Scuba Diving Assholes of Surly

[thrillhammer 684]

9 hours ago, troph said:

I think we are just going to get it out of the way.  it will blow donkey balls but it's just an hour or so swimming with the Great Dane sized catfish, how bad can it be?

do it.  i got my certification in lake travis, in january no less.  visibility is 10' max, but you'll make it fine.  the divemasters know what they're doing. 

My first certification was through the texas union informal classes, at j rich sports in anderson square mall, taught by jim bowden who would go on to be a legendary austin diver.  sadly, he died doing a cave dive in mexico several years ago.

[troph 24912]

Just watched my teacher octopus on Netflix. It struck me in ways I was already vulnerable but wow what an amazing film.  I ended up crying the entire last 15 minutes or so. Highly recommend.  I’d imagine it would touch or speak to all of you in some way.  

Edited April 1, 2021 by troph

[CHIEF 5095]

Been looking for a dive trip for the last couple of days. Was looking at Grand Cayman after Hate's posts, but it looks like we are gonna have to go to Coz again, unless things change between now and June. The Carribean is still bottled up with COVID restrictions. It may be a while before they get vaccines.

CHIEF

Edited April 1, 2021 by CHIEF

[TexasGrunt 72]

3 hours ago, CHIEF said:

Been looking for a dive trip for the last couple of days. Was looking at Grand Cayman after Hate's posts, but it looks like we are gonna have to go to Coz again, unless things change between now and June. The Carribean is still bottled up with COVID restrictions. It may be a while before they get vaccines.

CHIEF

Came back from Coz a few weeks back.  Planning trip to Roatan in June, I was looking there or Belize.  The lady going with me picked Roatan.  

[PRONG HORN 3158]

7 hours ago, CHIEF said:

The Carribean is still bottled up with COVID restrictions. It may be a while before they get vaccines.

CHIEF

 

 

Go to Bonaire via Curacao.  Business as usual if you can get there.  

[CHIEF 5095]

1 hour ago, PRONG HORN said:

 

 

Go to Bonaire via Curacao.  Business as usual if you can get there.  

Mrs. CHIEF has a shit ton of Southwest points from a while back, when she was going to LA every other week. It will pay for all the airfare. Not a shit ton for some of you on here, but a bunch for us. She is a penny pincher.

CHIEF

[rage-a-holic 4487]

On 2/8/2021 at 11:03 PM, troph said:

I think we are just going to get it out of the way.  it will blow donkey balls but it's just an hour or so swimming with the Great Dane sized catfish, how bad can it be?

IMO, it is just pure suck to do checkout dives in Lake Travis. Do them in Cozumel. Anyone that tells you different has never done a checkout dive in Cozumel.

Each checkout dive will consist of 5-10 minutes of exercises, then 40-50 minutes of fun exploration. I'm really glad I ignored all the geriatric tools on scubaboard who assured me I needed to do my checkout dives in cold ass murky Travis....just so I could be prepared for those conditions again...conditions I have never experienced in 6 years and have no plans to ever experience.

Aldora is great for dives/training and I can definitely recommend a couple of guys that will take great care of you (my girlfriend just did her checkout dives in Feb and her Aldora DM is her BFF now).

[CHIEF 5095]

12 minutes ago, rage-a-holic said:

IMO, it is just pure suck to do checkout dives in Lake Travis. Do them in Cozumel. Anyone that tells you different has never done a checkout dive in Cozumel.

Each checkout dive will consist of 5-10 minutes of exercises, then 40-50 minutes of fun exploration. I'm really glad I ignored all the geriatric tools on scubaboard who assured me I needed to do my checkout dives in cold ass murky Travis....just so I could be prepared for those conditions again...conditions I have never experienced in 6 years and have no plans to ever experience.

Aldora is great for dives/training and I can definitely recommend a couple of guys that will take great care of you (my girlfriend just did her checkout dives in Feb and her Aldora DM is her BFF now).

 

Aldora is who we always use. Dario, our favorite divemaster retired, but I have his phone number. I'm sure I can find him at Cerveceria Punta Sur  https://www.cerveceriapuntasur.com. That's where their Divemasters hang out after a day on the water. They make a Lionfish pizza, and its pretty damn good.

