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Tree Dude posted:Anybody dive with a prescription mask? I'd like as much information on how to go about getting one as possible and general pros/cons vs diving with a normal mask if there are any. My vision is pretty hosed up and it would be nice to be able to see things down there clearly for a change. I've never worn contacts and probably never will. All the websites I can find that seem to do this seem pretty janky. The only information I've found that seems pretty straightforward is that split masks are best for it. If I already have a mask I like is it easier to have it altered or will I usually be buying a new mask for this purpose? Any masks better than others? Anybody who does this that you would recommend? I have two prescription Atomic Aquatics Subframe masks. For that mask, you can buy the Rx lenses separately. I love diving a prescription mask. I don't worry about mask floods and don't lose contact lenses like I did. My vision isn't great, but corrects well. Split masks allow for different corrective strengths to match your prescription so if you have a current spectacles Rx, you should be good to order lenses. My dive shop ordered me the lenses and installed them for me. If you have a mask you like, ask your dive shop if there are Rx lenses they can order. I've had zero trouble with my Rx Subframe masks so you may want to give them a look.
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Nov 24, 2016 06:02
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Thanks! That mask was actually on my short list along with the Cressi Big Eyes Evolution and one or two others. I'm going to see if I can't find somewhere to try them on and I'll get whatever fits best.
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Nov 24, 2016 07:14
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Tree Dude posted:Anybody dive with a prescription mask? I'd like as much information on how to go about getting one as possible and general pros/cons vs diving with a normal mask if there are any. My vision is pretty hosed up and it would be nice to be able to see things down there clearly for a change. I've never worn contacts and probably never will. All the websites I can find that seem to do this seem pretty janky. The only information I've found that seems pretty straightforward is that split masks are best for it. If I already have a mask I like is it easier to have it altered or will I usually be buying a new mask for this purpose? Any masks better than others? Anybody who does this that you would recommend? My shop did mine for me for about 40 bucks extra, just swapped out the lenses. Brought in my prescription and there's some formula they do so that they factor in the water refraction. This only works on specific sets of masks of course, both of mine are split. I can say that my first pool session suuuuuuuuuuuucked because I didn't have the prescription at the time as I have terrible vision. I was doing better with no mask on. Once I got the lenses everything was easy. Also, I bought 2 because they lost my luggage going to Belize and I got stuck in rental gear for a couple of days, but my vision was taken care of because I took one pair on the carry on. I think both of mine are Cressi Big Eyes and I have no complaints.
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Nov 24, 2016 08:02
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I can't speak to prescription masks, but any of you four eyes who haven't tried contacts are totally missing out. Glasses suck and restrict tons of activities. It's incredible to not worry about them falling off or slipping when sweaty or wet.
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Nov 24, 2016 22:29
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I just got OW certified over the summer (finally, after wanting it for years) and I can't imagine not having prescription lenses for my mask (a ScubaPro Solara), because my eyesight is so terrible. I got them through my dive shop: cost like $200, took about a week and a half for them to order the lenses and receive them, and they installed them for me. It's like night and day; I've done discover SCUBA in the past and it was a struggle to see anything, now everything is crystal clear! So here's a question: I'm going on my first dive trip this winter, any tips on not looking like the stupid newbie diver that I am?
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Nov 25, 2016 02:01
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Don't bring a camera until you've got your buoyancy down right.
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Nov 25, 2016 04:33
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Trivia posted:Don't bring a camera until you've got your buoyancy down right. Don't buy a camera until you've got your buoyancy down right.
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Nov 25, 2016 05:01
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Johnny Longtorso posted:So here's a question: I'm going on my first dive trip this winter, any tips on not looking like the stupid newbie diver that I am? My son and I were the stupid newbies last Summer... there's really nothing for it, except listen to the dive briefing, have a good attitude, and remember your safe diving practices. Even on our very first charter boat about 2 months and 6 dives after certifying, we still weren't the worst newbs on the boat because we were following directions.
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Nov 25, 2016 17:34
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Johnny Longtorso posted:So here's a question: I'm going on my first dive trip this winter, any tips on not looking like the stupid newbie diver that I am?
