SCUBA Divers: Gear, Locations & Photos

Greetings fellow divers!

Let's have a thread about diving under the great outdoors: Post your underwater pics, favorite dive spots, or preferred gear here.

No photos from me, still getting proficient with the waterproof camera case, hopefully one of youse guys can step up with some images...

I'm relatively new to diving, but I've done about six trips out to Catalina Island out from San Pedro, CA, as well as a lucky trip to Roatan, Honduras. Catalina is cold water! We used 7mil wetsuits and had an amazing time exploring the kelp forests and local wildlife, including the California state fish, the Garibaldi.

Roatan was all about massive coral reefs, warm water drift dives, and simply amazing, mind-blowing locations. There were a few wrecks sunk specifically for the divers paradise that brings in so much tourism to the area. They had a sunken tractor, a number of ships of varying size as well as a decent sized airplane. So cool! The most interesting thing we experienced during a Roatan dive was a sighting of a very large bright yellow-green moray eel swimming away from it's hidey-hole.

Ok, so what do you have to share?

I got nothing to share cause i have never done it but its one thing i always wanted to try. Hopefully soon i will get to learn. Good idea for a thread

Got a junior open water diver certificate back in 2000, i was 14. I've been diving in the waters of Thailand, more specifically around Kho Samui, Phuket, and Hua Hin. Don't have pics of any of that, but I do love diving, and I wish I could get somewhere where it is warm and has interesting stuff in the water. Current location does not cut the criteria. Great idea for thread!

Gear? I dive a Zeagle flathead 6 with a poseidon back inflate BC, Omer abyss mask,, Cressi 3000 fins, and when the cold weather hits I dive my pinnacle 5/4 with the merino wool lining. I use an Oceanic Geo for my dive computer cause I do some freediving. I did not want to have to buy a Suunto for freediving then have a dedicated scuba comp. The Geo does good for pretty much any blend of nitrox, and I have no plans of getting heliox or helitrox certified. Oh, and for guns? I have a sea hornet commercial 52 Rhino lined and a deathstick that I eventually need to get back from a friend (for a price of course).

I have a Halcyon stainless backplate and wing setup for a single tank. Stainless so that I can take 6 pounds off my weight belt. I also use a steel tank so that it stays negative through the whole dive. I use Apeks XTX50 regs, configured DIR style with a 7 foot 'long hose' for my primary. I dive in Melbourne where it's cold, so use a 7mm semi-dry. I love not using a traditional 'jacket-style' BCD, but that's a whole other story...

Man I forgot to mention I dive steel tanks too! My buddy dives a steel backplate and swears by it. When the time comes and my poseidon kicks the bucket I am either going with a backplate or a zeagle stiletto. probably a backplate though.

i'm not a diver myself but my wife's uncle is. he organizes and leads group dives all over the world

PADI Instructor here. Been diving since 1988. Most recently I dove the Red Sea in Egypt (before all the activity) and have been in 3 of the 5 Great Lakes, Truk Lagoon, Bora Bora, the Bahamas, Bonaire, Little Cayman and Catalina as well as a number of more local places!

I usually dive using a dry suit (Whites), unless it's above 70, and have Dacor and Aqualung gear for the most part. Camare is a Sea and Sea (currenlty DX-8000). I have a bunch of stuff online at dbeedle.com, my web page, but here are a couple shots...

From the Red Sea:


Truk Lagoon:


Little Cayman:


Me (Isle Royale - Lake Superior)

Just an ordinary diver here. Have Dacor and Tusa regs., Oceanic back-inflate bc, a Dacor jacket bc, and an old orange Scuba Pro bc. Various wet suits and skins. Several different styles of fins and masks, PSE steel 80 tank, and a basic Aeris computer...although I dove the tables for years and still do sometimes.

Haven't been to very many places, just Texas and Oklahoma lakes, quarries, and mud holes. Gulf of Mexico out of Gulf Breeze, Florida, Grand Cayman, and usually try to go to Cozumel every year...but haven't been in awhile.

I have a few videos that unfortunately haven't been converted to digital media yet. There are several photos scattered around; guess I need to round them up and put 'em all in one place on a disc.

