I started a new hobby the other day - scuba. I've always kinda wanted to try it, and
so I signed up for lessons. It turned out that we were also heading to Mexico (right
new Cozumel and Belize) in December, so I figured it was a great time to learn. Of
course, I really had no idea how "equipment intensive" (aka expensive) this sport
was. I still haven't made it into the open water, but I decided (somewhat stupidly)
to start buying gear. So far I've picked up:
-
Shorty wet suit
-
Fins (ScubaPro Twinjet)
-
Mask (I forget the brand, unwilling to go dig it up right now <G>)
-
Snorkle (I forget the brand, but a dry snokle)
-
Regulator (ScubaPro MK25/S600)
-
BC (ScubaPro Knighthawk w/ Air2)
-
Dive computer (UWatec Aladin Console)
-
Light (UC C8)
-
Knife
I also spent a good part of Sunday building a rack system for all the gear to dry
in the garage above a bucket to catch the water. The bucket will also double as the
soaking/cleaning station.
Megan thinks I've gone a little nuts on buying all this equipment before I've even
gotten into the ocean. I agree... however, I think I'm going to do quite a few dives
- my goal is to do 100 lifetime dives and then I'll feel "justified" in getting into
the sport. 50 dives and I'll be OK with the purchases, 25 and I wasted my money.
Wednesday night I have my final class for certification, Thursday is my dry suit specialty
class, Saturday & Sunday are my open water certification dives. I already have
a dive lined up for Thanksgiving weekend!
I ended up getting almost a month off in Decemember, I'm going to try and get in 25
dives before the new year (5 for my certification, 5 in Mexico, 10 before Mexico,
5 more somewhere?)... it's a bit agressive, so I'll probably only get 15 or so...
the key for me is to get out of the "totally new" space before going down to Mexico.
I'm a little nervous about diving with a bunch of random tourists in a resort, where
your life may depend on the guy or gal swimming next to you. If I get a couple cold
water dives under my belt, I'll feel a lot more confident. Also, I won't look like
a total newbie with gear that has never touched the water before ;-)