How many people here are Scuba Divers and what is your certification? My wife and I are certified technical and rescue divers which consist mostly of cave and wreck diveing with a few local quarry dives. I am HAPPY to say that there isn't alot of rescue dives!

 

I received my certificate in Hawaii and am certified to 60 feet. I have not done much with it, since I live in Kansas. If I lived by a nice lake or the coast I think I would really make use of it. But it was great to do it. And if I get near a good site while on vacation, I'll take a refresher course and do some more.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 16-Jul-02 AT 11:27 PM (EST)]I am Naui (is that right?) certified. As I recall I think it's down to ~120 feet.

It's been quite some time since I was certified, and I would take a refresher course before diving into anything under about 15 to 20 feet (probably even for those depths, too, but if facing really nice waters for short periods I'm sure I would just go and do the 15 feet dive).

I remember my certificaion dives - the blizzard of 1993 delayed the dives for two weeks, but then we had to go. I remember it was very, very cold, and visibility was an HONEST zero in places - I held my guages up to my mask and could not even tell I had anything there (not even a hint, shadow or outline - just muddy water). 1/4" full wetsuit.

Most times I was swimming with one hand holding my guages (to watch the compass) and the other sweeping back and forth in front of me to avoid swimming into anything that might be down there. (Just months earlier they had found a Ford pickup (with the keys in it) at the bottom - turned out to be an insurance scam. I sure didn't want to ram my head into a vehicle.)

The whole time I had a minor leak that got worse with depth, so at ~40 feet (at who knows how cold - that last thermocline was a killer) with ~zero visibility my breathing always had a fine mist of water in it. With no guages to be seen, and no hint of which direction was up (obviously I couldn't see bubbles to follow them, and I was afraid of what would happen to my eyes if I let that cold of water in to my mask to watch it), I got to a point at which I hd to stop everything and concentrate on regular, slow breahting (hyperventilating in such conditions wouldn't be a good thing). I remember the only exposed area of skin - my cheeks - were already causing problems by making my mouth want to spit the regulator out. I'm not sure why it was like that, but cold water divers tell me it happens.

I really haven't dived since only due to it being a sport that requires expensive equipment. I'm sure I'll get in to it again sooner or later.

 

I received my sport diver certification way back in high school. I think it was NAUI or NASDS. I did quite a bit of diving for a couple of years after. Hunting abalone, sightseeing and one wreck dive.

I started getting reverse-block and that was taking all the fun out of diving. :-( My best friend and dive buddy's wife was receiving her certification, so I gave all my gear to them. Havn't dove since.

 

I've been a diver now for about 11 years and hold a PADI divemaster rating and an IANTD Nitrox designation. I do most of my diving in beautiful British Columbia which, lucky for me boasts some of the best cold water diving in the world. We've hooked up with sea lions, seals, killer whales and even some dolphins up the north end of Vancouver island. My favourite type of diving is deep diving 130'+ and wreck diving. It's pretty eerie diving on a wreck in the middle of the night, brings to mind the scene in Jaws where the head pops out of the side of a sunken boat. Still scares the pants off of me....

 

i tirted it a few trime but never did get certified. a friend of mine did tho. first ranking or w/e. i found it to be fun