How many of you dive or would like to dive a reef someday?

[The_Skrimp]

Absolutely not. I love my tiny slice of the ocean in my living room but I still have severe thalassophobia. I might be up for diving a shallow reef but diving into water where all you see is deep blue in the distance is terrifying. There are just too many things in the ocean that will happily kill me.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I am certified firefighter and got my scuba training via dept and was able to complete checks on trips and deepest dive so far for me is 80 feet
I have some pics posted in a diving thread.

 

[BCSreef]

Been diving almost every year for 25 years. About as long as I have been reefing. There may be a connection!

Mostly Caribbean. A lot of Cozumel and Grand/Little Cayman. Did Dauin, Philippines in late 2019. Unbelievable! Going back for sure. Indonesia was planned for 2020, but something happened :mad:

 

[Peanut]

First certified in 1990, later again in college because it counted for PE credits! ;Woot Certified Advanced a few years later in Australia. Been diving many of the worlds oceans from 48 degree Fort Brag CA, to Lake Tahoe to 90 degree Cayman Islands. Our favorite spot is Palau where we've been a few times. We even got engaged there in 2006. Look at those crazy kids!

Our next trip WAS planned for Egypt this summer but Covid threw a wrench into our plans...

I did the same thing at UF back in 1988. Instead of PE I took Open Water 1, Open Water 2...

 

[Auquanut]

PADI certified in 1992. Being in the Navy, I was fortunate enough to dive some of the premier sites in the world. I really love night diving and drift diving. Since retiring and becoming landlocked, the opportunity to dive has been greatly reduced. COVID hasn't helped. My wife and I are hoping to plan a trip to the keys soon, so hopefully I'll have a chance to get wet. My last dive was the kelp forest of La Jolla. I hadn't ever done that before, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

[DiefsReef]

Was a commercial diver for 10 years down in the Gulf.
Not much time to enjoy the scenery and grew a big dislike for Trigger fish because they will bite right through a 1/4 wet suit and draw blood.

I went through a school up in Seattle to get commercial certified. They did give us scuba training as well and a cert card but it was not NAUI or PADI.

I had been diving for 10 years already when I went to FL one year with a friend who was PADI Instructor certified. We wanted to go diving in the springs so went to local dive shop. They wouldn't give me air! Said I wasn't certified.
He ordered double the tanks and we went. Actually was a great dive

Have not dug out old pics but have this one on the pc.
My 1st hat.. was great but head stayed wet so had to make some money and upgrade Winter diving is cold.
Deepest dive so far was 297'

Getting ready to go cycle a Hydrolic operated 30" ball valve

 

[oreolk]

Certified diver in 1995, dive instructor in 1999. I don't teach anymore but have been in the Caribbean, Hawaii, Fiji, Indonesia, The wrecks of North Carolina and the St Lawrence, the springs of Florida, cenotes of Mexico and of course the local quarry. The only diving I've been doing lately though is in the tank at home

 

[Alexusmc]

I have my Advanced Open Water and dive 3 to 4 times a year. I mostly dive in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. I was certified in 1996 while stationed in Okinawa, Japan.

 

[nmqtrhrse]

Most of us saltwater aquarium hobbyists have a fascination for the ocean and more specifically coral reefs! Seeing the fish and all the critters zooming around a coral reef is really inspiring to those of us who are reef keepers. But how many of you are actually certified divers and have you got to dive any coral reefs yet? Let's talk about it!

1. Are you a certified diver and how long have you been diving? Seen any cool reefs?

2. If you're not a certified diver now, would you like to get certified in the future?


PS. Show off some of your dive pics and videos!

Been certified since 1988. Little Cayman is my favorite place to dive

 

[Crevalle]

I used to dive quite frequently but the last 5 years for some reason the regulator mouthpiece makes me nauseous for some unknown reason. I’ve been sticking to snorkeling.

 

[Leiph86]

Not officially certified but I had a supervised dive with full equipment in Cozumel. Once it's safe to travel again I will be working on getting my full certification and will be getting a dive list together. Totally amazing and worth it seeing the real thing in person and humbles you on how important it is to get to the point of sustaining the environment.

