Poll: Who's SCUBA certified?

[[Gavo]]

I recently got my PADI Open Water certification in Dahab, and I was talking to some people, and I learned that a surprising amount of people I know are certified. I was wondering, how many denizens of the Escapist are SCUBA certified, and if so, how deep are you certified to go?

18m for me.

 

[Rooster Cogburn]

I got certified a few years ago when I was in the Scouts. I did a few dives in my area and spent a weekend diving at Key West. I've done a few dives in natural springs since then just to stay current. I wish a I pursued it more, but who has the time...

Getting certified is great- SCUBA diving is quite a surreal experience. And when you take it to the ocean and the sharks are flying around like birds, you feel that same bewilderment over again, but times ten.

 

[[Gavo]]

I got certified a few years ago when I was in the Scouts. I did a few dives in my area and spent a weekend diving at Key West. I've done a few dives in natural springs since then just to stay current. I wish a I pursued it more, but who has the time...

Getting certified is great- SCUBA diving is quite a surreal experience. And when you take it to the ocean and the sharks are flying around like birds, you feel that same bewilderment over again, but times ten.

Sharks?! Where did you go?

My place is notorious for hammerheads, but I went in the off-season.

 

[Bofus Teefus]

SSI Master Diver. I shore dive in SD every couple years (I have to road trip from Midwestern Hell to do it anymore.) La Jolla has plenty of good sites. If you're new to West Coast diving, look into 2-3 day boat trips to Channel Islands (Catalina, Santa Barbara, San Clemente.) They run a few hundred dollars and are awesome for the price. A couple boats out of Long Beach are The Sand Dollar and The Encore. I couldn't find any descriptive links, but Google for their contact info.

 

[[Gavo]]

La Jolla has plenty of good sites.

Really? I thought it was all murky and sucky. The cove, at least.

 

[Steeveeo]

I have a BSA Snorkeling certification, does that count?

 

[Glerken]

Never SCUBA dove before.
Want to, but no where around where I live has it.
I'd imagine it would be insanely fun.

 

[Daniel Cygnus]

I was thinking of taking a diving course a few semesters from now. It sounds like fun.

 

[Agayek]

I was certified, but I haven't been on a dive in about 8 years. I guess that means I'm not.

 

[Berethond]

]

La Jolla has plenty of good sites.

Really? I thought it was all murky and sucky. The cove, at least.

Nah. It's pretty nice, my cousin dives there. What you gotta watch out for is San Diego Bay. The water there is actually slightly acidic.

Oh yeah, I'm not certified, unfortunately.

 

[SoonerMatt]

My grad program starting next semester is aquatic plant physiology, so I have to get SCUBA certified as a precaution while plant collecting. In other words, undergraduates' tuition money pays for my SUCBA classes.

 

[Frank_Sinatra_]

"Specify level and depth max" I'm sorry but I could not help but snicker when I read that.

I wish I was SCUBA certified, I love the ocean, if I could live out there with a connection to the internet, and power I would.

 

[Bofus Teefus]

]

La Jolla has plenty of good sites.

Really? I thought it was all murky and sucky. The cove, at least.

I've put several dives in near Scripps. Shore diving tends to be a bit murky, but it didn't seem abnormally so. I know that there are day charters that can take you to the kelp beds just off shore. If you want to see a ton of fish, kelp beds are the place to be.

 

[Rooster Cogburn]

]Sharks?! Where did you go?

My place is notorious for hammerheads, but I went in the off-season.

If you're lucky, you can see sharks anywhere in open ocean. That was on my trip to Key West, my only such trip. I don't recall which reef we were on. The sharks were reef sharks, but that's still almost man-sized. It's nothing like seeing them in an aquarium. I wasn't afraid, but not because I'm a rational creature. They were really mystifying.