 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeArticlesDiving DestinationsLearning Scuba DivingMarine LifeMiscellaneousDiscussion GroupsGeneralScuba EquipmentScuba LocationsAustralian ScubaUK ScubaDirectoryScuba Clubs |
Scuba Forum / General / August 2005Dive Buddy Sought Around St Pete for Th, Fri, Sat, or Sun Dives This Week
I had to dive solo this weekend because my wife couldn't find a babysitter. The solo dive was a positive experience, but I prefer to accept less risk and have more safety on my dives. Are there any divers in the St Pete area willing to accept a newbie dive buddy? I'm easy and I'm cheap. :-) My current dive goals are to find some fossilized shark teeth, see and photograph underwater wild life, and maybe collect some conch shells and gold coins. :-) Please contact me at jarrells@jarrells.cjb.net if you're interested. Dive safe! Mike Jarrells >I had to dive solo this weekend because my wife couldn't find a > babysitter. The solo dive was a positive experience, but I prefer to > accept less risk and have more safety on my dives. > Are there any divers in the St Pete area willing to accept a newbie > dive buddy? I'm easy and I'm cheap. :-) > My current dive goals are to find some fossilized shark teeth, see and > photograph underwater wild life, and maybe collect some conch shells > and gold coins. :-) Finding fossilized shark teeth usually happens over sand. Sand dives are not high on the favorites list of most divers. Underwater photography is not the kind of goal that will get you many volunteer buddies. It's a very absorbing task, leaving a buddy little choice but to hand around doing nothing. While you are shooting, your buddy is diving solo. Being a buddy to an underwater photographer is worse than doing sand dives. Hopefully, your goal of collecting conch shells does not include collecting them live and, inparticular, does not include collecting Queen Conchs which, in Florida, are protected. We'd all like to collect some gold coins. If you figure out where we can find some, feel free to share the information. Please share it privately and with me first. I suggest you consider looking for a buddy simply for the enjoyment of diving. You'll stand a better chance of finding somebody compatable. Lee Lee, I said I'm easy. Diving for enjoyment is why I dive. As a newbie every new experience and exploration is an awesome experience. I hope I never get bored with diving. I'll have to take up flying then, and I can't afford that. On my last dive I saw a live Queen Conch. It was an awesome experience. I try to educate myself during surface intervals so I was aware that live Queen Conch are protected. I was so excited about my earlier experiences with Sheepshead and live Fighting Conch that I didn't have any film left for my Conch encounter. It was huge. My hand is a good 12 inches from thumb tip to pinky and this shell was a good 6 inches longer. I didn't bother it other that to measure the shell with my hand, but I did stay and watch for a couple of minutes as this was my first encounter with a living Queen Conch. As it moved across the ocean floor it looked like a great sail boat moving across the ocean. I'm pretty open to any dive activity as long as it doesn't push me to far outside of my acceptable risk given my current skills. Dive Safe! Mike Mike > I had to dive solo this weekend because my wife couldn't find a > babysitter. The solo dive was a positive experience, but I prefer to > accept less risk and have more safety on my dives. > > Are there any divers in the St Pete area willing to accept a newbie > dive buddy? I'm easy and I'm cheap. :-) Get used to diving solo... You'll never have your buddy turn the dive on you when you don't feel like turning it... Unless you have a multiple personality disorder like our recent rash of WebTV posts from Connie... -- http://www.geocities.com/grumman581/welcome-rec-scuba.htm > Get used to diving solo... You'll never have your buddy turn the dive on you > when you don't feel like turning it... Unless you have a multiple > personality disorder like our recent rash of WebTV posts from Connie... I have talked to a few local divers and it seems that most dive solo most of the time anyway. I guess I'll have to get over my shark paranoia and just do it! When I go I would rather die doing what I love. :-) Dive safe! Mike > I have talked to a few local divers and it seems that most dive solo > most of the time anyway. I guess I'll have to get over my shark > paranoia and just do it! Ahhh... Now I understand it... You just want a slower swimmer to use as bait... I don't have to outrun the shark. I just have to outrun you. :-) Not really. My wife leaves me in the dust. I like to conserve my air and energy so I get to stay down longer. It would be nice to have someone around who could help if things get out of control. It may also reduce the chance of shark attack. I have read that solo swimmers are more likely to be targeted by sharks. Mike <snip> > It may also reduce the chance of shark attack. I have read that solo > swimmers are more likely to be targeted by sharks. http://www.bangsticks.com/catalog.html > It may also reduce the chance of shark attack. I have read that solo > swimmers are more likely to be targeted by sharks. Solo swimmers probably are. Divers, solo or otherwise, are not usually bothered much . . . unless they're spearfishing. This year, I'll be carrying both a powerhead and a bangstick. Perhaps it's just paranoia, but several in my group, including me, have been seriously bothered while we are spearfishing. Each year it seems to get worse. My last trip was three years ago. If it's gotten even worst than it was back then, there will be some dead sharks around when we leave. None of us likes to kill what we don't plan to eat, but there is a limit beyond which it's time to find out who is really at the top of the food chain. Lee > None of us likes to kill what we > don't plan to eat, but there is a limit > beyond which it's time to find out > who is really at the top of the food > chain. The solution to that is to eat the shark... Grilled over some hickory or mesquite is pretty nice... > It would be nice to have someone around who could help if things get > out of control. That's a two-edged sword, ya' know... Two people also doubles the chance that something is going to go wrong to someone... > It may also reduce the chance of shark attack. I have read that solo > swimmers are more likely to be targeted by sharks. Assuming that the two of you are the only pieces of food nearby and a shark just happens to be there and is going to bite one of you, having another diver should decrease your odds of moving a step down on the food chain... Since divers don't get attacked as much as swimmers, a better solution would be for you to be diving and have someone above you on the surface swimming (i.e. acting as bait)... The thing is, it's easier to see a shark coming at you when you're on the bottom than when you're on the surface since they are more likely silhouetted against the surface vs blending in with the bottom... At worst, you bring a bangstick with you and have shark for supper... |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.