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Trivia
Feb 8, 2006

I'm an obtuse man,
so I'll try to be oblique.
A titan triggerfish bit me today. It hurt.

That is all.

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MrYenko
Jun 18, 2012

#2 isn't ALWAYS bad...

Trivia posted:

A titan triggerfish bit me today. It hurt.

That is all.

Triggerfish are assholes. It is known.

Icon Of Sin
Dec 26, 2008



I used to dive with a few triggers at the aquarium where I volunteered. One of them in particular was a bigger rear end in a top hat than the rest; it bit me for daring to try to clean the tank in its territory, tried to bite me through a glass window, bit one of the weeki wachee mermaids when they came to do their show, and tried to fight a little girl’s mermaid doll through an 8” window.

gently caress that triggerfish in particular.

Just look at this fucker. It wants nothing more than to feast upon your flesh, and it wants an audience gathered beforehand.

DeadlyMuffin
Jul 3, 2007


I got my GUE fundies tech pass.

GORDON
Jan 1, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

Kaal posted:

I almost always dive with gloves (though sadly it's been a long time) so my Ok gesture doesn't have the splayed fingers - it's just a circle. That being said, I'd guess that much like red hats the ubiquity of the symbol will allow it to endure in contexts outside of the Confederacy movement.

Was at restaurant last night. Waitress was a lady of color. She came up to ask how he food was, my mouth was full, and I gave her an "ok" symbol because DiVeR 4 lYf.

Then I wondered if she thought I was a racist rear end in a top hat.

Trivia
Feb 8, 2006

I'm an obtuse man,
so I'll try to be oblique.
Could always use this one instead:

Strategic Tea
Sep 1, 2012

no no no that is for cool things like whalesharks and nudis only :grognard:

I hear racists have been doing a lot of this 'breathing' too recently, don't want to get associated with that...

edwardsdl
Dec 25, 2004
My roommate bought me this account but is too cheap for an avatar.

Merry Christmas

DeadlyMuffin posted:

I got my GUE fundies tech pass.

Congrats! I’m heading down to Florida on Wednesday to - hopefully - get my upgrade with Mer.

Who was your instructor?

lord1234
Oct 1, 2008
An upgrade from merrrrrr? Enjoy a day at blue ghetto with only the best diving Williston has to offer.

edwardsdl
Dec 25, 2004
My roommate bought me this account but is too cheap for an avatar.

Merry Christmas

lord1234 posted:

An upgrade from merrrrrr? Enjoy a day at blue ghetto with only the best diving Williston has to offer.

I’m out of the loop. Is Blue Grotto bad? It was absolutely gorgeous today!

edit: Woo tech pass!

lord1234
Oct 1, 2008

edwardsdl posted:

I’m out of the loop. Is Blue Grotto bad? It was absolutely gorgeous today!

edit: Woo tech pass!

Congrats dude. Where are you based? If in FL, join SEUE.

edwardsdl
Dec 25, 2004
My roommate bought me this account but is too cheap for an avatar.

Merry Christmas

lord1234 posted:

Congrats dude. Where are you based? If in FL, join SEUE.

Thank you! My team is based out of central Virginia. How far north does SEUE go? It’s never clear to me if VA is considered a mid-atlantic or south-east state.

lord1234
Oct 1, 2008
Check out East Coast Underwater Explorers / ECUE on Facebook. They are pretty small... So join both ECUE and SEUE

Ramrod Hotshot
May 30, 2003

I'm starting to look at the possibility of a big diving trip to the SE Asia/Pacific region next year once things open up more. Thailand would be the easiest option and if I were to go right now, literally the only possible one - I guess we'll have to see what other countries if anything will be open early next year. I might also take a look at the Phillippines if it opens up.

Has anybody been on a liveaboard boat in Thailand or the Phillippines? How is it to go solo on one of these trips, in terms of dive buddies? Do you get teamed up with someone random and then pretend to dive together but end up doing your own thing lol

Ramrod Hotshot
May 30, 2003

lord1234 posted:

An upgrade from merrrrrr? Enjoy a day at blue ghetto with only the best diving Williston has to offer.

It's always funny to me to see the most random places in North Florida referenced in this thread. It's where I'm from and I forget that cave divers go there from all over the world. Blue Grotto is awesome, though I went in mid day when the water was super churned up from classes.

Have any of you dived Buford Sink, an hour north of Tampa? I'm wondering how sketchy of a dive that is, cave wise.

asur
Dec 28, 2012

Ramrod Hotshot posted:

I'm starting to look at the possibility of a big diving trip to the SE Asia/Pacific region next year once things open up more. Thailand would be the easiest option and if I were to go right now, literally the only possible one - I guess we'll have to see what other countries if anything will be open early next year. I might also take a look at the Phillippines if it opens up.

