http://www.divebuddy.com/forum.aspxScuba diving forum for members of DiveBuddy.com.http://www.divebuddy.com/forum.aspxhttp://www.divebuddy.com/images/divebuddy_db.png240lerpyhttp://www.divebuddy.com/forum_topic.aspx?ForumID=27831Thu, 16 May 2013 08:01:00 CDTEquipmentHow would I calculate how much air in volume is in my tank. So I have a 150 steel so at max pressure 3400 I should have 150cubic feet, but how do I figure out what I have if my tank is now at 2400psi]]>lerpyhttp://www.divebuddy.com/forum_topic.aspx?ForumID=27768Mon, 13 May 2013 14:31:00 CDTEquipmentThinking about getting into doubles for possible further training into the wreak/cave diving world. Looking for advice for those using doubles what size is best. Going based on I am 6’2", big guy so can carry some weight, but but don’t want to become a beast of burden. I have looked and see the spectrum is pretty much LP95 to 130’s and there seem to be some odd sizes that are used by some. I currently use a single 150.]]>lerpyhttp://www.divebuddy.com/forum_topic.aspx?ForumID=26875Sun, 24 Mar 2013 10:48:00 CDTTravelThinking of doing a snorkel/dive with manatee at Crystal River, wondering what else there might be in the line of an inexpensive (state park) or free dive to do in the area to round out a day out there. Any advice or spots to check out is appreciated.]]>lerpyhttp://www.divebuddy.com/forum_topic.aspx?ForumID=26603Thu, 07 Mar 2013 08:41:00 CDTBuddy WantedAnyone know of any decent shore dives in the St Augustine beach, Cresent beach area or within say half and hour drive? I am looking for any suggestions and anyone that might be up for a dive.]]>lerpyhttp://www.divebuddy.com/forum_topic.aspx?ForumID=26373Wed, 27 Feb 2013 12:52:00 CDTBuddy WantedHey there, finally the day has arrived and I am heading to FLA in the morning. Looking to dive the springs between March 5-13. March 8-9 I will be getting my cavern cert so after that I am up for caverns that are beyond just OW.]]>lerpyhttp://www.divebuddy.com/forum_topic.aspx?ForumID=26261Fri, 22 Feb 2013 09:42:00 CDTTravelJust looking for some input on a couple of dive operators in the Ocho Rios Jamaica area. Resort Divers and Water Sports, and Jamaica Scuba Divers Ltd. Just wondering if anyone knows anything about these operations, or can recommend an operation in the area that is good.]]>lerpyhttp://www.divebuddy.com/forum_topic.aspx?ForumID=25967Thu, 31 Jan 2013 18:36:00 CDTBuddy WantedIm packing my truck with dive gear and heading south for a month. Going to be based in St Augustine Fla but looking to dive as much as possible, and try and hit different parts of the state. Looking for dive suggestions and dive buddies that know the places to go. Planning to try and get out to the gulf and down to the keys possibly for boat dives, and have heard the springs are the place to go in N. Fla. Matt]]>lerpyhttp://www.divebuddy.com/forum_topic.aspx?ForumID=25289Mon, 17 Dec 2012 16:08:00 CDTTravelJust got back from a trip to Cozumel and thought I would throw out my thoughts on where I stayed etc. I was at the Iberostar which was pretty much the last hotel heading out of town, about 20 minutes out. The hotel was pretty good, it was not a typical resort, and it would appear Iberostar has this place to try and tap that diver market that goes to Cozumel. I liked the grounds, they were nice, and very cool that they had peacocks, flamingos, and various lizards wandering around. The rooms were decent, not huge, but they were basic with a mini bar that was stocked daily with water, pop and beer. Food was pretty typical buffet food, only two stand alone restaurants, both pretty good. My room was a few paces from the dock and dive shop which was nice, I could basically gear up in my room and walk to the boat in a couple of minutes. The five operator was Dressel Divers, they were good, the first day seemed a little disorganized getting in and signed up for dives, but after that really good. I booked a package that included several dives and a night dive, and a trip over to the mainland to dive a couple of cenotes which for me was awesome and now I want to try out a cavern/cave certification. Overall the resort was good, but not super fancy like you might expect on the mainland or the places that are really big resorts, but it was nice, clean, pretty good food. Right next door on the beach was a small mexican restaurant and bar that was an easy walk and was good for a change. Dive sites were at hte most 10 minute ride on the boat which was nice, and the boat came back after every dive giving you a change to grab a quick snack at the buffet next to the dive shop. Really enjoyed the trip and would recommend the Iberostar to people.]]