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Nov 25, 2016 19:33
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Biggest thing is to relax. Move slowly, breathe slowly and just chill. You don't want to be the first one to use up all their air and make everyone surface. :p
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Nov 25, 2016 22:48
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GORDON posted:My son and I were the stupid newbies last Summer... there's really nothing for it, except listen to the dive briefing, have a good attitude, and remember your safe diving practices. Even on our very first charter boat about 2 months and 6 dives after certifying, we still weren't the worst newbs on the boat because we were following directions. Wisdom. People who don't listen are are an obnoxious hazard, no matter how much experience they have. bonds0097 posted:Biggest thing is to relax. Move slowly, breathe slowly and just chill. You don't want to be the first one to use up all their air and make everyone surface. :p This is great advice, too... except that you most likely WILL be the first one to run out of air, specially on the first dive. My add-on advice is not to lie to the DM when he signals for how much air you have left. Why? Because they can see your gauge from like 10-15 feet away. They watch people do this poo poo every day, there's no fooling them.
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Nov 25, 2016 23:25
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That Atomic Subframe feels great but the cost of getting my prescription in there is going to almost quadruple the cost of the mask. My eyes are weirder than I thought. Still might do it.
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Nov 26, 2016 23:59
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Earned my GUE Tech1 rating this past week. Awesome class with lots of learning. Got to do it in Lake Mead, NV which was a uniquely cool dive site with some cool sites and decent viz. Also, I purchased a scooter. Gonna put a Scooty Puff Sr sticker on it. 
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Nov 27, 2016 03:14
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lord1234 posted:Earned my GUE Tech1 rating this past week. Awesome class with lots of learning. Got to do it in Lake Mead, NV which was a uniquely cool dive site with some cool sites and decent viz. Congrats! We need more tech diving discussion in this thread, I miss all the posting from Bishop and others. 
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Nov 27, 2016 03:27
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Red_Fred posted:Congrats! We need more tech diving discussion in this thread, I miss all the posting from Bishop and others. I'm Tech1/Cave1. Sadly I live in the middle of TX, so my tech diving won't be nearly as exciting as it could be if i lived on a coast somewhere, or closer to Cave Country. Also Bishop disappeared a while back from here and TDS, so I think he quit diving.
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Nov 27, 2016 16:05
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Considering a trip to Asia to learn and do some scuba diving. I have been free diving for many years and am pretty good at it - one reason I've never bothered to learn scuba. But I think it's now time. Here's my question. I love coral reefs, and if I'm going to go all the way to Asia, I want to see some of the best I reasonably can. There's been coral bleaching all over the world, and there's few reefs left that are in good health. Which are some good ones left? Thailand? Indonesia? Can anyone make a recommendation of a coral reef in great condition that's also suitable for a beginner diver?
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Nov 27, 2016 19:05
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Speaking of cave country, my shop is running 2 trips down there this winter. Ginnie Springs, Devil's Den, Blue Grotto for the first one in December and Rainbow River (night drift), Crystal River (manatees), Devil's Den and Blue Grotto in January. We're only hanging out on the cavern side of things,which is perfectly fine by me  . I'm actually working the second trip as a DM, and we've got an instructor going to certify some new divers and hopefully do some continuing education (along with me trying to guide some of the new DM candidates along the way). No post about cave country is complete without some pics, so here we go Ginnie Springs: Looking up out of the little slit where the Little Devil cave entrance is:  Looking out from the entrance of Devil's Eye:  Looking up to the trees above, again from Devil's Eye:  Devil's Ear, out in the Santa Fe River:  Devil's Den: This is the only real pic I've got from here. The pool is ~200ft across, and the max depth is ~55ft.  Blue Grotto: Hey, that's me!  The air bell I was inside in the last pic is visible in the top-middle here. This is around 50 ft down, looking back towards the entrance. Blue Grotto goes down to 100 ft, and the deepest part is actually out of line-of-sight from the surface (flashlights recommended).  Looking at the lighting system. 
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Nov 27, 2016 19:26
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First day diving on vacation (Virgin Islands). On second dive, suddenly had some nausea. Retched a few times, thought I was going to puke, but then it passed. Never had anything like that happen before. Has anyone puked while diving? How dangerous is it?