Has anybody been on a liveaboard boat in Thailand or the Phillippines? How is it to go solo on one of these trips, in terms of dive buddies? Do you get teamed up with someone random and then pretend to dive together but end up doing your own thing lol

I've done a liveaboard in Thailand, though not solo. What I saw aligns with my solo experience everywhere that has dive guides. You're assigned a partner and people kinda dive together, but realistically everyone follows the guide and they'll handle any emergencies.

Trivia
Feb 8, 2006

I'm an obtuse man,
so I'll try to be oblique.
I live in Thailand right now. Things change policy-wise every month, so you have to stay on top of requirements. Right now the government has instituted the "Sandbox" policies for a few places, namely Phuket. Koh Samui is also doing it's "Samui+" policy, which is similar.

To get into Thailand you need to have a negative PCR test within 72 hours of departure (and must also be vaccinated). You can only arrive into Thailand by way of Bangkok or Phuket; you can then fly domestic to Samui if that's your goal. Once you do you have a couple of options depending on where you're flying into. If Bangkok then I think you have to quarantine for a week in hotel (maybe 2, not sure). If you fly to Phuket you have to stay on Phuket island for a week, but you're allowed to leave the hotel and go about as a normal tourist. After that first week I think you're allowed to move elsewhere (this may have changed so I'd check on it). Your choice of quarantine hotels is very limited, as not all hotels have the facilities or staff necessary to do quarantine procedures. As such, hotel costs are a bit higher than you'd expect, especially on Samui (I think its comparatively cheaper on Phuket).

Bars and other nightclubs may still be closed, so the general atmosphere will be pretty subdued. I have no idea if liveaboards are currently in operation, or if you're allowed to board one while still technically undergoing the "quarantine."

I've also read that many regions in Thailand are going to be opened at the beginning of October (such as Chiang Mai). How that jibes with quarantine procedures and whatnot is yet to be seen.

If you're visiting at the end of the year, I'd definitely stick to the Indian Ocean side, as that's when the good season comes around. Eastern side (Koh Samui) is monsoon-ish at the end of the year, and as such dive conditions are pretty miserable.


re: Liveaboards

I've done a lot of liveaboards solo, and for the most part it's not a big deal to be assigned with a rando. A lot of the cruises require that divers be at least advanced, and some even have a minimum dive requirement. The types of ppl that sign up for liveaboards are also the hardcore divers, so the odds of getting a lovely buddy are low. At the very least everyone is super stoked to be there and you'll meet people from all over the world. The food is, in general, pretty amazing.

Trivia fucked around with this message at 05:29 on Sep 16, 2021

Ramrod Hotshot
May 30, 2003

Trivia posted:

I live in Thailand right now. Things change policy-wise every month, so you have to stay on top of requirements. Right now the government has instituted the "Sandbox" policies for a few places, namely Phuket. Koh Samui is also doing it's "Samui+" policy, which is similar.

To get into Thailand you need to have a negative PCR test within 72 hours of departure (and must also be vaccinated). You can only arrive into Thailand by way of Bangkok or Phuket; you can then fly domestic to Samui if that's your goal. Once you do you have a couple of options depending on where you're flying into. If Bangkok then I think you have to quarantine for a week in hotel (maybe 2, not sure). If you fly to Phuket you have to stay on Phuket island for a week, but you're allowed to leave the hotel and go about as a normal tourist. After that first week I think you're allowed to move elsewhere (this may have changed so I'd check on it). Your choice of quarantine hotels is very limited, as not all hotels have the facilities or staff necessary to do quarantine procedures. As such, hotel costs are a bit higher than you'd expect, especially on Samui (I think its comparatively cheaper on Phuket).

Bars and other nightclubs may still be closed, so the general atmosphere will be pretty subdued. I have no idea if liveaboards are currently in operation, or if you're allowed to board one while still technically undergoing the "quarantine."

I've also read that many regions in Thailand are going to be opened at the beginning of October (such as Chiang Mai). How that jibes with quarantine procedures and whatnot is yet to be seen.

If you're visiting at the end of the year, I'd definitely stick to the Indian Ocean side, as that's when the good season comes around. Eastern side (Koh Samui) is monsoon-ish at the end of the year, and as such dive conditions are pretty miserable.


re: Liveaboards

I've done a lot of liveaboards solo, and for the most part it's not a big deal to be assigned with a rando. A lot of the cruises require that divers be at least advanced, and some even have a minimum dive requirement. The types of ppl that sign up for liveaboards are also the hardcore divers, so the odds of getting a lovely buddy are low. At the very least everyone is super stoked to be there and you'll meet people from all over the world. The food is, in general, pretty amazing.