CHIEF

Edited April 1, 2021 by CHIEF

[rage-a-holic 4487]

10 minutes ago, CHIEF said:

 

Aldora is who we always use. Dario, our favorite divemaster retired, but I have his phone number. I'm sure I can find him at Cerveceria Punta Sur  https://www.cerveceriapuntasur.com. That's where their Divemasters hang out after a day on the water. They make a Lionfish pizza, and its pretty damn good.

CHIEF

lol, yes. The owners of CPS used to be Aldora DMs. Adri still does private DM work with old Aldora clients.

I can't recommend CPS enough for anyone going to Cozumel. The manager is a close friend, 2 of my roommates worked there and another ex-CPS girl went on a Baja trip with me in November. Nearly every friend or acquaintance I have in Cozumel is connected to CPS some way (or Los Otates, another great place).

Edited April 1, 2021 by rage-a-holic

[rage-a-holic 4487]

Spotted Eagle Ray at Yukab two weeks ago.

 

[CHIEF 5095]

Looking on Aldora's website, there are still some trips we haven't done. We have still not done the Twilight package with a dusk and night dive, or dove the shark cave and Spanish galleon. Guillermo apparently has a special trip that isn't on the list where you spend a couple of nights camping on the beach. He has been recruiting CHIEF Jr. pretty hard to come be the third marine mechanic on the island.

CHIEF

Edited April 1, 2021 by CHIEF

[Homercles 10206]

1 hour ago, rage-a-holic said:

IMO, it is just pure suck to do checkout dives in Lake Travis. Do them in Cozumel. Anyone that tells you different has never done a checkout dive in Cozumel.

Each checkout dive will consist of 5-10 minutes of exercises, then 40-50 minutes of fun exploration. I'm really glad I ignored all the geriatric tools on scubaboard who assured me I needed to do my checkout dives in cold ass murky Travis....just so I could be prepared for those conditions again...conditions I have never experienced in 6 years and have no plans to ever experience.

Aldora is great for dives/training and I can definitely recommend a couple of guys that will take great care of you (my girlfriend just did her checkout dives in Feb and her Aldora DM is her BFF now).

I think that’s very fair about Travis, and we all roll back to how we were trained...’back in my day’ sorta thing.  You are right though, unless you want to do something a little more intense like caves, there’s no need to subject yourself to those gross conditions...and I never dove something like that again. 
 

Personally I am glad I did my basic and advanced at Travis, I feel it made me a more confident and strong diver.  For me it was like the dreaded figure-8 in the MSF Basic course:  I never needed that skill in real life on two wheels, but I learned how to comfortably manage full-lock low speed turns using balance and the rear brake.  
 

I wouldn’t assure anyone it’s needed, but if they were already setup to learn there I’d tell them that there’s nothing wrong with training harder than you’ll see on ‘real’ dives and imagine how awesome it’ll be in the Med.  just my view. 

[Gatorubet 30321]

Uncle Boobs in the Diving expert on Surly.

[rage-a-holic 4487]

1 hour ago, Homercles said:

I think that’s very fair about Travis, and we all roll back to how we were trained...’back in my day’ sorta thing.  You are right though, unless you want to do something a little more intense like caves, there’s no need to subject yourself to those gross conditions...and I never dove something like that again. 
 

Personally I am glad I did my basic and advanced at Travis, I feel it made me a more confident and strong diver.  For me it was like the dreaded figure-8 in the MSF Basic course:  I never needed that skill in real life on two wheels, but I learned how to comfortably manage full-lock low speed turns using balance and the rear brake.  
 

I wouldn’t assure anyone it’s needed, but if they were already setup to learn there I’d tell them that there’s nothing wrong with training harder than you’ll see on ‘real’ dives and imagine how awesome it’ll be in the Med.  just my view. 

One of my friends did a checkout dive in Travis, at night, in the rain, water cold as fuck, 3 foot visibility, with a 350lb bitchy DM from scubaland he lost track of after 2 minutes. He was so traumatized afterwards, he talked about quitting scuba for a while. Given, his was an extreme case, but I usually reference it anytime Travis checkout dives come up.

Nothing prepares you for adverse conditions like experience, i.e. lots of dives where you've honed your buoyancy and air consumption.

[Homercles 10206]

21 minutes ago, rage-a-holic said:

One of my friends did a checkout dive in Travis, at night, in the rain, water cold as fuck, 3 foot visibility, with a 350lb bitchy DM from scubaland he lost track of after 2 minutes. He was so traumatized afterwards, he talked about quitting scuba for a while. Given, his was an extreme case, but I usually reference it anytime Travis checkout dives come up.

