Greetings from Memphis area

TLB2 · 03-09-2007, 01:22 PM

Hello to all! Not actually certified diver

- yet. My daughter and I have completed our class & confined dives, just waiting for warmer water to complete our certification dives in May. Busy planning our first dive trip to the Florida Keys in early June.

speargirl · 03-09-2007, 03:01 PM

Welcome TLB2,
I got your message, and yes we have alot of good dive shops here in the keys
Silent World, Conch Republic just to name a couple in the upper keys. I don't think you will have enough dives in to go on the wrecks and it be safe for you but thier are alot of beautiful reefs here for you to enjoy. If your not going to wear a wet suit because the water here is really warm that time of the year, you should at least wear skins to protect you from the coral and things that float around that time of the year ( jelly fish). You will have a blast here, It is so nice in the keys and your daughter will never forget diving the beautiful reefs with her father. You will be the father of the year in her eyes....
glad to have you here and you and your family have a wonderful stay in the
FLORIDA KEYS
Becky

MgicTwnger · 03-09-2007, 03:40 PM

Yeah, what Becky said. I especially reccommend Conch Republic.

TLB2 · 03-09-2007, 07:09 PM

We're planning on bringing the wetsuits (3mm, and a shorty suit) since I'm not sure if we will dive any springs on the way down. I'd rather have and not need than the other way around. Really looking forward to getting in the water! The daughter has been to the keys twice, three if I count the day trip to Key Largo to snorkel after her karate Tournament in Ft. Lauderdale last summer. Of course I'm the only one who has ran into any jellyfish so far.

Thanks for the tip on Conch Republic!

Scuba Mama · 03-09-2007, 10:34 PM

Just some quick thoughts. Make sure you and your daughter have all the paper work & pictures. Check with the shop your going to dive with to make sure they are expecting you and have instructor to work with you for your open waters. The springs will not let you dive unless your training or train for openwater. Also check with the shop to see what they provide as part of your training. Verify costs so there are no surprises. Most of all have fun.

TLB2 · 03-09-2007, 11:07 PM

I'm intending to make reservations towards the end of this month or early April at the latest. We scheduled our OW dives in late May before our trip. Going to a quarry in Alabama--worked out well since the water will be warmer (cold vs freezing

) and our class instructor will be back on that trip. His wife is due later this month, so he wouldn't be able to go if our trip was any sooner. In the mean time, our local dive shop has a 15' deep indoor pool, and they let students use that to keep up their skills until the certification dives. We practice the skills when we first get there, then we swim and try to get better at controlling our bouyancy. Working on not looking like a swiming yo-yo :P

Good point on making sure to bring paperwork & everything: daughter forgot to grab her regulator a couple weeks ago and had to use the rental gear. We started a checklist to make sure that doesn't happen again.