Dive Buddy Sought Around St Pete for Th, Fri, Sat, or Sun Dives This Week

I had to dive solo this weekend because my wife couldn't find a
babysitter. The solo dive was a positive experience, but I prefer to
accept less risk and have more safety on my dives.

Are there any divers in the St Pete area willing to accept a newbie
dive buddy? I'm easy and I'm cheap.

My current dive goals are to find some fossilized shark teeth, see and
photograph underwater wild life, and maybe collect some conch shells
and gold coins.

Please contact me at jarrells@jarrells.cjb.net if you're interested.

Dive safe!

Mike Jarrells

<jarrells@jarrells.cjb.net> wrote

>I had to dive solo this weekend because my wife couldn't find a
> babysitter. The solo dive was a positive experience, but I prefer to
> accept less risk and have more safety on my dives.

> Are there any divers in the St Pete area willing to accept a newbie
> dive buddy? I'm easy and I'm cheap.

> My current dive goals are to find some fossilized shark teeth, see and
> photograph underwater wild life, and maybe collect some conch shells
> and gold coins.

Finding fossilized shark teeth usually happens over sand. Sand dives are
not high on the favorites list of most divers.

Underwater photography is not the kind of goal that will get you many
volunteer buddies. It's a very absorbing task, leaving a buddy little
choice but to hand around doing nothing. While you are shooting, your buddy
is diving solo. Being a buddy to an underwater photographer is worse than
doing sand dives.

Hopefully, your goal of collecting conch shells does not include collecting
them live and, inparticular, does not include collecting Queen Conchs which,
in Florida, are protected.

We'd all like to collect some gold coins. If you figure out where we can
find some, feel free to share the information. Please share it privately
and with me first.

I suggest you consider looking for a buddy simply for the enjoyment of
diving. You'll stand a better chance of finding somebody compatable.

Lee

Lee,

I said I'm easy. Diving for enjoyment is why I dive. As a newbie
every new experience and exploration is an awesome experience. I hope
I never get bored with diving. I'll have to take up flying then, and I
can't afford that.

On my last dive I saw a live Queen Conch. It was an awesome
experience. I try to educate myself during surface intervals so I was
aware that live Queen Conch are protected. I was so excited about my
earlier experiences with Sheepshead and live Fighting Conch that I
didn't have any film left for my Conch encounter. It was huge. My
hand is a good 12 inches from thumb tip to pinky and this shell was a
good 6 inches longer. I didn't bother it other that to measure the
shell with my hand, but I did stay and watch for a couple of minutes as
this was my first encounter with a living Queen Conch. As it moved
across the ocean floor it looked like a great sail boat moving across
the ocean.

I'm pretty open to any dive activity as long as it doesn't push me to
far outside of my acceptable risk given my current skills.

Dive Safe!

Mike

Mike

<jarrells@jarrells.cjb.net> wrote in message
news:1122900620.295889.311700@g44g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...
> I had to dive solo this weekend because my wife couldn't find a
> babysitter. The solo dive was a positive experience, but I prefer to
> accept less risk and have more safety on my dives.
>
> Are there any divers in the St Pete area willing to accept a newbie
> dive buddy? I'm easy and I'm cheap.

Get used to diving solo... You'll never have your buddy turn the dive on you
when you don't feel like turning it... Unless you have a multiple
personality disorder like our recent rash of WebTV posts from Connie...

--
http://www.geocities.com/grumman581/...-rec-scuba.htm

Grumman-581 wrote:
> Get used to diving solo... You'll never have your buddy turn the dive on you
> when you don't feel like turning it... Unless you have a multiple
> personality disorder like our recent rash of WebTV posts from Connie...

I have talked to a few local divers and it seems that most dive solo
most of the time anyway. I guess I'll have to get over my shark
paranoia and just do it!

When I go I would rather die doing what I love.

Dive safe!

Mike

jarrells@jarrells.cjb.net wrote:
> I have talked to a few local divers and it seems that most dive solo
> most of the time anyway. I guess I'll have to get over my shark
> paranoia and just do it!

Ahhh... Now I understand it... You just want a slower swimmer to use as
bait...

<jarrells@jarrells.cjb.net> wrote in message
news:1123090960.017792.215440@g47g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...

<snip>

> It may also reduce the chance of shark attack. I have read that solo
> swimmers are more likely to be targeted by sharks.

http://www.bangsticks.com/catalog.html

I don't have to outrun the shark. I just have to outrun you.

Not really. My wife leaves me in the dust. I like to conserve my air
and energy so I get to stay down longer.

It would be nice to have someone around who could help if things get
out of control.

It may also reduce the chance of shark attack. I have read that solo
swimmers are more likely to be targeted by sharks.

Mike

> It may also reduce the chance of shark attack. I have read that solo
> swimmers are more likely to be targeted by sharks.

Solo swimmers probably are. Divers, solo or otherwise, are not usually
bothered much . . . unless they're spearfishing. This year, I'll be
carrying both a powerhead and a bangstick. Perhaps it's just paranoia, but
several in my group, including me, have been seriously bothered while we are
spearfishing. Each year it seems to get worse. My last trip was three
years ago. If it's gotten even worst than it was back then, there will be
some dead sharks around when we leave. None of us likes to kill what we
don't plan to eat, but there is a limit beyond which it's time to find out
who is really at the top of the food chain.

Lee

<jarrells@jarrells.cjb.net> wrote in message
news:1123090960.017792.215440@g47g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...
> It would be nice to have someone around who could help if things get
> out of control.

That's a two-edged sword, ya' know... Two people also doubles the chance
that something is going to go wrong to someone...

> It may also reduce the chance of shark attack. I have read that solo
> swimmers are more likely to be targeted by sharks.

Assuming that the two of you are the only pieces of food nearby and a shark
just happens to be there and is going to bite one of you, having another
diver should decrease your odds of moving a step down on the food chain...
Since divers don't get attacked as much as swimmers, a better solution would
be for you to be diving and have someone above you on the surface swimming
(i.e. acting as bait)... The thing is, it's easier to see a shark coming at
you when you're on the bottom than when you're on the surface since they are
more likely silhouetted against the surface vs blending in with the
bottom... At worst, you bring a bangstick with you and have shark for
supper...