Nothing prepares you for adverse conditions like experience, i.e. lots of dives where you've honed your buoyancy and air consumption.

Uhhh wtf?  Did he dive with Listeater?  Personal limits are important too.  
 

And for the record I’m not being argumentative here, just noting that I found myself really comfortable in the clear waters off Cozumel despite having fewer logged dives because I knew I could handle myself while distracted by thermoclines, murk and having to watch bubbles to ensure I kept my orientation.  To each their own.  

[CHIEF 5095]

53 minutes ago, rage-a-holic said:

One of my friends did a checkout dive in Travis, at night, in the rain, water cold as fuck, 3 foot visibility, with a 350lb bitchy DM from scubaland he lost track of after 2 minutes. He was so traumatized afterwards, he talked about quitting scuba for a while. Given, his was an extreme case, but I usually reference it anytime Travis checkout dives come up.

Nothing prepares you for adverse conditions like experience, i.e. lots of dives where you've honed your buoyancy and air consumption.

My uncle, the closest in age to me. My Mom's youngest brother, gave it up for exactly this reason. We hunt together, fish together, and go on most vacations together. But he no longer has any interest in diving.

CHIEF

[troph 24912]

Fml. We are signed up and paid with LT for our dive, 60 ft. Not gonna think more about it tonight after my day today. 

[rage-a-holic 4487]

28 minutes ago, Homercles said:

Uhhh wtf?  Did he dive with Listeater?  Personal limits are important too.  
 

And for the record I’m not being argumentative here, just noting that I found myself really comfortable in the clear waters off Cozumel despite having fewer logged dives because I knew I could handle myself while distracted by thermoclines, murk and having to watch bubbles to ensure I kept my orientation.  To each their own.  

not listeater, but one of the DMs from Dive World Austin is a biggun (not scubaland, apologies to them). She assured him those conditions would help prepare him for adverse conditions, I assume she meant when he became a NYC sewer repair diver.

And I wasn't trying to be argumentative either, just tossing out that amusing and horrifying anecdote.

Anyway, I highly recommend Coz for checkout dives. Don't think "I need to get it out of the way first, I'm wasting precious vacation time on checkout dives". That's really not the case.

[CHIEF 5095]

Just now, troph said:

Fml. We are signed up and paid with LT for our dive, 60 ft. Not gonna think more about it tonight after my day today. 

I would just file it as a gambling loss. Rage is right. You could see if your DM would let you finish in Athens, or pay for a weekend in Glen Rose and dive Wheeler Branch, those are about the only places within 2-3 hours of Austin that are small, clear, and basically designed for scuba. Glen Rose has great, cheap hotels, so it, at least, has something else going for it. But anywhere big enough to allow outboards will probably suck. 

CHIEF

[troph 24912]

They offered San Marcos for first dive. I may bail on LT for 60 ft. Prob is my girlfriend did hers in LT and has that mindset. 

[CHIEF 5095]

12 minutes ago, troph said:

They offered San Marcos for first dive. I may bail on LT for 60 ft. Prob is my girlfriend did hers in LT and has that mindset. 

You might manage, but your kids might be done. Mentally, apparently, the visibility is a hard thing to overcome. Al least that is what I've heard. Your kids may be fine, but who knows, they are pretty young.

My childhood dentist died in Lake Travis after getting tangled in a barbed wire fence up at Pace Bend Park while scuba diving. He died in 1978, they found him around 1995, when I still lived in Austin. I got to hear about dental records and all that shit. I have no desire to dive Travis.

CHIEF 

Edited April 2, 2021 by CHIEF

[Homercles 10206]

11 hours ago, rage-a-holic said:

not listeater, but one of the DMs from Dive World Austin is a biggun (not scubaland, apologies to them). She assured him those conditions would help prepare him for adverse conditions, I assume she meant when he became a NYC sewer repair diver.

And I wasn't trying to be argumentative either, just tossing out that amusing and horrifying anecdote.

Anyway, I highly recommend Coz for checkout dives. Don't think "I need to get it out of the way first, I'm wasting precious vacation time on checkout dives". That's really not the case.