>lerpyhttp://www.divebuddy.com/forum_topic.aspx?ForumID=24675Tue, 23 Oct 2012 12:07:00 CDTTravelGood timing as it seens to be a topic. Looking at possibly hitting Cozumel in December never been and looking for a good dive operator to potentialy use. Recommendations, personal experiences or advice??]]>lerpyhttp://www.divebuddy.com/forum_topic.aspx?ForumID=24420Wed, 19 Sep 2012 07:50:00 CDTTravelMy buddy and I are taking our annual trip to Dutch Springs next weekend, Spetember 28th. Anyone been there in the past week, updates on temps and vis would be appreciated. We are going to be diving on the Saturday, planning on spending the day and probably get in a night dive as well depending on weather and how the day goes. If you would like to go and need a buddy we are happy to meet new local divers and dive with you. This will be our second trip there, so still getting familiar with the place.]]>lerpyhttp://www.divebuddy.com/forum_topic.aspx?ForumID=23395Sun, 15 Jul 2012 06:27:00 CDTHealth & SafetyJust thought I would fire out an experience I had to re-iterate the importance of buddies (not that we all don’t know but I figure we can learn from others). So diving the other day 25 minutes into my dive and I go to take a breath and......nothing......Keeping my composure I quickly grab my octo and take a breath..........nothing.........That’s when the oh shit this is really happening moment hit. Thankfully my buddy was only a fin kick or two away, grab his octo and took one of the best breaths I ever have, and we made our way to the surface. I had last looked at my guage and had 2000LBS, only minutes before this happened, I checked at surface and 0. My tank was off and one of my hoses was wrapped around the valve. The only explanation I have is that as I was moving around the hose was slowly closing the valve down. I’m still running this through in my head how that happened. Any thoughts or input out there, anyone have this happen to them?]]>lerpyhttp://www.divebuddy.com/forum_topic.aspx?ForumID=20986Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:35:00 CDTTravelOk so starting to look at my next possible trip for some diving and have been thinking about the Graveyard of the Atlantic NC area for mid May. Just starting to look into the area, operators, diving, hotels and so forth, and am looking for advice. Anyone that may have advice on operators and hotels, information would be greatly appreciated.]]>lerpyhttp://www.divebuddy.com/forum_topic.aspx?ForumID=20973Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:10:00 CDTTravelJust go back from a dive trip to Nassau. Trip was great, diving was pretty good. I dove with Stuart Cove adn they have a good operation but I can see the cattle car concept for sure, but I did not let that interfere, once in the water pretty much just did my own dive. My one frustration is they seem to be really anti-drift dive. One day I came up early frustrated as it was a full moon and the tides and currents were strong, would have been gorgeous drift, but nope. Burned a ton of air fighting the current. Saw a lot of reef, which is great, but would have liked to see some more wrecks. On my last day of diving there were only 5 on the boat which was awesome. I had dove with the dive leader a couple of times in the week and she was really cool about changing the plan. She set me up for a drift dive, and one the other couple of divers went up early she singnaled to me and my buddy to go ahead and stay down as long as air was good. We stayed in another 20 minutes or so and ended up in a group of sharks, very cool. I did the Stuart Cove shark dive, which was worth the experience, it was pretty cool indeed, however I found the dives where we just wound up around sharks were cooler, just drifting along with them swiming around you. I would definately go back, hotel wise, I stayed at the Sheraton at cable beach, but in future would probably go to the Orange Hill Inn. It is smaller, less amenities, but cheaper, and appears to be a bit of a hang out for divers. Chatted with some divers that were staying there and they indicated it was nice, local feel, with friendly personable staff. The Sheraton was nice for the hot tub afer the dives though. Nassau is pricey, that is the one thing I found. Even though I go away from the hotel to eat and drink I still found it to be quite pricey, just a warning for those that have not been. Overall, enjoyed it, great weather, calm seas, diving was pretty good, lots to see. Would recommend it.]]