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SCUBA / Diving / Diving license

Volcomism said:
I did my first "test" dive with my drysuit, and HOLY HELL does it make a world of difference. I'm now toasty when I dive. The squeeze of the suit can be a little uncomfy while descending but add a little air to the suit and it's very comfortable. I'm going to have to change my diving profile a bit as I like to keep my arms folded, but I'll manage.

Anyone up for some Great White Shark Cage Dives in the Farallons on November 10th? ;) You get nearly as much time in the cage as you handle, and you'll have the privilege of having me be the DM as I do my best to distract the shark from eating you :)
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Ok dude, send me a pm with the date for the next cage dive. My brother and bud and myself are in to do this!
What gear do we need to bring, and what do you provide? I'm already certified(must be to look forward to being fish chum) but the other two are not.
Is there any underwater filming? Totally want to have film of my brother filling his suit when we see a White Pointer sniffing around his skinny ass.

Matt
 
oobus said:
Ok dude, send me a pm with the date for the next cage dive. My brother and bud and myself are in to do this!
What gear do we need to bring, and what do you provide? I'm already certified(must be to look forward to being fish chum) but the other two are not.
Is there any underwater filming? Totally want to have film of my brother filling his suit when we see a White Pointer sniffing around his skinny ass.

Matt
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AHHH I wish I would've seen this post earlier! Last day of the season was today. What I'll try to do next year is post some last minute available spots a day or two before and try to fill the boat.

What we do:

Pick you up at Hyde Pier at 6:00am.
Eat Breakfast on the boat.
Show you some videos and give you some info on Great Whites & The Farallones.
Arrive at the Farallones usually around 7:30-8:00am.
Suit you up in our 7mm wetsuits/gloves/hood/boots (unless you rent a drysuit - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)
Dive into the cage for 15-20 mins, rotate out for others. Dive again. (It's cold. Trust me, 20 mins is a long time). You can have as much cage time as you like.
Lunch time - Usually fresh crab caught on the way out at 12:00pm
MORE CAGE TIME!!! (At this time usually 2 of us DMs are going to brave the kill zone and get some bottom time in at the bottom of the Farallones. This gives you a chance to possibly see me become shark cake, but not likely. I have the speed of a cat, and the reflexes of a mongoose)
3:00pm we usually head back to SF.

Note: I usually get thrashed about on the top of the cage or swimming around it, so chances are I'm going to pinch my hand, bump my head, etc.. What this means for you? BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! It's like chumming, but not.
 
I'll be in. Always thought this would be something to cross off of the bucket list, and I think sharks are the most fluid, beautiful animal in the sea, love to come eye to eye with the top of the food chain (from behind the comfort of a steel reinforced human tea dipper).

Last year I went diving at Newcastle in OZ the week after a girl wakeboarding got hit by a Great White, the DM was not worried so I wasn't either (plus the guys was a lot more seal shaped than I). BUT the little English bloke who had just arrived was not to happy to hear what had happened right before we got in the water. He thought we were teasing him, until the DM let him look at the local newspaper.

He kept pressing the DM about procedure in case we saw a shark, until finally he was told "just hope you can swim faster than me, and I'm a damn fast swimmer". No more questions were asked but the shit never was more than 2' away from me the whole dive, I was worried about kicking his mask off..
 
oobus said:
I'll be in. Always thought this would be something to cross off of the bucket list, and I think sharks are the most fluid, beautiful animal in the sea, love to come eye to eye with the top of the food chain (from behind the comfort of a steel reinforced human tea dipper).

Last year I went diving at Newcastle in OZ the week after a girl wakeboarding got hit by a Great White, the DM was not worried so I wasn't either (plus the guys was a lot more seal shaped than I). BUT the little English bloke who had just arrived was not to happy to hear what had happened right before we got in the water. He thought we were teasing him, until the DM let him look at the local newspaper.

He kept pressing the DM about procedure in case we saw a shark, until finally he was told "just hope you can swim faster than me, and I'm a damn fast swimmer". No more questions were asked but the shit never was more than 2' away from me the whole dive, I was worried about kicking his mask off..
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I remember that attack. It was up in Port Stephens. We used to go there every other month for wakeboarding and dune surfing.

My first encounter with sharks other than the blacktip reef sharks was an Oceanic Whitetip in Indo, and holy hell was that thing huge. Scared the crap out of me because it came from behind, but luckily - my buddy pointed it out and I gently moved out of his line and he swam right by. After that, I started volunteering with Discovery Channel and tagging Grey Nurse. I've been lucky not to encounter a hungry bastard having a bad day, but so far I've got nothing but love for them.


Oh and this shit has to stop!

http://theconversation.edu.au/australia-not-doing-enough-to-prevent-shark-finning-8765

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My daughter's first dive post cert class...

