How many of you are SCUBA divers?

We did have a bit of a good time. :) Thanks Norman!

Oh yeah, I did forget to mention that you shouldn't be out in the sun AT ALL if your shoulders have just peeled... I literally got the worst sunburn I've EVER had in my life yesterday and I couldn't have been in the sun for more than 30 minutes... turns out UV rays penetrate water rather well. :rolleyes: I woke up to blistered shoulders on both sides... it HURTS! But the good thing is that my wetsuit was fortunately a two piece which means once piece was like overalls and they, nor my BC rubbed it. :) So I was still able to enjoy the diving today.

Anyway, thanks again!

Brandon
 
I'm out of the Nashville knowledge loop here - where are you diving that has all these crazy sailboats, factories and buses underwater?? I assume they flooded somewhere to make a lake? Curiosity killed the cat... :)

And I know it sounds totally weird and somewhat gross, but soak some washcloths in whole milk and put them on the sunburn. You'll smell nasty, but it will help with the sting and the blisters. I've had second degree sunburns in my hammer-headed past. The whole pale, freckly, Irish-esque (though not at all in reality) complexion equals superb sunburns as a stupid kid that doesn't remember to reapply sunscreen. I haven't entirely learned my lesson yet though, I pull at least one bonehead burn every summer without fail...
 
Its probably the best site around to dive. :)

Its called Martha's Quarry. My understanding is as follows:

Its a quarry that was used to help build I-40. While they were digging it, they kept running into springs. They pumped the water out as best they could until finally one day they hit too many springs and it flooded before they were able to get a lot of things out. To be honest, I'm not sure how the bus got there... :lol: I doubt it got flooded in, but a lot of the quarry equipment is down there and diving in and out of the buildings was really cool (you can ALWAYS see light and a way out... they were really kind of platforms more than buildings :) ).

Its cool!

Here are some pics someone took.

You can google it and find out more, too. :)

Brandon
 
I was certified around 1972, before BCs and octopi. Had a j-valve and a what today is considered a snorkeling vest.

Me too. I still have that J valve somewhere. I also still have one of those things you squeeze and it fills up with CO2 to send a line to the surcace made by DACOR.
Since the seventees Ilogged about 300 dives, 200 of them in New York.
Have a great day.
Paul
 
Nice, Paul! :)

I also meant to mention that they have a scavenger hunt every year. They have some really, really nice stuff they give away. Several people that I went diving with (some people just came long for the fun of it :) ) this weekend have won some really nice regulators, masks, fins, etc.

They've not set a date on it this year yet, but that could be something fun to go to as MTRC. :D I think the entry fee is $35 and all proceeds support a Vietnamese orphan home. Good stuff!

Also, just FWIW, on normal weekends its $30 to get in at the gate OR you can buy a pass for $20 at most of the local dive shops.

Brandon
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12936767#post12936767 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NeveSSL
Wow. Thats not too bad at all. A trip to central Florida can come close to that, so why not do the live aboard! :)

Can't wait to see the pics, Howard!

Brandon

I thought I'd tempt you (or gflat65 "HMMMM") into joining me.
 
I tried pushing it, but she said we can't do it right now. She's on commission now, so time off can be difficult. I tried to sell it on the gift weekend, to no avail... I've always wanted to do a Blackbeards. Expect a lot of drinking, etc.:D.
 
Sorry, Gary. I am hoping to survive, however, and live to do it again another day. I'll keep you posted. I'm glad to hear it's something others have considered.
 
Howard, don't forget 24 hours before flying. We don't need a member having to go to a decompression chamber for some time to un-bend. :)

Brandon
 
Question:

Who are you guys certified through?

Just curious. :) It really doesn't matter a whole lot... it seems to me to come down to how good or bad your instructor is.

MTSU uses NAUI and YSCUBA. I'm going through NAUI.

Brandon
 
I'm NASDS;). I'm pretty sure they got absorbed into NAUI. I never got a new card. I love showing off my dive card from college (eyes closed and hair halfway down my back:D). Jenn is PADI.
 
My brother and I were NAUI certified through my high school (SCUBA for gym credit... where do I sign up?). My Dad was PADI.

I didn't honestly realize how many different groups there were that could certify until I asked around a bit. I'm wondering if there are really major differences. I'm sure the instructor has more to do with it than anything, but I've never really researched it because I didn't have an option at the time I was certified.

I'd like to think my instructor was good and one thing I was always thankful for was his shenanigans in the pool. He'd sneak up behind you and turn off your air while you were doing something so you had to use your buddy and get used to not panicking when you suck on the regulator and get that god awful feeling of nothing coming out. He'd also just pop your mask off and do other "annoying" things that got you used to dealing with the problems (if you get your mask kicked loose in the ocean, odds are you wouldn't see it coming).

Another common rule you quickly learned was to never hold your breath. If you didn't have a regulator in your mouth you were blowing bubbles or he'd make you (one shot in the gut was enough of a reminder for the rest of my life... he was an ex-SEAL so I'm not sure he knew the meaning of "subtle" hint). He was a lot of fun too, but he knew when to be really serious about things that would likely get you hurt if you didn't listen up.
 
Awesome, Gary. :) I think they got bought up by SSI in the states I think. At least thats what 5 minutes of Google brought up. :) They used to be based in Memphis which is kind of interesting.

Same here, Brian. We did some pretty crazy stuff in the pool. They never hit us in the gut, but everything else you mentioned was done. :) I remember doing ditch and dons in the pool when my mouthpiece came off of my regulator. Without thinking I just reached down and grabbed my octopus, put the mouthpiece in my pocket, and finished my ditch and don. It wasn't until after the fact that I realized what I had done. It was nice remaining calm and a bit of a confidence booster. That is probably 90% of survival should something go wrong... staying calm. :)

The class before the last class we had a class listed on the syllabus as "Sharks Invade the Pool". I was nervous! lol They made us blank our masks out with aluminum foil while they setup an obstacle course that went around the perimeter of the pool. They also had advanced students and instructors grabbing our fins, flooding our masks, and loosening our tanks. It was actually a lot of fun.

Brandon
 
My first C-card was from the YMCA here in Nashville circa 1972 at their downtown pool. The card went through the wash some years later, but because I hadn't been diving since college, it was just a souvenir. I went on one dive trip back then to St. John, USVI. I got re-certified last year through SSI.

In my original course, we, too, had to black-out our masks. I think we used black electrical tape and had to swim with one hand at the bottom pool corner while the instructor would turn off the tank, pull out your reg and twist it up, flood your mask, etc. Worst part was keeping your hand at the pool corner bottom -- kinda slimey! (They needed pool snails.)
 
We used to play hockey on the pool bottom, which of course inevitably turned into loosening tanks, grabbing fins when someone was on a breakaway, etc. Our instructor was the master though. If you didn't see him coming he could pop your mask, lose your regulator, inflate your BC, and ditch your weight belt in a matter of 2 seconds. Leave you just bobbing on the surface...

One of the rules was that you couldn't take your face out of the water, so your partner had to follow you, get you air, help you get your weights, and sit around until you could get yourself all back together.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12961411#post12961411 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NeveSSL

The class before the last class we had a class listed on the syllabus as "Sharks Invade the Pool". I was nervous! lol They made us blank our masks out with aluminum foil while they setup an obstacle course that went around the perimeter of the pool. They also had advanced students and instructors grabbing our fins, flooding our masks, and loosening our tanks. It was actually a lot of fun.

Brandon

I need to come back for that one some time:p
 
BTW, Bev remembered you especially by your shark you caught, which is also ironically your avatar. :lol:

Brandon
 
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