Anyone else feel the sudden urge to...

[musicsmaker]

go scuba diving? After the January meeting (my first) I've thought about it a lot lately. Where would be the best place on the east coast to go for a first dive? I'm thinking Clearwater Florida.

[Yunit]

I highly recommend SCUBA diving. I will remember my first dive my entire life!

As for places on the east to dive, the Florida Keys are supossed to be beautiful. I learned to dive on the west coast and most of my experience is in Seattle (which is damn cold water). You may also want to look into the diving in North Carolina. There are a lot of wrecks, but that is more advanced diving. Where ever you go, it will be an unforgetable experience!

Ryan

[moray_eel]

:bounce1: Can't wait to get started on this year's diving! FLA Keyes diving is good for seeing a good variety of critters. The wreck diving off of NC is more advanced, but every time I've gone, I've seen sharks, rays, turtles, barracuda & more.

[musicsmaker]

When you say more advanced, what exactly do you mean?

[Yunit]

Wreck diving is more advanced because it requires more skill, education, and experience. Buoyancy control is very important and a diver must be able to control himself very precisely. Because you are in something under water, there is the possibility of getting stuck, either in general or if the wreck were to shift.

To be a safe diver, you must be thoroughly prepared and anticipate situation that might occur. Because you rarely know exactly what you are in for when going into a wreck, it is difficult to do those things accurately.

Believe me, you will see such unbelievable things on the ocean floor that you will be more than entertained until you have developed the skills necessary to wreck dive.

As always, it would be smart to get some instruction before diving into something like that (pardon the pun.) After the open water certification, you can always go for an advanced open water.