Here's a few pics. I put up on a hosting site from a Coz. trip a few years ago. Unfortunately the trip report comes up on every page above the pictures...have to scroll down. The thumbnails are a bit cropped...they look better if you click on them and open them up full sized.

http://www.allenhost.com/gallery/v/sealskin98/Coz_+trip/

Padi Aow diver. Use mostly drysuite becouse of the cold norwegian water. Wet suite are only an option from jun to august.
Here are som pictures http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.407606862031.190507.639222031, don't know if it works with facebook pictures. But I give it a try.
And if it works with facebook pictures, here are som from a few dive I did in Gran Canaria http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.340398937031.161946.639222031

Hard to see them, look close - squids in the yucatan, all rented gear... will never do that again... felt like I was using half a lung, so the dive was short and shallow.

Some video (my first) shot on this years Lake Superior, Isle Royale trip. http://dbeedle.com/Photos/IR2012/index.html

dbeedle said:

Some video (my first) shot on this years Lake Superior, Isle Royale trip. http://dbeedle.com/Photos/IR2012/index.html

Click to expand...

wow

Not cave or wreck certified, and never used a dry suit (DUI is popular around here), but those vids. are awesome.

Last time I was in Georgetown Cathy Church invited me on a trip to the Solomon Islands that she was getting ready to take.

Alas, a back to back trip to Caymans and then the Solomons was not doable.

If you ever do a trip to some warm water places were there is a 130 feet depth option and some swim thoughs, and maybe some cavern dives...ya need a tank toter?

The most memorable dive I have done was in Fiji. I did a shark dive and had a 10 ft nurse shark skin between my legs but it got better, I also had a 16 ft tiger Shark push me back against some coral! When I find the pictures I'll post some up but it was byfar the best diving I have ever done!

dbeedle said:

Some video (my first) shot on this years Lake Superior, Isle Royale trip. http://dbeedle.com/Photos/IR2012/index.html

Click to expand...

I dove the C-53 wreck in Cozumel last May. I'm planning a spearfishing trip with some friends next month at one of the lakes around here in Utah. I don't have any scuba gear yet, just snorkeling stuff. I'm hoping to buy some soon. I don't have any scuba photos as my waterproof camera isn't rated to go as deep as we were diving, but here's one I took while snorkeling:

PADI AOW here but I haven't been in water for years let alone diving. I had a good deal going with a local dive shop on gear rental so I never purchased anything other than mask and fins. I would love an excuse to go again but the quarries here are relatively small and you run out places to hang out/see.

Heading off to Hawaii soon.

Plan to shore dive on Maui and Kauai.
Trying to keep the costs down and avoid the boats.

Recently switched to sidemount configuration...so I'll see how that goes with surf entries.
Use to calm mountain lakes.

Been diving for around 16 years. Mainly dive Port Philip Bay but I've dived around the NSW coast, south west Victorian coast, Mt Gambier in south Australia, various spots in Vanuatu. I also dive year round in a 5mm Sonar semi-dry with steel tanks for the most part.

Whilst I'm an avid land based photographer I've not got into underwater photography yet.

Favourite spots are Ewans ponds in Mt Gambier (in my opinion one of the easiest but most amazing fresh water dives you're likely to find anywhere), Merimbula or Boarfish reef in port Philip.

I do free dive, after a fashion, to the 20-25 metre mark, more of a bit of fun than serious diving, but still uses a lot of the same gear.

I haven't went diving (SCUBA or sky diving since I got out of the military) I sold all of my gear when I got out, figured I wouldn't need it I live 400 miles from the ocean. But The best diving I have ever seen was in Okinawa Japan. I have thought about getting back into it but that gear was expensive when I was single, now that I have a wife and kids its almost impossible.

grumpybear said:

figured I wouldn't need it I live 400 miles from the ocean.

Click to expand...

The desert divers in Mildura (the far north West of Victoria, Australia) are between 4-7 hours drive from any salt water (say roughly 400+ kms). Very inspiring group that they dive regularly - never too far I believe is the ethos

Personally I'm about 200kms away from salt water but always try to find time to make it a trip. I sympathise with the cost though - makes it very tough with a young family.