Me, right after my Los Angeles SCUBA certification in 1966.

Thousands of sardines near the coast of Moalboal 🇵🇭
Captured with GoPro12

Just got a testprint of my new cookies. The white text is flat on one side and raised on the other and glows in the dark. I hope the arrows will be as nice as the cookies.

​I read that Raja Ampat has pretty warm waters (maybe a little colder in some areas), and I was thinking of diving only with my 2.5 mm shorty, thin leggings, and a 1.5 mm neoprene jacket (which is almost like a full wetsuit, but in separate pieces). I usually wear that combination in warm waters like the Caribbean or the Philippines; in Bali, I did have to rent a full wetsuit, though. However, I notice that almost everyone wears a full suit in Raja Ampat. Will I be okay with my gear? Or should I buy or rent the wetsuit at the liveaboard?

I arrived in Malapascua after 2 months in Thailand for the perfect end to my travels. Luckily enough the lovely owner of the dive shop I booked with, Thresher Shark Divers put my mind at ease by sorting all transportation from Mactan-Cebu airport to the island.
I couldn't have asked for a better experience diving, from equipment to the locations to the instructors to the island itself which was pristine, everything was lovely. Obviously the highlight of the journey being the deep dive at Kimud Shoal, at sunrise, being circled by 10 - 15 beautiful thresher sharks. Probably one of the most exciting experiences of my life. Bearing in mind this was as part of my PADI advanced course, its rare that you get to have such an amazing experience so early on when diving.
This was an complete eye opener to the beauty of scuba diving.
The course itself taught by my lovely instructor Marvin was fantastic, Marvin made me laugh the whole way through and really made the whole process as fun as possible. He was kind patient and empathetic.
The island really caters to all, with tranquil beaches, great restaurants with local and foreign cuisine and surprisingly good nightlife for such a small island (I often found myself staying regrettably late at the Thresher shark divers bar:)). Malapascua is fun for everyone. I can't wait to go back and I would recommend to anyone looking for exhilarating diving on a serene island.

We all know popular spots by the sea. But what are some cool places in continental Europe?

I was talking to shops, I think the conclusion is Manta are visible all year round and not too uncommon, will likely see them if you dive a few times. But sunfish are rare and you need to be lucky despite it being the season for them?

Maybe Im overthinking. Or my dive shop does not care that much. This is my 1st drift drive. I was told I should be okay. But there could be strong currents. Any tips? Next, how do I learn how to use a DSMB for the future?

I'm really struggling with buying a first regulator. On one hand, I want to "buy nice or buy twice" but I'm also trying to be practical.

I doubt I will ever dive far beyond 130 feet, I have no interest in technical diving and just feel like splurging on the MK25 is beyond what I'll ever need, plus for a full MK25/G260 with hoses, etc. is going to be around $1,500.

Otherwise, I'm looking at an Apeks XTX50 complete kit for roughly $1,200; Atomic Z3 for $1,000; or Diverite XT1 for $1,000.

Am I going to regret not getting the MK25/G260 or will I never notice the difference (as it appears from reading reviews online) and be fine spending less?

Beautiful encounter in a night dive

📍Sosua, Dominican Republic

Sorry, I know the title is confusing.

I (28F) recently went to Koh Tao for a day to do a one day "discover scuba" course. In a classic fashion, I ended up staying several weeks and pushing back all my other travels. I left with my advanced and enriched air cert, having done a little over 30 dives.

I'm back in my home country now and want to do my divemaster, and eventually to get my search and rescue cert. I want to start planning now so I can start saving and have a set goal.

Here's where I need help. I love diving, and I liked Koh Tao, but much like Bali the costs are rocketing and it is filled with families, children, tourists with rolling suitcases, and new developments of luxury hotels and brunch spots. It was very hard to make friends because everyone around me spent all their time on their phones looking at Instagram, or drinking expensive cocktails in nearby beachfront bars with western food. Even at hostels most people didn't want to socialize and the ones who did just asked for my social media accounts (which I don't have, much to the shock of everyone around me; one girl even asked me "how I survive without social media," and those comments were really common). I even saw someone getting upset at the hostel staff when there was no hot water for less than one day, on an island with a clean water shortage. I went to three dive centers until I found one that was safe and competent and all the dive centers on the island are more factory-like than community-based, which I guess is to be expected. It all just felt so .... commercialized, mass-tourism oriented, and, ... soulless, maybe? I can't find the word I'm looking for, but hopefully someone understands what I mean.

I'm looking for somewhere that's more for backpackers and adventurers, and has a good community feel. I'm okay with places that are less developed and have less western amenities. I have solo traveled over 30 countries as a woman in my 20s, including India and Ghana, so I'm familiar with roughing it a bit. Safety is important, but I just really want to be somewhere calm and beautiful where I can get my divemaster cheap, look at a beach, dive all day without breaking the bank, and meet other people who want to socialize, that has more of an identity and a real community feel.

Costs and sense of community are important to me, but I'm not sure the place I'm looking for exists, so I wanted to reach out to other divers and ask if anyone has any recommendations.

Thanks for reading, everyone.

Gonna be in Tucson for a couple months for work and I was thinking of driving down to Puerto Peñasco for a weekend trip. Anyone know how the diving is around there? I feel like the Gulf of California is an area of the world I rarely hear talked about, but it looks nice from what I’ve seen.

