a Wee bit of help

[iocara]

I am about to start my open water course (in Scotland ) and then my advanced open water in Dubai.

basicallty my question is this I have purchased my fins, snorkel and mask, is there anything else that I would need to purchase, within limits to make it easier such as a dive computer, my own weights.. the dry suit is quite a bit away.

Sorry for the vagueities.

G

 

[RICHinNC]

Hey there iocara.....supposedly a lot of my ancestors came from the glasgow area.

Things that you could get for your trip could be a long list or the bare bones....what really drives it is how much $$$$$ (or is it &&&&& there??) you have to spend or are willing to spend.

A dive computer is certainly nice to have. To me there are two big advantages to a dive computer. One ....and i think the most important....it tells you if you are ascending too fast.....and that can kill you. The second thing is....it tells you your nitrogen accumulation.....good thing to know.

Having said that. You will probably go on a tour dive and be with many others. And, the tour will be guided most likely. You will meet their times under and surface intervals. So, if you really cant afford a pc right now....you could get along with out it. Just watch your smallest bubbles and let them beat you up.....and stop for off gassing where everyone else does.....you should have an old style pressure/depth guage on your rental equip. They are pretty accurate for depth.

I WOUD BUY....a safety sausage. Now I hope you know what I mean. It is a plastic (usually) long tube you blow up in case you get seperated from the boat or other divers. It IMHO is critical.


Whats the water temp where you are going?? If you can spring the cash....i would buy the minimum protection possible. 3mm shortie??? full 3 mm suit??? I would never wear some rental that has been peed in by others hundreds of times!!

Most will tell you that the first big piece of gear to buy is your regulators. I disagree. I think the bcd is the most important part and here is why. Everything you do is centered around the bcd. Everything you hook on or unhook from or put in the pockets are related to the bcd., And, the bcd is what will control your bouyancy. Get that first...know its parts and where youput things backwards and forwards and practice practice practice your bouyancy.

Good luck and I hope you get this.....I speak and write "merican, not bloody english!! later!!

 

[iocara]

Hey, Thanks for that. I will take you advice nad go and look for a BCD, I have been surfing the net now and there are quite a few for females.

The temperature, gosh I know it can be as low as 6 degrees, though to hazzard a guess i would simply say bloody freezing )

I start the course on June 10th, and because I have the worst fear of sharks and I kow thisis not good when attempting to become a suba diver, so i have booked myself in to our Local sealife center to feed their sharks.. The thought of it is making me feel ill already anyhoo that is on the 27th of July, so hopfully I shall be asking for more advice after that.

As for the Sausage.. MMM not sure what that is, but will defo look it up .

Thanks for taking the time to get back to me..

P.S. Where are yo from and how long have you been diving for.. Oh and have yu met any sharks?

 

[Rax]

Hi there, I would advice that you wait until after your traing. During your training you will learn about equipment and will be able to get advice on what to buy. However take this advice for what it is and browse this forum for other advice before you purchase.

One small thing I think of is a pair of booties for your feets.
With them you have enough equipment for snorkeling/freediving in pools and warmer waters.

Do not get too exited about buying all your things immideately. Myself I have done that many times and have later on bought the equipment I really wanted.

Try different equipment during your AOW.



Best regards,


Robert

 

[RICHinNC]

Rax is totally correct....I should have been more specific..

Use your basic training time and shortly there after to try as many types of bc's as possible and so on. I took your question to mean when you were out doing your advanced open water.

anyway...i live in North Carolina , USA. My mother's maiden name was Johnson and her father still had a Scottish accent. I know where the boot of an auto is!!!!

And, dont worry about sharks. I have seen a number of them and unless you are spearing fish or have cut yourself somewhere introducing blood to the water...they will usually just leave you alone.

go to places like.....www.leisurepro.com.....and....www.diversdiscount.com.. to see all kinds of equipment.

I would recommend that when you do finally go buy your bc to get one with integrated weight system. and, if you get one with velcro....wash it very good after every dive and it will last years.
Just be careful not to get one of the female bc's that you have to thread a rope every time you drop weights or hand them up to a boat.
Later...feel free to pm me if you have other questions...

and, www.scubaboard.com is another great place to learn things. later....rich
ps....have a smithwickes (sp?) for me....great beer.

 

[Kim Eslinger]

Originally posted by RICHinNC

Just be careful not to get one of the female bc's that you have to thread a rope every time you drop weights or hand them up to a boat.