Great info, thanks for this. I'd be far more likely to be the lovely buddy, lol. I have about 25 dives, and I'm not AOW. I guess I'd want to do that first.

Regardless, are the other divers somewhat welcoming of newer folks or is it kind of a macho atmosphere?

MrYenko
Jun 18, 2012

#2 isn't ALWAYS bad...

Ramrod Hotshot posted:

Great info, thanks for this. I'd be far more likely to be the lovely buddy, lol. I have about 25 dives, and I'm not AOW. I guess I'd want to do that first.

Regardless, are the other divers somewhat welcoming of newer folks or is it kind of a macho atmosphere?

I started my first live aboard with less than 25 dives, but with AOW and Nitrox, and it was an awesome experience. The immersion (heh) you get is invaluable to learning and really ingraining good habits, instead of doing something once or twice and then not again for weeks or months. Complete comfort in the water (from diving four or five times a day) did wonders for my gas consumption too.

The trip I went on was a full-boat charter with my LDS though (MrsYenko was my dive partner, and we already knew everyone on the boat,) so I don’t know what the normal crowd is like.

ploots
Mar 19, 2010
I went for a dive this morning and we found over a dozen red octos between 80 ft and 40 ft in the daytime. Normally we don’t see them during the day, they’re usually deeper, and finding two or three on a night dive would feel really special. Today was something else.

ploots
Mar 19, 2010
… and today a young wolf eel swam out from its home and decided it wanted to wrap itself around my partner’s first stage. It took a couple minutes for us to convince it to leave.

Kesper North
Nov 3, 2011

EMERGENCY POWER TO PARTY

Electoral Surgery posted:

… and today a young wolf eel swam out from its home and decided it wanted to wrap itself around my partner’s first stage. It took a couple minutes for us to convince it to leave.

This happened to me once with a small octopus! Fittingly, it climbed aboard by first grabbing my spare regulator - my octopus.

lord1234
Oct 1, 2008

Ramrod Hotshot posted:

Have any of you dived Buford Sink, an hour north of Tampa? I'm wondering how sketchy of a dive that is, cave wise.

Buford is a 100+ft sinkhole. Vis can be awesome to... 0. Will generally be similar viz to eagles nest. People dive it lots.

It used to require a trudge thru the mud, but there is now a boardwalk there. I suggest bringing a cart(and a way to lock it up) for your gear.

ploots
Mar 19, 2010
I'm thinking about doing tech training. Any advice on how to pick a shop to do the training with, and which orgs I should look at? I went with a local PADI shop for open water and advanced, the quality and organization was pretty poo poo and I don't want to use them again. I have one or two contacts in the local dive community that I'm going to ask for recommendations, but that's not a lot to go on.

I'm leaning away from GUE because I don't want to switch out gear that I like and I'm used to (a plastic buckle, oh no!).

Any specific recommendations near Seattle or Vancouver would be greatly appreciated, I'd prefer to train in the cold, murky conditions I do most of my diving in.

plester1
Jul 9, 2004





Electoral Surgery posted:

I'm thinking about doing tech training. Any advice on how to pick a shop to do the training with, and which orgs I should look at? I went with a local PADI shop for open water and advanced, the quality and organization was pretty poo poo and I don't want to use them again. I have one or two contacts in the local dive community that I'm going to ask for recommendations, but that's not a lot to go on.

I'm leaning away from GUE because I don't want to switch out gear that I like and I'm used to (a plastic buckle, oh no!).

Any specific recommendations near Seattle or Vancouver would be greatly appreciated, I'd prefer to train in the cold, murky conditions I do most of my diving in.

I am not a tech diver so take this with a grain of salt, but I am a huge fan of Silent World in Bellevue. They're SDI/TDI and the instructors are fantastic and highly qualified.

Leandros
Dec 14, 2008

Hello goons, I am currently working on my 1* CMAS and it's time that I start amassing gear before we leave the pool. Are there any strong opinions either way concerning yoke/int vs DIN first stages? DIN seems to have the upper hand in safety (and I live in a relatively cold country so that may be marginally more attractive) but is waaaayy less available second hand, and as I understand it it's also not available in Asia/Australia on tanks that much.

Trivia
Feb 8, 2006

I'm an obtuse man,
so I'll try to be oblique.
Practically every country outside of Europe uses yoke for recreational diving. If you insist on DIN, buy your own adapter and keep it in your mask case.

DO NOT leave it affixed to your first stage. It'll corrode with time and become impossible to remove. Wash it after every dive.