>lerpyhttp://www.divebuddy.com/forum_topic.aspx?ForumID=20835Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:57:00 CDTTravelJust got back from Pompano Beach where I did some diving. I was recommended on here to try out Parrot Island Adventures for a dive boat and I did use them. They were great, nice boat, (6 pack) with a good group of experienced divers. The Captain (Jerry) was great and very helpful, especialy when I was kicked in the ass by seasickness. He and another diver recommended Triptone and it worked wonders. Stocked up on it for my trip to Bahamas as for the first time I seem to be getting seasickness. Good expereience, great dives, went to a wreack on the first dives then drifted the reefs on the second. Saw lots, it was great, as mentioned, the Captain was great, made good recommendations for dive shops and for restaurants to eat at.]]>lerpyhttp://www.divebuddy.com/forum_topic.aspx?ForumID=20598Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:14:00 CDTFree DivingOn Christmas Eve day I will be hooking up with divebuddy member vettement (Andrew) to dive at the Blue Heron bridge I have heard on this place on here and in articles, and Andrew has offered to be my guide while I am in the area on vacation.. It sounds like it needs to be early based on tides, 7:30AM, however from there we are planning to spend the day taking in some of the local shore dives. If there is anyone out there interested in joining up for some shore diving, perhaps you have a great spot to hit let us know, the more the marrier. Matt]]>lerpyhttp://www.divebuddy.com/forum_topic.aspx?ForumID=20566Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:55:00 CDTPhotographyI am looking for some input to the worth of some photo equipment. It is older stuff, the housing is an Ikelite for a Canon G5 camera, has the wide angle lense, and an Ikelite D200 Superstrobe. The equipment is in great shape, belonged to a friend of mine and I am looking at some suggestions for a reasonable price for it. It also has a UK hadcase with foam for carrying everything. Any advice or input is appreciated.]]>lerpyhttp://www.divebuddy.com/forum_topic.aspx?ForumID=20534Thu, 24 Nov 2011 08:06:00 CDTGeneralHappy Thanksgiving to my friends south of the border. I am now looking even more forward to my trip to Florida. Yesterday woke up to a nice covering of snow, and -11C.]]>lerpyhttp://www.divebuddy.com/forum_topic.aspx?ForumID=20531Wed, 23 Nov 2011 12:16:00 CDTTravelI am arriving in Pompano Beach FLA Dec 20 looking for a dive buddy that might be interested in a shore dive if there are any good spots in the area. Going to be on my own and have booked to do some diving with Parrot Island Adventures, but would like a good shore dive, especialy before I head out on a boat to get used to the different environment, and to perhaps get another dive or two in without the cost of a boat. If you are interested in showing a Canadian the ropes in south Florida I would be interestes in hearing from you. As well I can change my diving reservations at this point if someone has better suggestions for diving, or operators in the area. Thanks. Matt]]>lerpyhttp://www.divebuddy.com/forum_topic.aspx?ForumID=20374Fri, 21 Oct 2011 16:32:00 CDTEquipmentOk sending out another request for input. Getting ready for my dive trips south, need to buy a new gear bag. Looked at some nice ones from Akona and Mares, something with wheels, the only issue is they are about 10" totaly larger than the what the airlines technically allow. Has anyone had any issue with bags size, weight I know for sure they check, but I have never seen a bagged measured, although my GF is saying she has. We are flying with US based airlines so some input from my friends in the states is appreciated, what is the feeling on baggage now, super tight or are most bags for checked going ok. As well any suggestions for bags that will hold gear for two people, will be taking our 5MM not 7MM so more room in that sense. Any suggestions for bags would be appreciated. Matt]]>lerpyhttp://www.divebuddy.com/forum_topic.aspx?ForumID=20132Wed, 21 Sep 2011 13:46:00 CDTEquipmentPutting together a save a dive kit and looking for input from others based on what is in theirs, that little something that no one thinks of until it happens to them. I have the baiscs, couple of extra hoses, o rings, picks, lube, silicone, mask strap, zip ties, fin strap, extra mouth piece and a few tools. As well I am thinking of getting one of those "dive multi-tool" that have the special tools for diving, any thoughts on those.]]>