Posted by Eric S on May 14, 2002 at 21:40:50:
Well,
That was fun!
Very entertaining...
About 5-6 usefull posts, the rest... well...a lot of hot air.
Just a brief overview of the type of diving I do.
I do not do any tech diving.
There are no wrecks up here, nor is there anything worth seeing
past 130 feet.
The majority of our diving consists of near shore reef dives
no more than 1/2 mile out in 25 to 85 ft.
The terrain is very rocky and the sea is normally rough.
Most of the sites are accessible only by boat, but there are
several shore sites if you are willing to pack your gear up steep
windey trails.
On an average day the ocean is 6-9 ft @ 10 seconds with
visibility around 8-15 ft.
I have been out in in 12.5 ft diving from my boat and it requires a
strong stomach.
The amount of game and living growth is tremendous.
There are not many divers up here, only a few every 20 miles.
I use a 9 mil commercial wet suit for the cold water (47-53 Fht)
I have been in 42 up here.
I dislike drysuits, and do not get cold enough to justify one.
The entire reason I am going to the backplate is not to look cool,
because there is no one up here to look cool for, but rather to
simplify my configuration to the absolute minimum to
achieve that freedom feeling. Freedom from all the choking gear.
One step away from freediving if you will.
I dove with a Seaquest Black Diamond and between the integrated weight system and all the bulk, I hated it.
Trimix
Heliox
Deep
Caves
Wrecks
Deco bottles
Argon
HID lights
Doubles
and all the rest of the techie stuff is irelevant.
I have no tech certs ecxept for nitrox but I don't think that counts.
We do not have several classes of divers up here as in southern
Ca.
We are all in the same boat. We are courtious to one another
and help each other out when need be. We all use different configurations and take the time to recognize and learn about
each persons methods of diving.
Essentially, we are all friends up here. We have to be, divers are
scarce.
I do not see how releasable buckles and chest straps are going
to be huge problems. I think My new OMS should work just fine,
and after my dive i shall have a delicious glass of exclusive
Sonoma County wine!
Thank you.