Best beginner / weekend-ish places?

[rfreddo]

I'll throw in another vote for Key Largo. Have had great experience with Scuba-do.

[boat iiii]

If you are a beginner hit the Keys.

[Divalicious]

Again, thanks all!

I'll definitely add Key Largo to my weekend agenda... and I appreciate the recommendations on dive shops and particular dive sites.

I've done 2 trips to Texas' lakes and 1 trip to Hawaii... no comparison! So, I'd rather spend a bit more to fly somewhere and really enjoy the pretty water, but ...even if the airfare is still relatively cheap to Hawaii, it is an 8 hour flight, alas!

In regards to the mask issue, it's the damnedest thing. I wondered if it was smile lines too, but the last instructor really watched Mr. D and said no... it wasn't that. The instructor also said in 40 year of diving, he's never seen something like this (which is always funny in a groaning sort of way to hear).

Mr. D has a very broad face, actually, so he's getting a decent seal at first, and he has good clearing skills, but once that seal breaks... that's the problem. Since it is happening on so many masks, it's gotta be something he is doing.

We are trying a sealant I found on a thread here, but I heard a rumor somewhere that one can get a custom-made mask? Since I love diving, and even Mr. D likes it (but for getting water-logged)... if anyone knows someone who can do a truly custom fit mask, like on actual face measurements, please drop me a PM

Btw... I just made Mr. D watch "Open Water," so he put in a special request for NO SHARKS!

[rayaa3]

LOL - no sharks? Well, tell him if he goes to Coz, or Cancun, he'll be extremely lucky if he ever sees anything more than a nurse shark (and I do mean lucky). I hear when the time of year is right you can go down to playa (south of cancun an hour or so) and find bulls...but it's rare to see anything but nurses in Cozumel or Cancun.

I've seen one video of a hammerhead in Coz, and someone told me they saw a reef shark once...but I'm convinced the video was dr'd and the reefshark was a legend... never get to see them when I'm there.

mask issue - how quickly and severely does the mask flood? Are we talking a slow building up to an inch of water in the mask over 2 minutes, or are we talking about a continual need to clear every 15-30 seconds after the initial clear?

I did know someone once who had problems after initially clearing their mask. I don't understand how they were doing it, but when they cleared they were managing to curl the skirt just the tiniest bit 'up' and it was pretty much a non-stop mess after that. They were fine from the time they entered the water until the first time they would have to clear (as mentioned a completely normal occurence) but then after that it was flood city every 15 seconds or so, if that long. I never saw it...but thought of the story this afternoon.

best of luck.

[Divalicious]

oooh.... we are talking the latter - like what you saw - continuous flooding every 15-30 seconds.

Mr. D is not the type to whine, and at first I kind of thought it was all in his head. But no... he is genuinely having some kind of problem.

Do you know if that person sorted it out? I am hoping the sealant will work...

[rayaa3]

It had to do with their technique but eventually they figured it out...I guess if you wanted to confirm that was the problem you could try a mask with a purge....since you never have to 'crack' the mask the problem shouldn't occur, unless the diver was adjusting his mask for other reasons.

I don't think this is a perm. fix...purges valves can be convenient, or they can be a buggy PIA....also, there are other times when it's desireable to crack a mask...sometimes when I get too foggy in really cold water I crack it, rinse and clear. At some point he'll need to be able to clear the old fashion way without causing major problems...but if you knew someone with a purge mask, or could borrow one at the shop for a pool dive, you could at least confirm it didn't occur if he never had to 'break the seal'.

[scubarobin]

Originally Posted by Divalicious

oooh.... we are talking the latter - like what you saw - continuous flooding every 15-30 seconds.

Mr. D is not the type to whine, and at first I kind of thought it was all in his head. But no... he is genuinely having some kind of problem.

Do you know if that person sorted it out? I am hoping the sealant will work...

sounds like it could be 2 things.
#1.... is his strap too tight? I have seen people crank down their strap so tight that it is actually curling the seal. (big thing with newbies!) They just don't understand that the mask will be held against their face by the water pressure and they don't need to have it that tight. Also, make sure the mask strap is level all the way around, not high on his head or down by his neck... straight level.

#2... he isn't clearing correctly and getting it back on his face wrong. I have seen some people twist or raise their mask in order to clear, then when they let it go back into place it isn't flat so it leaks. I used to be guilty of this, pulling out on the lower part of mask when clearing. He should be pushing in at the top as he tilts his head back which forces the air and water out the bottom.

If it isn't one of these, then he is breaking the seal himself by either his bubbles (is he a heavy breather??) or when his reg is in his mouth it causes the seal to break.

Do you know WHERE the water is coming in? Is it around the mouth? Around the sides? At the top?

[Divalicious]

Mask issue FIXED!

I still don't know what it was precisely, but thanks so much for the suggestions. If I had to guess, I -do- think it was that he was breaking the seal with his bubbles.

Anyway, I'll probably give this a separate plug in another thread, but if anyone has the same problem, this stuff works like a CHAMP:

http://www.diverightinscuba.com/cata...oz-p-1815.html

The owner, Mike, of Dive Right In Scuba, apparently cooked it up in his basement and it works GREAT!

Btw... I really wanted to / want to hit the Keys, but Mr. D wanted to try some easier shore diving in the ocean before going on all boats, especially with the risk of actual chop in the seas. So, we are giving Cobalt Coast in the Caymans a shot for New Years.

Airfare was a little pricier from Houston (about $650) and alas, their package is jacked up for the Xmas - New Year week (about $1000 pp all-inclusive + diving)... but we are slaves to the en vogue "enforced corporate vacation." Sniffles.