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Nov 27, 2016 19:49
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Icon Of Sin posted:Speaking of cave country, my shop is running 2 trips down there this winter. Ginnie Springs, Devil's Den, Blue Grotto for the first one in December and Rainbow River (night drift), Crystal River (manatees), Devil's Den and Blue Grotto in January. We're only hanging out on the cavern side of things,which is perfectly fine by me Awesome. The Florida Springs are my favorite places on earth. Here's a pic I took from Little River Springs yesterday (freediving  )
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Nov 27, 2016 19:52
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Squashy Nipples posted:First day diving on vacation (Virgin Islands). On second dive, suddenly had some nausea. Retched a few times, thought I was going to puke, but then it passed. Never had anything like that happen before. I have before. Purging your reg should clear anything out of it (solid or liquid), just remember to put your tongue up in the mouthpiece so things get blown out instead of back into your mouth. Please don't ask me why I know that 
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Nov 27, 2016 19:58
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My ex loved diving with a passion despite having the worst motion sickness I've ever seen. Dramamine didn't help much. She would start almost every boat dive by puking into her regulator. I can't even imagine.
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Nov 27, 2016 20:18
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Kesper North posted:My ex loved diving with a passion despite having the worst motion sickness I've ever seen. Dramamine didn't help much. She would start almost every boat dive by puking into her regulator. I can't even imagine. I too suffer from this. I take Scopace(pill for of the Scopalamine patch) which I have made for me by Steven's Pharmacy(they are the only compounding pharmacy in the US that makes it). It was a hassle getting the 'scrip from my doctor, but onceI got it, it works AWESOME!
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Nov 27, 2016 20:39
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Squashy Nipples posted:First day diving on vacation (Virgin Islands). On second dive, suddenly had some nausea. Retched a few times, thought I was going to puke, but then it passed. Never had anything like that happen before. I have been puking at the surface after the last few dives in west palm beach. I called DAN who said it was likely my diet or sea sickness, but if it continues to give them another call. Not very helpful but it's all I have..
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Nov 27, 2016 23:55
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Ramrod Hotshot posted:Considering a trip to Asia to learn and do some scuba diving. I have been free diving for many years and am pretty good at it - one reason I've never bothered to learn scuba. But I think it's now time. If money's no object, go to Palau. Amazing reefs and a few wrecks, lots of sharks, little in the way of current. A good variety. Also Sam's Tours has unlimited house reef diving, so you can take a tank after you're cert'ed and practice all you want on your own. I can't recommend enough. Philippines has some good diving, but really depends on where you go. Cebu area won't be that great, but western islands have some good variety. Malaysia has Sipidan, which is world-famous. Indonesia's Komodo National Park is incredible, but has strong currents which can be intimidating (though I've seen lots of beginners there). Mantas mantas mantas, sometime 30 or more. Definite bucket list location imo. Another Indonesian alternative is the Gili Islands. Very easy beginner diving, but still some great reefs. Island life is chill and relaxing, a great place that's most like a typical tropical vacation. I did the Similans in Thailand as a part of a live aboard, and they were pretty good. This is years ago though, and some people say it's not as good anymore. Maldives was meh in terms of reefs. Whale shark encounter made it all worth it though.
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Nov 28, 2016 00:05
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Ramrod Hotshot posted:Considering a trip to Asia to learn and do some scuba diving. I have been free diving for many years and am pretty good at it - one reason I've never bothered to learn scuba. But I think it's now time. The reefs of some of the islands off Vietnam (like Con Dao) are also pretty unspoiled, for the moment. I can only speak for Con Dao from experience, but it was honestly some of the most beautiful reef I've ever seen. Cuttlefish everywhere too; they were mating when I was there. Lots of docked spaceships hovering around.
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Nov 28, 2016 01:22
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Trivia posted:If money's no object, go to Palau. Amazing reefs and a few wrecks, lots of sharks, little in the way of current. A good variety. Also Sam's Tours has unlimited house reef diving, so you can take a tank after you're cert'ed and practice all you want on your own. I can't recommend enough. If I had $1 for evey time you mentioned how great Palau is I might be able to afford to go!  I'm always checking and flights are always insane. One day...
