I was invited.....

[DennisB]

to dive in Florida and S.C. by RGecy this year. I believe that I am going to pass on that this year and take Jasons advice. I will dive the lakes here in Michigan just to get the experience and to get a lot of dives in. I am new to diving and I don't want to be a burden to those that are hunting. Maybe Next year Robert. I promise I will have a bunch of oen water experience by then. Thanks for the offer and I hope you guys find a bunch of stuff.

Dennis

 

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[rgecy]

Good Luck Dennis, sorry to hear you wont make it down.

 

[DennisB]

Nothing on this forum stopped me. I am just getting my open water cert. I have never dove before this class. Jason made a suggestion that I make alot of dives and become comfortable before I try diving and using a detector. That is what I have decided to do. I will become accomplished here in the cold waters of Michigan then God willing next year early I will be down there with them and not being a pest but a help. LOL. But I will be following all of they're posts and Grubby's too. I figure I can dive the many wrecks here in Michigan and learn.


Dennis

 

[ScubaFinder]

I was the poster in question, and wasn't trying to get Dennis to wait a whole year by any means. I just meant that doing your required two pool dives and two lake dives wouldn't really prepare you very well for trying to multi-task under water. I meant like 10 lake dives to get comfortable with you equipment before heading this way. Something must have come out wrong in text form, our diving isn't that technical, 30-40 feet, a little current but not much, and generally decent visibility on most days. I think something got lost in the translation. Go do a few additional dives after your class and come on down Dennis.

Jason

 

[southern maine diver]

Hey Jason...

Does this mean there is an empty space on the boat that you are trying to fill... LOL
Only kidding. Like I said, I don't know what it's like to dive in anything warmer than 60 degrees. You guys would all probably laugh at me if I came down with a selection of dry suits or a "Monkey heater" for a hot-water suit!!
Cold, dark and muddy is the rule of thumb up here.

Wayne

 

[NC_Bob]

Robert,

Still a newbie here but I'd be very interested in joining you sometime if you have space. Advanced open water and nitrox cert. with about 150 dives since I got back into it a few years ago. Comfortable with--although don't necessarily enjoy --poor vis and less than lovely conditions and handy with a camera above and below water.

Bob.

 

[DennisB]

Jason....and everyone else. I didn't take anything wrong on these forums or out of context. I am just listening to a little advice by well educated divers. Are you not going to be down in Florida next spring? Yes I believe you will be. I think it wouldbe wise for me to become accomplished in the cold, murky, Great Lakes before coming down. NO ONE has said anything to upset me or discourage me. In fact I will be asking questions all the time. Like what should I go for after My open water cert.? Remember I am a newbie virgin to all of this diving stuff. LOL.


Dennis

 

[ScubaFinder]

That's good to hear Dennis...you didn't make me worry, but these other guys did. I would go to Advanced Open Water, and take the following specialties to get there. Enriched Air (Nitrox), Deep Diver, Night Diver, Underwater Navigator, and Peak Performance Bouyancy. Those classes will give you 10 more dives in varying conditions and will make you more comfortable underwater. Others that are really good courses are Overhead Environment, Underwater Photographer, Wreck Diver, and Underwater Search and Recovery.

I highly recommend the Rescue Diver certification too, it taught me quite a bit, and made me feel like i could handle just about anything that went wrong. After that, it's all about whether or not you want to go Pro or not. Once you start Divemaster, you are leaning more towards teaching (without pay at this level I might add). You can go on to Master Scuba Diver if you feel like it, but it's not nessecary...the best teacher is the ocean, and repetitive dives. Most dive shops will push you to continue your certs, and that's not nessecarily a bad thing, but it's expensive. My brother says PADI stands for Put Another Dollar In.

Good luck, and we look forward to seeing you out here soon.

Jason

 

[spez401]

dennis...
I have to agree with jason on this one. You don't need a ton of experience to dive with a detector, but you do need to be comfortable and secure with your skills and your gear before you start adding tasks on top of it.

I have somewhere around 700 dives under my belt... (I stopped keeping logs several years ago). I have a few extra certifications (advanced open water, night, etc), but never went the "dive master" route. I have dove with classes before, and helped with poolwork etc. Some people pick up diving naturally, and are completely comfortable in the water after thier first breath. Others still don't relax even after numerous open water dives.

Diving with a detector, camera, speargun, etc., isn't about the number of dives you do, it's about being comfortable and secure with your equipment, and this goes without saying (so I'll say it anyway) - being SAFE.

Get a few dives under your belt, and get "comfortable"... then go to FL and dive with the guys here. I'm sure you'll have a great time, probably find some goodies, and... the water is a LOT warmer than the great lakes... probably clearer too

steve

 

[DennisB]

LOL. Thanks guys. Now you see where I am coming from. Experience and comfort. That is what I need. Once I hit the comfort zone and get the experience I need....in my opinion...I will definitely go down for a visit. Everybody please keep in touch.


