geodaro

Does anybody reading this board enjoy SCUBA diving, especially in Florida. I am interested in hearing about good spots to dive in West Central Florida (Gulf Coast).

Mr Scorcex

I'm a new diver, got certified last summer, but I've never gone to Florida. All my dives have been pretty much local. That having been said, I can't image there are to many BAD spots to dive in florida. Hell, I long for the day I don't have to pull on a huge two piece wetsuit and can dive all day in a three-mil shortie.

geodaro

I understand. Last weekend I went offshore with some friends to scout out new ledges in about 60 feet of water. The visibility was about 20-25 feet and the water temp. at the bottom was a balmy 82 (F). Not a fish longer than 12" in sight. They all move offshore until they get water temps. in the mid 70's. We jumped in wearing only shorts, t-shirts, and our SCUBA gear. And we got sunburned to boot! I guess I shouldn't be complaining though. It is beautiful down here and I can enjoy year around diving. Thanks for the reply.

Mr Scorcex

Heh, I went diving last summer at Cape Ann here in MA, and my wetsuit zipper broke at 45 ft. with a water temp. of 50 degrees. That sucked a lot. And just this summer I watched a friend go on a trip to Mexico, where the dive boat actually came to where you surfaced to pick you up. I gotta get into some warm water.

gibingus

Unfortunately, due to the extended shelf, you have to go out pretty far to find any depth on the west coast. viz can be pretty murky too, but there are a bunch of artifical reefs out there if you are into bug hunting.

these guys in st. pete look like they know some good spots:
http://www.saltyrebelinc.com/Page4.html

this is a great guide to keys dive sites:
http://www.flkeysdivesites.com/index.cfm

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geodaro

Thanks Gibingus, I've found a couple of other good spots while diving the past few weekends. Good links!

cetacean

I would like to get into diving, how difficult is it to get certified?

^dude

i recently went diving in egypt, it was great, ive got photos that i can post aswell.

onetime2

Basically, a class or two plus some cash and you're in if you are moderately comfortable in/around water.

Basic Open Water class is first step. Depending on the certifying agency (PADI, NAUI, SSI, YMCA are some of the bigger ones) the class consists of both classroom time (learning about the gear, the physics of what happens to gas under pressure, proper procedures, etc) and pool time (trying out the gear, practicing skills, gauging your comfort and fitness in the water). After successfully completing these, you go on to open water dives (typically four over a weekend). These OW dives can be held anywhere from lakes and quarries to the ocean and bays. On the OW dives you have to deal with some issues that you don't in the pool. Currents, waves, other divers, more equipment, etc all make it a bit more challenging.

Typically it costs $150 to $300 for the course, another $150 to $300 for the basic gear you will need to purchase, and then some rental charges for the OW dives and whatever admission fees/boat fees for the OW dives.