 

[NDIrish]

SSI certified since 1999. Lived in Florida for 5 years and dove every weekend. Deepest dive was ship wreck at 70'. Wasn't impressed with the deep diving couldn't stay long.
Never been anywhere as fascinating as some of them others.

 

[SeahawkMom]

PADI Certified many, many years ago in December in the cold PNW Puget Sound, then went diving in Jamaica for a New Years Eve vacation. Was a single, poor young 20-something, so couldn't afford the gear or the the expense of the hobby after that, so haven't dove since. I loved it! It was magical! It's like flying underwater. Did 5 dives there. The reefs were beat-up but recovering, as they had been hit pretty hard by a hurricane the previous year. Our dives consisted of mostly shallow reef (down to 40 feet), one deeper wreck dive to 90-feet, and a night dive (saw a huge sleeping nurse shark). My favorite memory was on a shallow reef dive. We swam into a reef cave and waited there for 5 minutes, had no idea why we were just waiting, then the divemaster took us out and we swam above the same reef through our own exhaled air are seeping through the reef in tiny bubbles tickling our skin. It was like swimming through champagne! totally Amazing! My kids are grown now, and would love to get recertified and reef dive back home in Hawaii, and also night dive off the Big Island with the Manta Rays. My husband is terrified of getting eaten by sharks, so I'd have to do it on my own, or get one of my sons to go with me. We snorkel the reefs when we visit family. My tank connects me back to growing up in the ocean in Hawaii.

 

[fishybizzness]

I've been padi certified since the early 80s. Now I mostly go snorkeling at the beach down the hill from my house because I lost my boat for irma. Getting a new boat this year so I'll be doing alot more diving with the wife! Before and after hurricane irma pics of my boat. Hurricanes are not nice...

 

[jassermd]

Wife and I got certified as a wedding gift to each other 20+ yrs ago. Completed numerous other certifications: deep dive, dry suit, nitrox, and my favorite, rescue.
Favorite dive: open water shark feeding dive in Bahamas... was never so nervous to move, even an inch.
Best dive: St. Lucia - Superman slide and sunken frigate at 130ft. Crystal clear water!

All the dives pale in comparison to the amazement we have when we gaze into our tank. Never got to experience coral or reef life that close!

 

[Toneman]

1. Are you a certified diver and how long have you been diving? Seen any cool reefs?

2. If you're not a certified diver now, would you like to get certified in the future?

Most of us saltwater aquarium hobbyists have a fascination for the ocean and more specifically coral reefs! Seeing the fish and all the critters zooming around a coral reef is really inspiring to those of us who are reef keepers. But how many of you are actually certified divers and have you got to dive any coral reefs yet? Let's talk about it!

1. Are you a certified diver and how long have you been diving? Seen any cool reefs?

2. If you're not a certified diver now, would you like to get certified in the future?


PS. Show off some of your dive pics and videos!

 

[Toneman]

Been diving since 2000, got certified in the Red Sea off Jeddah Saudi Arabia. Have since dived in St Lucia, Jamaica, and the Bahamas. Have to say, Saudi Arabia was the nicest reef I've seen.

 

[NanoBoxes]

Certified 30yrs now. Also a FD Rescue diver for 13yrs. Have dived Keys, Jamaica, Mexico, Belize, Dominican. Teen daughter just got certified a few years now which is a lot of fun diving with her. We are headed to St. Thomas in June, and 2022 headed to Hawaii to do the Manta Ray night dive which everyone says is an amazing experience!
Hope to head to Indonesia and Australia in 5yrs.

 

[PatW]

I have been certified for 14 years and have 900 dives. I take photos with my “Boatanchor 2.0” a full frame DSLR camera. My wife is a better diver than I am. She has tremendous buoyancy control and uses very little air on dives. She is an inactive instructor. I am rescue certified but I do not believe that is more than an introduction to concepts. It does try to make one aware of not becoming a problem that someone else has to rescue.

I have dived : Roatan, Utila, Turneffe, Cozumel, Little Cayman, Cayman Brac, Grand Turk, Salt Cay, South Cairos, the BVIs, the Florida Keys and south Florida.

 

[defasum]

PADI verified in 1990. Dove Cozumel & Cancun often in my 20's. Married and had children and haven't gone diving since . I'm going to convince my now adult children to get certified and go diving with me in the future.