Giving the BARF saulte at Pt. Lobos yesterday. :twofinger
 

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DUDE! Apparently we met yesterday and didn't know it hahaha. Vanessa, Clinton, and I were in the Saab parked next to you. Your daughter was a trooper for withstanding the cold as long as she did.

Did you have to hack into your Prius to get home?


Pics from yesterday:

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Volcomism said:
DUDE! Apparently we met yesterday and didn't know it hahaha. Vanessa, Clinton, and I were in the Saab parked next to you. Your daughter was a trooper for withstanding the cold as long as she did.
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:laughing That's awesome! Small world.

She's a hardy kid, a total water rat, and way more resilient to the cold than I am. She was doing the pee dance for the last few minutes before AAA got there, but all was good. It was a pretty solid day 1 for her.

It was great meeting and hanging out with you all yesterday.

Volcomism said:
Did you have to hack into your Prius to get home?
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AAA showed up, got it open and we were good to go. The little door key is gone forever, but otherwise no worse for the wear. You guys were awesome, the AAA dude was super cool, and the rangers were awesome too... gave her a metal detector and sent her off foraging. Again... thanks tons yesterday, both for the "roadside assistance" and for the dive site advice. :thumbup

Back story... on our second dive, the key that was clipped to the inside BC pocket managed to come loose somewhere in the water :)Party). The electronic key was in the car, but it was locked.
 
The older Ranger guy was stoked to see the metal detector in use, and she was in total good spirits about the whole ordeal. You got a good kid there sir. :thumbup
 
Anyone up for 1-2 dives in Monterey this Saturday, I don't care where.
 
Going to be diving in Boracay & Palawan (Philippines) in about a month or so... :banana:banana:banana
 
MikeyRocks said:
Going to be diving in Boracay & Palawan (Philippines) in about a month or so... :banana:banana:banana
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You gotta dive Yapak if you're in Boracay. It's one of my top three best dives. Where in Palawan are you going? I dove the sunken Japanese ships near Coron Town. Amazing dives also! If you are going to Puerto Princesa I highly recommend the restaurant KaLui.
 
BLU_G.6K said:
You gotta dive Yapak if you're in Boracay. It's one of my top three best dives. Where in Palawan are you going? I dove the sunken Japanese ships near Coron Town. Amazing dives also! If you are going to Puerto Princesa I highly recommend the restaurant KaLui.
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Glad I brought this up, been trying to research dive spots and wasn't sure which one to book. I'm not certified for ship wreck dives, just basic open water, but I'll look into Yapak.

I'm staying in Coron, would have loved to check out the shipwrecks (saw pics online, looks amazing), but I'm not certified for that yet. :(
 
MikeyRocks said:
Glad I brought this up, been trying to research dive spots and wasn't sure which one to book. I'm not certified for ship wreck dives, just basic open water, but I'll look into Yapak.

I'm staying in Coron, would have loved to check out the shipwrecks (saw pics online, looks amazing), but I'm not certified for that yet. :(
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Mikey, it's the Philippines. If you have money they will let you dive. :thumbup If you want to complete your advanced you might be able to get that done there too at a good price.

The Yapak dive is a drift dive and they go down to about 130 feet but we actually went a little deeper to 150.

Coron is a small town but it's safe. You'll run into a lot of other divers, especially divers from Germany and Australia. You can get fresh fruit at the market in the mornings and all it will cost you is the change in your pocket. There is supposedly some good hikes nearby but I never got the chance to do any of them.
 
I should add that all the dives shops I used had very good quality gear. The first time I went I was concerned the rental gear would be cheap Chinese made stuff but it wasn't. The only things I would bring of your own would be a regulator, mask, snorkel, and dive computer if you have one. I would rent everything else. You don't want to be hauling around fins, suit, etc., while you're there.

Before you go I suggest you get some prescriptions from your doctor for anti malaria medicine and for food poisoning. I get food poisoning every time I go there no matter how careful I am. DO NOT DRINK ANYTHING WITH ICE IN IT EVEN IF THEY TELL YOU IT'S FILTERED AND EVEN IF IT IS A NICE RESTAURANT! If I had followed my own advice I might not have gotten food poisoning.
 
BLU_G.6K said:
Mikey, it's the Philippines. If you have money they will let you dive. :thumbup If you want to complete your advanced you might be able to get that done there too at a good price.
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:laughing True.

We only have 4 days in Boracay, I'll try to see if I have enough spare time to do my advanced open water. Thanks for the heads up on the food poisoning, it's been a while since I've visited the PI, gotta make sure I don't get sick.
 
I am going to get certified here, but I am wondering if I could bear and enjoy the cold water. Is the water get warm at Monterey during summer ?
 
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