Uhhh yeah that’s beyond stupid.  Good instructors in any craft introduce one problem at a time to overcome, so you can build on your established experience and rely on muscle memory.  That was stupid, dangerous and I’m sure it was intensely scary.  

[rage-a-holic 4487]

13 hours ago, troph said:

They offered San Marcos for first dive. I may bail on LT for 60 ft. Prob is my girlfriend did hers in LT and has that mindset. 

Point her to this thread. I guarantee you will be exponentially happier training at 60ft in Cozumel, than in LT.

[troph 24912]

31 minutes ago, rage-a-holic said:

Point her to this thread. I guarantee you will be exponentially happier training at 60ft in Cozumel, than in LT.

dude I'm with you.  currently thinking I'll just blame my high anxiety 16 year old instead of my high anxiety. lulz.

so do the paperwork and pool or first dive in san marcos? then the 60 foot in Coz?

[rage-a-holic 4487]

7 minutes ago, troph said:

dude I'm with you.  currently thinking I'll just blame my high anxiety 16 year old instead of my high anxiety. lulz.

so do the paperwork and pool or first dive in san marcos? then the 60 foot in Coz?

where in San Marcos? Spring Lake?

Edited April 2, 2021 by rage-a-holic

[AUinHsv 579]

anyone ever dove with one of these.  dad got it for 5 bucks at garage sale in 70's. I dove with it at least once in a north Alabama quarry where I could get to surface if anything failed. Recently got a quote for about 250 to restore it. From the serial number it is late 1940's.

[CHIEF 5095]

1 hour ago, AUinHsv said:

anyone ever dove with one of these.  dad got it for 5 bucks at garage sale in 70's. I dove with it at least once in a north Alabama quarry where I could get to surface if anything failed. Recently got a quote for about 250 to restore it. From the serial number it is late 1940's.

Does it still mate with modern tanks? Have they been the same since the 70's?

CHIEF

[maninblack 7974]

What's the cash layout to get into diving? I've got a lot of hobbies so I'm trying to determine if I should join your group.

[AUinHsv 579]

1 hour ago, CHIEF said:

Does it still mate with modern tanks? Have they been the same since the 70's?

CHIEF

As far as I know yes - haven't looked at tanks in a few years but I know the tank valve was the same for decades

[CHIEF 5095]

2 hours ago, maninblack said:

What's the cash layout to get into diving? I've got a lot of hobbies so I'm trying to determine if I should join your group.

It is surprisingly cheap. You can get open water certified for about $300-400. You can rent everything else. We have high end masks, boots, fins, and snorkels. Which probably cost an additional $500, and worth it. Wet suits, Go-Pros, dive bags, dry bags, BCs, tanks, etc. it's like golf. You can play a muni with $200 clubs, or a high end semi with $2000 clubs. But it is well worth it at entry level.

CHIEF

Edited April 2, 2021 by CHIEF
Oxford comma

[troph 24912]

2 hours ago, maninblack said:

What's the cash layout to get into diving? I've got a lot of hobbies so I'm trying to determine if I should join your group.

I’m in the middle of it and if it’s not an all in hobby it doesn’t look too expensive. The money goes to airfare and DM costs for the excursions, not the equipment. 

[conVINCEd 21469]

3 hours ago, maninblack said:

What's the cash layout to get into diving? I've got a lot of hobbies so I'm trying to determine if I should join your group.

Pre-COVID I had a trip planned to get certified.  It would’ve been around $400 to get certified and see if it’s your thing.  I was taking advantage of favorable exchange rates, but it’s not crazy.   I would imagine if you decide you like it you can spend as much as you want to.

[Updawg 2286]

anyone ever dove with one of these.  dad got it for 5 bucks at garage sale in 70's. I dove with it at least once in a north Alabama quarry where I could get to surface if anything failed. Recently got a quote for about 250 to restore it. From the serial number it is late 1940's.

Why not. What could go wrong?

I got certified in lake Travis back in the early 90’s. It’s not as bad as people are making it. But it was cold a shit during spring break when I did it. Like a dumbass I just wore my surfing wetsuit(thin) and was freezing. Definitely use a diving wetsuit(thicker)

Lake Travis isn’t ideal or great but at least you have done it once.

