Scuba Diving

I got into scuba diving while I was a student at the University of Texas (in Austin, Tx). I took my open water class from a local dive shop, and enjoyed it so much I took an advanced class (from UT) the next semester for a PE credit. I'd like to eventually get my rescue diver and divemaster certifications and assist in training classes. I think it'd be a blast to be able to introduce others to the sport!

So far, I've dove the following places :

Lake Travis
Austin Texas
Lots during '89-'92 Not much to see in Lake Travis - literally. The visability can get as bad as 3-4 feet, but is usually in the 10-15 foot range. Some fish, rocks, etc.. A good training location, however.

San Marcos River
San Marcos, Texas
'90 & '91 I never actually "dove" here - maximum depth is about 15', so there is little reason to get into "full gear" - not to mention the current is pretty swift as the river is spring fed, easy to swim in with mask/fins/snorkle and full wetsuit (see last sentence), but would be a pain with full gear. However, I have been snorkling here twice - once at night as part of my advanced training class. There is a lot of life in this river, some if it not found anywhere else. Another interesting fact is that since the river is spring fed, it's the same temperature year-round (roughly 70F) regardless of air temp.

Fort Lauderdale,
Florida
July '97 This was my first ocean dive. The seas were 6-8 feet - our dive boat got tossed around quite a bit. I'm suprised they took "first time ocean divers" out on a trip like this. Only about 4 people on a boat of ~12 didn't get seasick (luckily, I was one of the 4 - and two of the others were the crew, so they don't really count). To make things worse, our boat's engines died during our second dive. Another charter boat picked up the stray divers (of which I was one!) and took us in to dock, where we waited another half hour for our boat to be towed back in.. Being my first ocean dive, I had a great time despite all the problems!!

Paradise Island,
The Bahamas
July '97 I was only able to get one reef dive in when we stopped in the Bahamas for one day during a cruise. Fish were even more plentiful here than in Florida. This was the first time I was able to get an underwater camera, but as it was a cheap rental and
most of the pictures didn't come out well.

Cozumel, Mexico
December '97 We vacationed in Cozumel for a week during December of 1997. Cozumel's diving is, in a word, awesome. We spent two days making four dives along various reefs on the western side of the island. The second day, I was able to rent a better camera than we had while we were in the Bahamas. I've now got some pictures online (warning, lots of inline pictures, will take a bit to load on slower connections).

Last Updated : March 17, 1998

Lake Travis Austin Texas Lots during '89-'92	Not much to see in Lake Travis - literally. The visability can get as bad as 3-4 feet, but is usually in the 10-15 foot range. Some fish, rocks, etc.. A good training location, however.
San Marcos River San Marcos, Texas '90 & '91	I never actually "dove" here - maximum depth is about 15', so there is little reason to get into "full gear" - not to mention the current is pretty swift as the river is spring fed, easy to swim in with mask/fins/snorkle and full wetsuit (see last sentence), but would be a pain with full gear. However, I have been snorkling here twice - once at night as part of my advanced training class. There is a lot of life in this river, some if it not found anywhere else. Another interesting fact is that since the river is spring fed, it's the same temperature year-round (roughly 70F) regardless of air temp.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida July '97	This was my first ocean dive. The seas were 6-8 feet - our dive boat got tossed around quite a bit. I'm suprised they took "first time ocean divers" out on a trip like this. Only about 4 people on a boat of ~12 didn't get seasick (luckily, I was one of the 4 - and two of the others were the crew, so they don't really count). To make things worse, our boat's engines died during our second dive. Another charter boat picked up the stray divers (of which I was one!) and took us in to dock, where we waited another half hour for our boat to be towed back in.. Being my first ocean dive, I had a great time despite all the problems!!
Paradise Island, The Bahamas July '97	I was only able to get one reef dive in when we stopped in the Bahamas for one day during a cruise. Fish were even more plentiful here than in Florida. This was the first time I was able to get an underwater camera, but as it was a cheap rental and most of the pictures didn't come out well.
Cozumel, Mexico December '97	We vacationed in Cozumel for a week during December of 1997. Cozumel's diving is, in a word, awesome. We spent two days making four dives along various reefs on the western side of the island. The second day, I was able to rent a better camera than we had while we were in the Bahamas. I've now got some pictures online (warning, lots of inline pictures, will take a bit to load on slower connections).