Dennis

 

[rgecy]

NC_Bob,

Anytime! I live in Beaufort, SC and dive for Megalodon teeth and bottles. There are few nice wrecks here offshore and currently working on finding a few.

The water here is already warming back up and I will be diving regularly.

Dennis, I understand your comfort level and if you do decide to get down this way give me a shout. You don't have to be a veteran to dive for treasure or even sharks teeth. And even if your just down this way, would still like to meet with you.

Robert

 

[Darren in NC]

Cold, dark and muddy is the rule of thumb up here.

Wayne - anyone can dive in 15 feet of the clear blue - it's you guys who brave the elements, sustain ridicule for your craziness, and keep on diving in spite of it all who are the real heroes. I hope I can learn more from guys like you!

 

[DennisB]

LOL!!!!! Why Grubby I am coming to dive with you! You are the one that finds the most stuff by what I see.

Dennis

 

[ScubaFinder]

EXACTLY Dennis...Be careful who you dive with! LOL Grubby is like Great White chum...he gets in the water, they come a runnin'.

 

[Dinkydick]

Dennis:

You can dive with me anytime. I have a few dives under my large belt.
I am the safety man for the group. I have worked with alot of novice
divers that have graduated from commercial dive schools ($18,000.00
CHOKE). They couldn't even tie their shoes when finished with school.

Dinkydick

P.S. What size Spandex do you wear?

 

[southern maine diver]

Hey Darren and Grubby...

Thanks for the compliments... you're making me blush, but I'm not being a hero when I dive in some of these conditions, it's just the nature of the beast. You gotta jump in the water to make a paycheck, and I've got three teenaged kids, so I have lots of bills to pay!!!

This type of diving up here, is so different then what some of you guys are enjoying way down south, but these are the conditions I learned to dive with in back in 1969... cold, dark, mucky... that's what I'm used to. If I get 10' of visibility I'm ecstatic!!! Diving the cold water is also what we have become accustomed to. I don't get out of my wetsuit until the water temp dips below 43degrees or Dec 1st, whichever occurs first. I'm not talking about a quick 10 minute dive, I mean sustained in/out of the water hull cleaning most of the day. I guess I've gotten to be more of a walrus than anything else.

I've seen some posts on the forum where some of the guys in Florida said the water was cold if it got below 60 degrees. Up here, that's like bath tub water. Not bragging by any means, That's why I said that I don't know what it's like to dive in warm water... I'd go into shock!

Anyway, thanks for the kind words. I have become very fond of this forum and it is nice to see the comradere that is shared by most on this forum. I look forward to meeting you all.

Stay warm... dive safe...

Wayne

 

[rgecy]

Wayne,

As for visibility, I've tried to tell these guys, if I can see my hand in front of my face, were diving! Temp becomes a factor for me in the 40's. I have never needed a dry suit, but will dive my 6.5mm farmer-john pretty much all year.

I have done a few dives where I couldn't even read my pressure gage. I had to literally press it up to my face mask to see the glow in the dark numbers!

I look forward to seeing and meeting some of you guys this summer.

Robert

 

[southern maine diver]

Well Robert...

You're doing better than I am as far as suit thickness goes. I'm in a 7mil, with dive skins underneath and I still freeze my butt off until I get the arms and legs pumping to hold up the hydraulic hull cleaning machine. Then I'm "roasty toasty"...

Hey, I see that you're into bottle diving. I've been collecting for several years now and I have a nice little collection going. If you ever get up this way, I'll take you to a couple of nice spots. I've found some really nice "Stoddard" bottles in several areas. I dive with a couple of guys and we travel thoughout New England bottle diving. Found some nice stuff. You're more than welcome...

Wayne

 

[southern maine diver]

Hi Grubby...

You're right, not much "treasure" in the hull cleaning, but it pays the bills. I do pretty much everything as far as "light commercial diving" goes. We're doing a lot of moorings and underwater dock repairs (damage from the ice) so I'll be busy right till the end of July. Then vacation time. hull cleaning "season" starts back up first week of September and I clean about 350 to 400 boats prior to haul out, so I'm in the water 8 hours a day in the fall...

Not much time for treasure, but I do make a nice find every once in a while.

You take care and safe diving.

Wayne

 

[rgecy]

Wayne,

My 6.5 is a semi-dry and keeps me pretty warm. The toes and fingers don't fair as well.

I would love to take you up on the bottle hunting sometime. The summer is going to be pretty full between sub-contracting the 1715 fleet and my Key West project, but I am always up for a road trip.

Robert