Quote:
Originally posted by carnation
I became a SCUBA diver at the age of 16. My father and I dove in many locations, my favorite being right off Bimini.
Then when I was at Auburn, the wonderful IFC president and his friend went cave diving in Florida. Danny got trapped in the cave and drowned. I never had the urge to go again.
You guys don't cave dive!
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Okay, I am going to be preachy for a moment:
A basic PADI certification is called an OPEN WATER card for a reason. You are never supposed to dive where there is anything between you and the surface except water, unless you have additional training. I know this is mentioned again and again in training materials. Of course something like this is a tragedy, but please don't be discouraged or discourage others from diving based on this incident. The facts show that there is a very low fatality rate for open water divers, providd they remain within the limits of their certifications.
As for equipment, keep in mind how much you are actually going to want to transport from location to location. I keep my own skin gear and regulator (stage 2) and rent the rest. A lot of these resort places are staffed by guys making $7/day, who will give you everything for a very low rental fee as long as you give them a decent tip. If you get a BSD with an integrated weight system, you are now lugging weights from place to place. If you plan to rent a weight belt there, you leave the possibility of incompatibility. Yes, you are trusting your life to this gear, but you can be fairly confident in a dive shop operating under NAUI, PADI, or SSI certification.