[52-80 19263]

I wanna go in a diving bell and those astronaut suits

[AUinHsv 579]

Also just discovered that one item got lost moving back to Huntsville. I had my Dad's old Scubapro Jet Fins and can't find them anywhere. He got them when he started diving in late 60's. At that time NASA had neutral buoyancy tank in Huntsville and they asked him and others to help out. They qualified them for free and they got to be scuba diving "lifeguard" for the astronauts a couple of days per month. Those fins saw a lot of hard work there and in regular scuba around the south. No clue how they got lost - my wetsuit and BC are fins were all on hangers in same closet and only two of the three are in the new closet now.

[AUinHsv 579]

On 4/4/2021 at 2:31 PM, AUinHsv said:

Also just discovered that one item got lost moving back to Huntsville. I had my Dad's old Scubapro Jet Fins and can't find them anywhere. He got them when he started diving in late 60's. At that time NASA had neutral buoyancy tank in Huntsville and they asked him and others to help out. They qualified them for free and they got to be scuba diving "lifeguard" for the astronauts a couple of days per month. Those fins saw a lot of hard work there and in regular scuba around the south. No clue how they got lost - my wetsuit and BC are fins were all on hangers in same closet and only two of the three are in the new closet now.

Found em!   No idea how they got packed in a box with Christmas wreath but I was in the attic and decided to really look. My Rocket fins and Dad's Jet fins = both plus/minus 50 years. I think these are indestructible if you store them indoors

[pch 1261]

Certified in 1995 at Squaw Creek in Glen Rose.  Favorite dive locations were Cozumel, Ambergris Key, and Kona, Hi.  The manta ray night dive with Jack's Dive Locker in Kona was my all time favorite.  Gave my gear to my son in California several years ago but have been contemplating a return since retirement.

[rage-a-holic 4487]

15 hours ago, pch said:

Certified in 1995 at Squaw Creek in Glen Rose.  Favorite dive locations were Cozumel, Ambergris Key, and Kona, Hi.  The manta ray night dive with Jack's Dive Locker in Kona was my all time favorite.  Gave my gear to my son in California several years ago but have been contemplating a return since retirement.

get back in. Unless you are near death, why not?

[troph 24912]

Told my partner we aren’t doing our final water dive in LT. She didn’t say anything. At least I got that out of the way. 

[troph 24912]

E-learning done test tonight. 2 days of pool diving done. 2 days of open water left. Kids are enthusiastic about diving, they love it. Given the choice they chose to dive lake Travis to 40 feet to finish to have extra dives period. So 2 more days of it.  Quick break for some out of school off shore fishing then finish up and fly to the island. 
 

June should be epic. 

Edited May 24, 2021 by troph

[troph 24912]

We dived lake Travis, not a big deal. First dive we could see plenty. Second dive was more cloudy. Tons of folks there learning, we finish tomorrow.  Cozumel next week!! 

[rage-a-holic 4487]

20 hours ago, troph said:

We dived lake Travis, not a big deal. First dive we could see plenty. Second dive was more cloudy. Tons of folks there learning, we finish tomorrow.  Cozumel next week!! 

Enjoy! These were from a few days ago.

 

 

 

[troph 24912]

Lake Travis is dumb. Not scary just dumb. But we are done. Turning in equipment now. Can’t wait for the real dives!!

[troph 24912]

39 minutes ago, rage-a-holic said:

Enjoy! These were from a few days ago.

 

 

 

Can’t wait!! 

[CHIEF 5095]

One of the kids (well 25) that is going to Coz with us at the end of July was in that group at Travis yesterday finishing his certification. He said it wasn't bad at all, the instructor said they usually need flashlights, but not yesterday.

CHIEF

[troph 24912]

Earned. #seatheworld

 

[PRONG HORN 3158]

3 hours ago, troph said:

Earned. #seatheworld

 

 

You earn the right to put a sticker on your vehicle when you learn to love and appreciate the thing on the sticker.  

 

 

[troph 24912]

okie dokie. 

Edited June 14, 2021 by troph

[PRONG HORN 3158]

41 minutes ago, troph said:

okie dokie. 

 

You had to edit okie dokie?  Maybe you're trying too hard, like with the sticker.  

 

[troph 24912]

8 minutes ago, PRONG HORN said:

 

You had to edit okie dokie?  Maybe you're trying too hard, like with the sticker.  

 

No I was going to explain myself but realized I don’t owe you anything. 

Edited June 14, 2021 by troph
to fuck with pronghorn