Trivia fucked around with this message at 12:35 on Sep 24, 2021

sharkytm
Oct 9, 2003

Ba

By

Sharkytm doot doo do doot do doo


Fallen Rib
Yoke, and if you must, buy a DIN adapter.

DeadlyMuffin
Jul 3, 2007


Match whatever's common where you're diving most, and get an adapter to the other.

I dive DIN because my friends who swap around tanks do. I travel with a yoke adapter.

The safety difference is nonsensical, and I find yoke easier to deal with with cold hands, fwiw.

SuitcasePimp
Feb 27, 2005

welkom bij duiken! If you think you are ever going to go on dive trips I would say get a yoke reg and save yourself lots of potential hassle. As everyone else said get DIN adapters (just get 2 as they are cheap) for diving on DIN tanks. The adapter is just a little donut that screws into the DIN valve on the tank. I think adapting the other way just gives you the worst of both worlds.

One thing to note is that some regs (maybe even all) can be converted between DIN and yoke quite easily. Scubapro are like this... its just a part kit and takes about 5-10 minutes. Its not something you would want to switch often since you would probably have a shop do it but definitely consider that when shopping so that you aren't really locked in.

Leandros
Dec 14, 2008

Thanks goons. I bought a whole set second hand, which included an Oceanic yoke reg, but the seller hadn't touched it in 2 years. The diving shop I went to for inspection tried to sell me a new set rather than service it because the lines supposedly looked bad and the rubbers would definitely need replacing. Didn't like his tone though, so I found a recently serviced secondhand Aqualung Titan instead, and will try to sell the oceanic or see if a friend wants it.
Are inserts in DIN tanks to put a yoke on them decent, or something I might as well skip? I saw some mention of different types based on max pressure rating?

DeadlyMuffin
Jul 3, 2007


Leandros posted:

Thanks goons. I bought a whole set second hand, which included an Oceanic yoke reg, but the seller hadn't touched it in 2 years. The diving shop I went to for inspection tried to sell me a new set rather than service it because the lines supposedly looked bad and the rubbers would definitely need replacing.

So replace the lines. Ridiculous. I’d have been pretty pissed unless the regs really were a complete disaster.

Trivia
Feb 8, 2006

I'm an obtuse man,
so I'll try to be oblique.
Yeah new hoses and a service kit aren't nearly as expensive as a brand new reg set. Good thing you asked here before becoming a sucker.

Mano
Jul 11, 2012

and here I thought being a sucker was what scuba diving was about

Leandros
Dec 14, 2008

Trip report: the diaphragm cover on the octopus crumbled into sadness while in the pool, and the only shop I can find will cost me more on shipping than the actual part :saddowns:
Everything else about my gear seems to work fine though!

Half considering 3D printing the cover with flexible filament, but that's probably not the best way to avoid a Darwin award...

Trivia posted:

Yeah new hoses and a service kit aren't nearly as expensive as a brand new reg set. Good thing you asked here before becoming a sucker.

He ballparked the servicing to €100 and €120 for the hoses. "For only €100 more...you can get the cheapest new option" did not work on me, unfortunately for him :D

Leandros fucked around with this message at 23:10 on Sep 29, 2021

SuitcasePimp
Feb 27, 2005

Leandros posted:

Trip report: the diaphragm cover on the octopus crumbled into sadness while in the pool, and the only shop I can find will cost me more on shipping than the actual part :saddowns:
Everything else about my gear seems to work fine though!

Half considering 3D printing the cover with flexible filament, but that's probably not the best way to avoid a Darwin award...

He ballparked the servicing to €100 and €120 for the hoses. "For only €100 more...you can get the cheapest new option" did not work on me, unfortunately for him :D

You could just put the Oceanic octo on there as a stopgap.... it probably works fine enough for octo purposes. I mean, test it of course before your buddy actually needs it and make sure it doesn't free flow. Or just go full FYGM and remove it, who are they anyway trying to take your air?

SuitcasePimp
Feb 27, 2005

Mano posted:

and here I thought being a sucker was what scuba diving was about

Diving === :homebrew: , but you might as well spend your money strategically. And also try to avoid the temptation of photography. Somehow 2 expensive hobbies combine to be more expensive than either alone.

Trivia
Feb 8, 2006

I'm an obtuse man,
so I'll try to be oblique.
People spend hundreds if not thousands to dive.

...And then spend their time staring at a little screen instead of the actual thing.

DeadlyMuffin
Jul 3, 2007


Trivia posted:

People spend hundreds if not thousands to dive.

...And then spend their time staring at a little screen instead of the actual thing.

Cameras?

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Icon Of Sin
Dec 26, 2008



I filmed in bursts, only when something cool popped up. ~45sec max. Pull a decent frame here and there afterwards, it gets you further than it has any right to.

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