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Nov 28, 2016 01:30
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Thanks for the responses, everyone. I had a feeling a bit of common sense and patience will go a long way. I feel like I'm okay at buoyancy for a beginner (I did at least get a couple positive [no pun intended] comments from my instructors). Still, I wish I had somewhere to practice. Also: quote:My add-on advice is not to lie to the DM when he signals for how much air you have left. Why? Because they can see your gauge from like 10-15 feet away. They watch people do this poo poo every day, there's no fooling them. Why in the world would anyone do this? This sounds incredibly stupid. Further question: weights. I don't really have much of an idea of how much weight I'm going to need. I did my OW dives in fresh water with a two-piece 7mm wetsuit on (yay Dutch Springs). I'll be going to salt water with probably a shorty. I know there's not really a mathematical formula, since everyone is different, so is it just a matter of figuring things out through trial and error?
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Nov 28, 2016 01:31
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Johnny Longtorso posted:Thanks for the responses, everyone. I had a feeling a bit of common sense and patience will go a long way. I feel like I'm okay at buoyancy for a beginner (I did at least get a couple positive [no pun intended] comments from my instructors). Still, I wish I had somewhere to practice. Oh hey, another PA diver. Trial and error is fine. Ocean water is way more buyoant but then so is a 7mm suit so you could end up around the same weight. Divemasters on stuff like this will usually carry extra weights if needed so you can err low.
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Nov 28, 2016 01:39
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Squashy Nipples posted:First day diving on vacation (Virgin Islands). On second dive, suddenly had some nausea. Retched a few times, thought I was going to puke, but then it passed. Never had anything like that happen before. I've puked while diving (I'm quite susceptible to motion sickness, it's usually because of bad chop on a surface swim). My advice: puke through the reg, and try and get it all out before you breathe in. It's also OK to switch to your backup reg to take a deep breath if you're worried about bits of puke in the reg. I've also had a bit of puke stick in the exit valve of a second stage once, and it breathed wet until I figured it out. I don't think it's that dangerous. Also, the fish love it and you'll feel better afterwards.
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Nov 28, 2016 05:29
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Red_Fred posted:If I had $1 for evey time you mentioned how great Palau is I might be able to afford to go! Komodo gives it a run for its money to be honest.
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Nov 28, 2016 07:07
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Trivia posted:If money's no object, go to Palau. Amazing reefs and a few wrecks, lots of sharks, little in the way of current. A good variety. Also Sam's Tours has unlimited house reef diving, so you can take a tank after you're cert'ed and practice all you want on your own. I can't recommend enough. Great info, thanks for this. Speaking of Indonesia, have you by chance been to Bunaken NP to dive? The pictures look nice but I've never heard anyone talk about it.
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Nov 28, 2016 17:30
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Icon Of Sin posted:Speaking of cave country, my shop is running 2 trips down there this winter. Ginnie Springs, Devil's Den, Blue Grotto for the first one in December and Rainbow River (night drift), Crystal River (manatees), Devil's Den and Blue Grotto in January. Hey Florida Springs buddy, I just booked the hotel for March 2017 in Gainesville, me and the kid are hitting Blue Grotto and Devil's Den + .... maybe Paradise Springs.... and then heading down to Tampa Bay for a couple days of charters out in the Gulf. We're from Ohio but Blue Grotto was our first dive post-certification. We're looking forward to getting back now that we had a long summer of diving this year, and are no longer complete newbs. edit - Also just booked a couple days in the Gulf of Mexico with these guys. http://www.bluewaterexplorers.com/ Not as exciting as talking about Bali or the Red Sea, but the kid is in private school and I'm about as poor as you can get and still have scuba diving as a hobby. ;-) GORDON fucked around with this message at 20:12 on Nov 28, 2016 |
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Nov 28, 2016 18:21
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Trivia posted:If money's no object, go to Palau. Amazing reefs and a few wrecks, lots of sharks, little in the way of current. A good variety. Also Sam's Tours has unlimited house reef diving, so you can take a tank after you're cert'ed and practice all you want on your own. I can't recommend enough. If you're going to Asia purely to dive, then while it's not in Asia I would add the Red Sea to this list. You can day trip from Sharm El Sheikh to some of the best coral reefs in the world and the diving is easy, very suitable for beginners. Maldives is great for a lot of reasons, but I did it on a liveaboard and I'm pretty sure every dive went below recommended depth limit for OW. I'm not even certain they'd let you book as a beginner. As a side note, I would highly recommend doing the OW course at home. I believe PADI has nine dives, five confined and four open, over four days and that seems like a waste of vacation time to me when you could do it on the weekend at home. You do generally have the option to split it up though I think that is more expensive.
