry in NH & it was cold down there. Now I'm app 15 miles from the eagles nest in Homosassa Fl which just claimed 2 more lives of 1 "experienced diver" & his son. The nest seems to claim a few each year. It's a spring fed cave system that is HIGHLY warned about diving in. There is even a sign app 100' down telling all but the best to go back. Too bad more don't heed the sign.
wildenout
Member
Love to dive! Wish i could more. When I was living in Vegas we had a time share in San Diego and would go almost monthly. It got to the point where I went out of my way to get search and rescue certified after getting my EMT and considered doing that for a living. Though other plans got in the way. Now landlocked, I miss it so much!!!! We would also go diving in Cardiff and catch lobsters during the season, pop those suckers in a pot right on the beach...mmmm
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