Posted by STILL COOL on July 25, 2002 at 09:01:29:
In Reply to: Dive Buddy posted by Roxanne on July 25, 2002 at 06:57:07:
Sorry, I just could not help myself. Putting in your age makes it sound so much like a personals ad.
Hawaii is a lot different than California for a bunch of reasons, but mostly the temperature. Getting used to the 7mm suit and heavy weight belts makes the first dive or two kinda stressful. For that reason, you are right on target in getting a local buddy with local experience.
The typical answer is to simply join a club, but this is hard for many since it is a time committment beyond what many want to do for an hobby which is occasional in nature. If you were near here (LA), I would suggest one of the local groups that dives every weekend. They are great at introducing you to the local customs and practices and you will meet other divers and get the chance to see which ones you might want to dive with again. I am sure similar things happen in the bay area. Often local shops organize free trips to the beach. Down here there is a shop called Reef Seekers and they lead FREE beach dives where a new diver will be able to get some guidence and make new friends. I'll bet you can find something like that in your area.
As to selecting a buddy, I have strong feelings about buddies of newbies. I would ask that your potential buddy have at least 75 local dives under her/his weight belt. I would look for at least a RESCUE cert if possible. This is assuming that you are going to dive with this person as a two-diver team with no other divers around. Once you have a few local dives under your belt, then I believe you can comfortably dive with any qualified local buddy.
Have fun in your diving and if you are ever in So Cal. post again or look into the archives of this board for groups like the Sandeaters or South Coast Divers, or Reef Seekers.
An Annonymous Geezer Sockpuppet