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Nov 28, 2016 18:38
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asur posted:If you're going to Asia purely to dive, then while it's not in Asia I would add the Red Sea to this list. You can day trip from Sharm El Sheikh to some of the best coral reefs in the world and the diving is easy, very suitable for beginners. Would love to, but how safe is that these days? There was that plane that blew up taking off from Sharm El Sheikh.
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Nov 28, 2016 18:56
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Ramrod Hotshot posted:Would love to, but how safe is that these days? There was that plane that blew up taking off from Sharm El Sheikh. I think flying should be safe, or at least as safe as it is in any third world country, given that there has not been a repeated attack. The US doesn't appear to have Egypt under a travel advisory though the US embassy personnel in Egypt are prohibited from traveling to the Sinai peninsula, including Sharm El Sheikh, pending the investigation completion. Looking into it more I think you are unlikely to have problems, but the town appears to be dying due to a lack of tourism. I'd probably go if I got a great deal, but would definitely investigate more. It is pretty out of the way if you live in the US and while the coral is amazing there are other other great places to go.
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Nov 28, 2016 20:22
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I've been an occasional lurker of this thread, but now I need to ask something. I'm hoping someone can help me find a website I saw once. It had charts where you could look at locations within countries, and it would have icons of interesting animals like dolphins, rays, seahorses etc and what months you could see them in those locations. Clicking on the animal icons would take you to a page with more information about the species and how to go about finding them. I can't seem to find it anymore. I figured someone here might know what I'm talking about.
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Nov 30, 2016 08:35
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Red Sea diving is awesome but the conditions in Egypt have hosed the industry pretty badly. This is probably going to be good for divers longer term as there's far less action going on but obviously sucks for the people living and working in it. Egypt itself is fairly safe in the main tourist locations but there's funky stuff like the area around Hurghada is a no travel zone but the town itself is safe so the only way to get in covered by most insurances is by sea. If you are interested and have flexible travel plans keep an eye on liveaboards there, a number have massively dropped their prices to get more people on board for booked trips so you can get a week's amazing diving for like £500. North sea has some really good wrecks (including the Thistlegorm) and the South has great marine life, reefs and pelagics. For US goons South East Asia is probably easier but this is a pretty fantastic time to be going diving in Egypt (assuming your plane doesn't get blown up or your hotel bombed).
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Nov 30, 2016 12:13
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Picnic Princess posted:I've been an occasional lurker of this thread, but now I need to ask something. I'm hoping someone can help me find a website I saw once. It had charts where you could look at locations within countries, and it would have icons of interesting animals like dolphins, rays, seahorses etc and what months you could see them in those locations. Clicking on the animal icons would take you to a page with more information about the species and how to go about finding them. I can't seem to find it anymore. I figured someone here might know what I'm talking about. Not sure if this is the exact site you're thinking of, but diviac does something simmilar: https://diviac.com/d/baja-california/
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Nov 30, 2016 16:13
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Picnic Princess posted:I've been an occasional lurker of this thread, but now I need to ask something. I'm hoping someone can help me find a website I saw once. It had charts where you could look at locations within countries, and it would have icons of interesting animals like dolphins, rays, seahorses etc and what months you could see them in those locations. Clicking on the animal icons would take you to a page with more information about the species and how to go about finding them. I can't seem to find it anymore. I figured someone here might know what I'm talking about. Something like this? http://www.divereport.com/locations/central-america/honduras/roatan/ You can also do a wildlife search where you search by animal and season and it will show you info about them and where in the world they might be seen at that time. Note that this definitely not comprehensive as many of the creatures are found in a lot more places than listed.
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Dec 1, 2016 03:40
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Does anyone have recommendations for a dive outfit in Oahu? I'll be in town for a friend's wedding but was hoping to sneak in a day of diving beforehand...
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Dec 1, 2016 08:59
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