New to Seattle-Looking for Advice/Dives/Dive Buddies

[scubareulbach]

Hi, my name is Alex, and I recently moved to Seattle this past fall from North Carolina. I am a Divemaster, and I have experience conducting scientific dives while completing my degree during college. I also have extensive rescue skills that I have developed working as an EMT and now as an Emergency Department Technician. I am looking for advice on how to get into diving in the PNW and possibly find some people to go on dives with this summer. I am really interested in underwater photography, but I would be open to most types of diving. If you have any advice for me or are interested going diving with me let me know! Here is a link to my diving photography website if anyone is interested as well: https://www.alexreulbach.com

[YellowEye]

Hi Alex! Welcome!
Join us for a dive we have nearly every Thursday night sometime if you can.... We have a lot of enthusiastic photographers in that group, and we often make weekend plans from there. See the dive planning section for the postings.

-Eric

[Tangfish]

Welcome to NWDC! Nice photos. That one of the iguana with one claw out is awesome, and looks like he’s at a bar waiting for his next drink

Plenty of dive sites in the area and people doing regular dives. Are you already set up to dive dry or with a wetsuit?

[Norris]

We also dive in the north end, check dive planning here to see Wed and Thur (yellowEye) dives

[scubareulbach]

I do not have a dry suit or any dry suit training yet. Is it possible to dive in a wetsuit here, or do I have to wait until the weather is a bit warmer? I am interested in getting trained to dive dry/get a drysuit, I just do not have the time and money yet.

[Tangfish]

Yes sure thing you can dive in a wetsuit and many of us start that way. You’ll probably want a 7mm farmer John type suit unless you are truly not bothered by the cold. And the water temps don’t change THAT much from summer to winter, at depth. Usually in the 49 - 53 degree range I think. You can rent a wetsuit from the local shops if you don’t have one suitable for the temps. Just call around to see pricing and what sizes they have in stock. Also there can be some great deals on used drysuits out there if you keep your eyes peeled and end up finding one in your size.

[Norris]

^^ yeah what he said. I dived one winter in a 7mm and it was fine. Here in the summer you want to get in that wetsuit and into the water in a fast pace..
Pm me and I can give you some good options for finding cold water gear

[YellowEye]

Here in the summer you want to get in that wetsuit and into the water in a fast pace..

That's true with drysuits too. I like to play a game called drysuit chicken... The last one to get into their drysuit while gearing up on a hot summer day wins!

[Boarderguy]

Welcome to the best diving in the world. For drysuits check out Seaskin. They're about 1/3 the price of a DUI, Bare, or Santi and are fully custom at that price. I dove farmer-john and semi-dry for years here but loathed the surface internal regardless of season. Hour plus dives also suck when wet in 50° water.

For diving out here you have loads of bottom structure and depth to choose from. Mud flats or pebble bottoms to rocky walls full of wolf eels. 20ft photo shoots to 200'+ tech dive and all accessible from the shore.

www.seaskin.co.uk

[Tangfish]

Great photos!

[Norris]

Welcome to the best diving in the world. For drysuits check out Seaskin. They're about 1/3 the price of a DUI, Bare, or Santi and are fully custom at that price. I dove farmer-john and semi-dry for years here but loathed the surface internal regardless of season. Hour plus dives also suck when wet in 50° water.

For diving out here you have loads of bottom structure and depth to choose from. Mud flats or pebble bottoms to rocky walls full of wolf eels. 20ft photo shoots to 200'+ tech dive and all accessible from the shore.

www.seaskin.co.uk

I just ordered one of these and should get it in July, I will post a full review.

[Tangfish]

Welcome to the best diving in the world. For drysuits check out Seaskin. They're about 1/3 the price of a DUI, Bare, or Santi and are fully custom at that price. I dove farmer-john and semi-dry for years here but loathed the surface internal regardless of season. Hour plus dives also suck when wet in 50° water.

For diving out here you have loads of bottom structure and depth to choose from. Mud flats or pebble bottoms to rocky walls full of wolf eels. 20ft photo shoots to 200'+ tech dive and all accessible from the shore.

www.seaskin.co.uk

I just ordered one of these and should get it in July, I will post a full review.

Can’t wait to hear and read about it!

[Boarderguy]

Welcome to the best diving in the world. For drysuits check out Seaskin. They're about 1/3 the price of a DUI, Bare, or Santi and are fully custom at that price. I dove farmer-john and semi-dry for years here but loathed the surface internal regardless of season. Hour plus dives also suck when wet in 50° water.

For diving out here you have loads of bottom structure and depth to choose from. Mud flats or pebble bottoms to rocky walls full of wolf eels. 20ft photo shoots to 200'+ tech dive and all accessible from the shore.

www.seaskin.co.uk

I just ordered one of these and should get it in July, I will post a full review.

Brilliant! I've got about 70 dives on mine since Feb last year. One of my buddies has about 225 in a similar span. They really are fantastic. What extras did you get? We need details!
Mine is:
Telescoping torso
Zip cover
Kubi Rings and covers
Sitech quick neck
Sitech valves
DIR dump location
Standard warm neck
Zippered pockets left and right
Knee, back, crotch and shoulder reinforcing
Trigon P-Valve
Neo Socks
40mm braces (suspenders)

[Tangfish]

Wow that is a really nice looking and sounding suit. And they’re 1/3 the price of other manufacturers?

[Boarderguy]

Wow that is a really nice looking and sounding suit. And they’re 1/3 the price of other manufacturers?

They're about $1500 shipped to your door with the above options when I checked a couple months ago. These are fully custom, made to measure, for you. Bare, Santi, DUI, etc will be $4k+ for made to measure.

[YellowEye]

Hi!

Mods drysuits are another lower cost alternative. The jury is still out on how long the sea skin and mods last though. Either way probably longer than santi per dollar spent!