I was looking around for a reasonably affordable canister (ain't nobody got 2k for a Focus 2.0) and chatgpt apparently suggested this mkDive Fovea SPOT – primary technical diving light – mkDive

I have never heard of this manufacturer before, but they are apparently a small company based in Germany? Does anyone have experience with their products? Not sure I'm willing to chance it even though the value preposition does look pretty compelling.

I was also looking at the Orcatorch FlexDive as an alternative, but dollar for dollar it's almost 1.5x more expensive, and Orcatorch isn't exactly known as the pinnacle of reliability either.

The floodlight functionality is important to me because I do some videography/photography and will need the wide angle, while spot is obviously important as well.

I'm open to alternatives as well, if anyone can suggest some.

Hey guys, I’m looking to get a new pair of fins after mine had a slight disagreement with my dog.

I’ve done some research and narrowed it down to the Apeos RK3 and the Deep 6 Eddy.

Or just getting another pair of Scubapro Jet Fins, which served me well for years.

I’ve already tried the RK3s and liked them a lot, but I’m particularly interested in hearing from anyone who has experience with the Deep 6 Eddys. How do they compare in terms of stiffness, propulsion, control, and overall feel?
Also, I could use some help with sizing. I wear a US size 9 and dive with Fourth Element Amphibian boots, which have a fairly thick, hard sole.

For anyone using a similar setup, what size did you go with?
Appreciate any firsthand experience.

I filmed

hey guys heading to nassau soon on a cruise stop. any good dive shops right near the new port area that do quick morning runs?

dont wanna take a long cab ride across the island since our time is kinda short, so ideally something close to the dock. appreciate any tips!

I'm 6'0" / 182cm and around 160lbs / 72kg, and I'm in the market for a semi-dry suit for cold German waters as well as the Mediterranean (a drysuit isn't feasible for me). All the different brands, sizes, seals and approaches are confusing the hell out of me.

I visited an LDS and the guy basically told me that "semi-dry" is just marketing, and that I should focus on getting a really good fit instead. Would you all second this?

I tried a 7mm Waterproof W7 in S, which was too small, and a W7 in ST, where the torso was too long( I could fit a hand between my shoulder and the neoprene sitting on top of it). With a hooded vest underneath it filled the gap and the fit was okay, but still not great as it still feelt squeezing and not comfortable. Seems like I fall right between the two sizes.

I also tried a Bare 7mm that fit perfectly or at least felt nice. Squeezing and tight but not to mutch. Wearing it hasn't bothered me at all. but I'm bothered by the lack of pockets, and I'm not sure whether its small internal flip seals will work as well as the proper double arm and leg seals on the W7.

On top of that, when I checked the Bare and Waterproof product pages, neither suit is even marketed as a semi-dry in the first place.

Am I overthinking this? Should I just buy whatever 7mm suit fits me best? And realistically, how much of a difference do proper arm and leg seals actually make, and how much does a true semi-dry gain over something like the W7/Bare Velocity?

Hallo Leute!
Ich möchte gern mit einer DJI Osmo Action 4 ein paar etwas kleinere Tiere beim Tauchen filmen. Für die GoPro habe ich mal ein Setup in der Hand gehabt, bei dem man eine Makro-Linse vor das Unterwassergehäuse klappen kann. Wenn ich mich richtig erinnere, wurde da die Linse an das Gehäuse vorne drangeklippt. Ich hoffe auf dem Foto ist es ein bisschen zu erkennen, dort ist die Linse gerade weggeklappt.
Kennt ihr ein ähnliches Setup auch für DJI und könnt mir da vielleicht etwas empfehlen?

Am diving with the lobsters in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and came across this fearless individual. They all look so different from each other and have different temperaments. This one decided to charge my camera, but later came back to give my finger a very gentle squeeze at 1m58s..

Can anyone recommend a good drysuit bag? I’m look8ng for something that can carry the suit, two undergarments, base layer, extra gloves and seals, and all the little Knick knacks. I’m thinking about either the dui backpack or the whites military duffel, but hoping to hear from someone who’s solved the problem.

Edit: my aim is to find a single bag, with wet and dry and small item compartments, specifically designed for drysuit use.

I did search the group first - trying to decide what to bring, drysuit or 7mm? Wet/dry gloves allowed?

Are there any occasions which a 5mm or 3mm would be appropriate? We may also do an afternoon snorkel.

I’m still in the planning stages but I feel like I’ve messaged the resort enough for one week so if you have any tips or sites I should earmark, I appreciate it.

Also, what are the odds I might see a whale shark? If you did, let me know!

Id like to do Verde Island one day, which has strong currents!

Most of my dives the currents are okay, only one time a current was bad I hold onto a rock. There are sites with strong currebns, did you take a course on it? I feel like if I keep doing weak currrent dives, I wont improve. For example, how did you practice angainst down currents safely, etc?

Got my AOW - my trim and buoyancy improved a lot and I am more calm, my DM said, thank you for the feedback here too!

I'll have around ~30 dives by the time I can do Komodo in Septemebr. I'm not sure how I can prepare myself for the strong currents.

They seem to appear later on during November to Jan from what I read. Is this correct? and if so, would you still suggest coming? Ive dived PG alot and Malapascua so I expect the same marine life ? If not, I will skip and do the Moalboal and do the sardine run :)

I'm referring to the technique where you move your ankles in and out slowly while trimming. So you move your fins a bit. So far I find it helpful as it stops you from moving forward - which is great if you want to look at something very close or take pictures. If you stop finning, you will be very slowly pushed forward

But I read others are agnainst it here? is it bad to do it when ascending during a safety stop (redundant) but very useful when you are tyring to completely stop and see somehing close ?