Any Certified Scuba Divers Here On CP?
 

Just wondering if there are any certified divers here on CP?

I'm PADI Open Water certified and am about to make my yearly visit to the Bahamas on Memorial Day weekend to go shark diving.

Where do you guys go diving, any good lakes up where you live.

Here on the Gulf Coast we can get a round trip airfare from Hou/Bahamas for a few hundred bucks on Continental/United.

Snorkeling is a blast but never have scuba dive. That would be fun too would love to do it.

No, but I'm a Master SNUBA diver.

If you ever go to Cancun skip the scuba diving unless you like seeing dead coral.

It's pretty awesome.

I'm only certified to go down 100 ft.

It does take an act of faith once you go underwater to realize the only thing keeping you alive is your regulator and air tank.

Before I got certified I've seen lots of people chicken out on their initial dives even though we were only going down 10-15 ft.

PADI and this is where we've been going the last 2 weekends:
26° 45.937N, 82° 50.756 W and 26° 45.938N, 82° 50.783W

AJ's and Grouper all day long.

I got my Advanced Open Water Certification about 7 years ago. Got it when I started travelling down to Cancun/Cuba/Dominican every winter.

Did a few nice dives in Mexico at "The Island of Woman" and Cozumel. Would have really liked to do a wreck dive but the bastards wanted me to cough up an extra $60 for a "refresher" course since I didn't have any dives the past six months.

Can't blame em though.

It's an extra 60.00 but I guess they don't want you dead.

I initially got certified to go shark diving in the Bahamas when they feed the sharks.

You should try that, it's crazy. When the boat shows up about 100 reef sharks appear from nowhere to feed, just like stray cats.

Sharks are flying everywhere trying to get that food. The yellow tuna and the sting rays are more aggressive than the damn sharks though.

I eventually want to go white shark cage diving in South Africa or Guadeloupe Island in Mexico.

Not certified and likely never will be, (I don't think I would do it enough to justify the cost/ time to do the training) but I did a beginners dive this past January in Cozumel and it was one of the coolest things I've ever experienced.
We had about a 30-40 minute class and then another 20 minutes or so in shallow water and that was it and we went on the "dive". For the "dive" itself, I don't think we ever got more than 30' below the surface (the guide said about 40') but it was a complete different world.

You went on what's called a "resort dive".

They teach you enough so that you can make the initial dive. I'm surprised that they you went down 30' feet though, most resort dives are only 15'. That's still plenty though.

Something about being down there.

The Bahamas are so crystal clear, guess Cancun and other places are the same.

I love taking pictures down there.

I got certified a long time ago, did all the specialties needed for Master SCUBA from PADI, but never sent in the form to complete and haven't really done any since then. It was alot of fun. Wreck diving in Lake Michigan is the best. There are so many and from 1700s to 1900s.

Bonus... no sharks! I know people love going to see sharks underwater, but not me. I live in California and SUP surf, and if I never saw a shark in my whole life it would be awesome. Dolphins are a good shark warning system and we have lots of dolphins in Southern California.

Exactly that.
I only took a handful of pictures, but it was amazing. I think the weirdest thing to me was that the sound of my own breathing seemed to amplify x100. That coupled with the fact that my Mrs who isn't a very good swimmer was off like a fricking fish were the biggest surprises.

I was certified with YMCA/PADI in 1980 because I loved the ocean and wanted to be an oceanographer. Unfortunately you make no money being an oceanographer so I became a union pressman instead.

Best places I dove are in order:

• The Cayman Islands twice-the amount of large fish you see is incredible and swimming through "Tarpon Alley" at 80 feet with 250 or more 40-50 pound tarpon slowing gliding in place side to side was incredible
• Maui, Hawaii-saw so many turtles and rays plus variety of beautiful fish
• Cairns, Australia at the Great Barrier Reef-MASSIVE schools of smaller fish. I was surprised that there were not many large fish but the color and vast size of the reef was impressive
• Malolai Fiji-tons of sharks and the coolest water color I've ever seen.
• Bora Bora Tahiti-lots of Angelfish and Octopus where I dove plus a nasty reef tip shark that stalked us for a while
• Haiti-I have an underwater photo of around 20 lobsters all huddled together under a rock outcropping. Lots of flourescent squid
• Cozumel, Mexico-super clear water and lots of fish.
• Jamaica-Tons of VERY LARGE moray eels that the divemaster played with and fed by hand plus a nice assortment of fish
• Bahamas-Nice assortment of fish and good visibility. Easy to find lobsters for dinner
• British Virgin Islands-dove the wreck of the Rhone where the filmed the movie "The Deep" but it was low visibility that day.
• New Jersey shore-dove for lobster several times on wrecks and I've never gotten good weather or visibility or else this would be ranked higher.

Aside from dives, once while snorkeling in the Bahamas I nearly ran straight into two GIANT barricudas that were cruising at the surface while my head was down looking at fish. I came within 2 feet and then I slowly swam backwards for 100 yards to shore while they followed me in. It was the most fear I've had diving.

The deepest I ever logged on my gauge was 138 ft in the Caymans.

You dove in some AWESOME places.

Maui OMG.

Yes the water in the Bahamas is unreal, you can see straight down 100 ft.

And yes there are PLENTY of barracudas there.

Depends on the shark.

Most sharks want to be left alone and pretty much keep to themselves.

Bull Sharks are what you need to watch out for. And Hammerheads.

Dolphins are a blast to go diving with. Did a Dolphin Dive in the Bahamas too.

They're so ****ing fast it's incredible and soft like lambs skin.