Just for the record, they make "guys bc's" with that ridiculous threading too! If you are looking to buy gear, the best thing to do is try out as much of it as you can before you buy it. As a fellow chick I learned by trying on every bc out there that they are all VERY different - esp in the way that they fit our side of the pool. Try them all out and pay attention to where they sit on your hips and waist (this becomes critical the deeper you dive and the more you dive - especially when the weights start bruising your hips).

As for the sharks - think of them as big dogs. If you are afraid of them - they know it. If you want to be closer to them - they know it. Try not to see them as a giant monster there to eat you alive. If you focus on them, you will miss the beauty unfolding around you in the water.

BTW, a question no one has asked - why are you getting certified? What's your motivation?

Good luck and good diving!!!!

 

[Rax]

I would recommend that when you do finally go buy your bc to get one with integrated weight system.

I would not recomend a BCD with integrated weights. On the other hand it depends on many different things. For me a large diver that need quite some weight it is not good at all. The BCD with tank and reg mounted will be very heavy to handle. In several divecenters where they normally handle your equipment they refuse to handle BCDs with intergrated weights. My BCD was not strong enough to handle the weight if I needed to carry my equipment on my back after a dive. My BCD was supposed to be a high end model and the weights used was within specs.

Look at and talk to your instructors, other instructors and DMs. They usually have equipment that lasts. Talk to many people, visit a few stores and check out http://www.scubastore.com for low price high quality equipment. Read as much as you can on different forums.

I use a Scubabro Rectec harness and back bludder at the moment. It seems to be much stronger and tougher than anything I have used before. I really like the feeling in the water also. The only negative thing I can think of is that it is harder to stay upright at the surface if you should need . For example if the pick up is delayed for some reason.


/Robert

 

[iocara]

Hello again,

Thanks to all that responded, the diving world seems to be a mine field of equipment, and I shall "not buy in haste" as I normally do (woman thing), after all this is potentially life and death if something goes wrong.

The problem is the only person I know who is a qualified diver is my instructor who also runs the shop, I do trust what he says, but at the end of the day he is a sales person.

Why am I getting certified. I have always wanted to "breath under water" so to speak, and the whole environment facinates me, and I am now at a time in my life where I can afford to purchase kit. Also I am off to Dubai on holiday this year and the thought of diving in Oman and in Dubai was just too much to resist. plus I'll make new friends (hoo hoo). MMmmmm I guess it's an experience that can only be beaten by going into space, and because my spare £20 mill is currently tide up in the stock market, it is going to be many many moons before I go

 

[BatRay]

I agree with getting a weight-integrated bc. You don't know pain until you've walked any distance with those horrible weights riding on your hips, augh!

Also try to make sure that your bc places minimal pressure on your chest. I certified with a jacket-style bc. It was okay, until I tried a back-inflation, and I never want to dive with anything else. You breathe so much easier. Check out the deeperblue shop, they have great deals on everything. Welcome to the forums, and have fun!

 

[OceanSwimmer]

BC Choices.....

Welcome to the forums, iocara!
--As you browse, you may notice the 'search' option at the top of the page: you can find posts that address equipment in great detail. I've spent literally hours reading posts about suits! In fact there is a post about selecting a BC that is pretty recent. There are many helpful, experienced members here who are more than gracious about answering questions about gear, & places to go....so browse, ask questions, enjoy....and join in!
I'm a fairly new member and this site is a goldmine of information!

Keep us posted about your trip and certification.
Have a great time

 

[willsrn]

Dubai

Hi Iocara,
You are going to love diving in Dubai. If you get a chance to dive from Manamah, Bahrain do it. They have the world's only Pearl Dive course. It is a one day class and you actually find and keep pearls. It is taught by Aquatique.
Check out:http://www.pearldive.com/bahrain.html

Also Dream Divers in Jeddah is the best for Red Sea diving.
They have a live aboard for Farazan Island trips and some of the best reef and wreck diving to be found. Jeddah is right in the middle of the Red Sea and you can reach almost any site on an overnight trip. You could reach the Farazans from Yemen, Sudan or Ethiopia but they don't have good dive boats like the one in Jeddah.




Hey RichinNC,
I'm a Tarheel from the Piedmont. Where you from?
BTW, we do speak the Queen's English there. Linguist
have long known rural NC dialect is the closest form of Elizabethian English being spoken today.

En I dinah larn it over yonder. I larnt it ryecheer in North Carolina.

Smithwick's Ale eh? I favor a black en tan meself.