SCUBA     

This is another one of those hobbies that began suddenly.  As the summer of '97 was winding down, I woke up one morning and decided I needed to become a SCUBA diver.  I visited a local SCUBA shop that afternoon--Ken Gritt's SCUBA University--and was signed up for courses by the following week.

The course ran through September and October of 1997, and the final exam--the 'Open Water' dives--took place in Lake George at the end of October.

In retrospect, this probably wasn't the smartest hobby I ever took up.  The SCUBA season (read: summer) is far too brief here in the Northeast, and even on the hottest of days, once you dive below 15 feet or so, the water temperature never gets much above 40 degrees and visibility is rarely better than 25 feet.

After my first dive, I didn't use my gear until December, when I visited St. Maartin and Saba in the Dutch West Indies--something I expect I will only rarely, if ever, be able to do again.

Last summer, due to some poor weather and miscommunications, I went diving exactly once.

I'm hoping this year will be a bit better.

[Album]      [First Dive]     [St. Maartin]     [Saba]