[jimdoe2you]

Hi Hector,

Welcome to deeperblue.net. The forum is an incredible source of information available in previous threads as well as having numerous members who are willing to help you with all your current questions.

Let me go on a bit of a rant for a moment because we have a few things in common:

I am a former University of Florida Academic Diving Program (UFADP) student instructor. I actually did my Naui ITC (instructor training course) with greats like Jarrod Jablonski (the CEO of Halcyon dive equipment and creator of DIR), as well as Scuba guru Tec Clark.

I have stood in your shoes. There is a good chance you will be lured into cavern and cave diving up there since this kind of diving is about the only decent diving around Gainesville. If you do go in that direction, PLEASE BE CERTIFIED IN CAVERN AND CAVE DIVING FIRST!!! This is coming directly from somone who has had to pull a none breathing body out of cave, fortunately we were able to revive her.

Diving is a great sport and the more you learn, the better it gets. Please feel free to send me a private message by clicking on my name if you have any questions. From one University of Florida student/diver to another!

Good luck and welcome to deeperblue.net,

Jim