Great Blue Hole

[Superman]

I became a diver this month. Visited Belize for nine days. Dove the Great Blue Hole. I had always wanted to "swim with the colorful fishes," and this fulfilled that dream. The fish and coral were unimaginably beautiful. A child, with paints and sparkles could not create more beautiful fish.

[masraum]

wow, looks and sounds cool.

[onewhippedpuppy]

That is seriously cool. How deep is it?

[Rikao4]

Good for you, there is nothing like it.
Wife took up diving a few yrs. back. This was a huge step for her, as she had almost drowned as a young kid. She would not go deeper than she could stand . One day, let's do this.
I'm so proud of her, and we have a blast.
Rika

[dhoward]

Nice dive once.
480 ft deep. 200ft. viz.
Great dive for a new guy.
Really makes you think about bouyancy control, doesn't it?
Congrats on the cert.

[id10t]

We've got a few of those here in N Florida, but they are springs. Great for snorkeling, scuba is a waste on 'em *unless* you get cavern/cave certified...

[Superman]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

That is seriously cool. How deep is it?

Like Dan says, about 400 feet deep. 1000 feet diameter. It used to be above water, and contains stalagmites/stalactities. At about 100 feet it starts to widen and that's where the stalactites start.....about 110 feet. Forty-foot stalactite structures. The dive was to 130 feet, the maximum permissible without time-consuming decompression. Even so, a dive to that depth is only nine minutes long.

Belize is pretty cool. English-speaking. Laid back. WARM water. I held a shark in my arms, belly-up, and petted it. Saw a stingray about seven feet in diameter. Life is good.

[dhoward]

Not to be a party-pooper, but 130ft is pretty marginal for a relative beginner.
First dive of the day?
Safety stop?
Computer?

[Tishabet]

Originally Posted by dhoward

Not to be a party-pooper, but 130ft is pretty marginal for a relative beginner.
First dive of the day?
Safety stop?
Computer?

If by "marginal" you mean "ill advised," then I am in agreement. I've been SCUBA certified (NAUI) since I was 14, but have never been over 100 feet... I've read the Navy decomp tables! dang!

[David]

We went to Belize last year for the first time. We stayed at a little island farther south than Ambergris Caye. What a wonderful place!!! We only snorkled, but next time we'll be certified.

[dhoward]

Yeah. I was being polite.
Glad you got to see it and all, but 130 ft. is a long way from help during equipment malfunction for a beginner.
I've been over 200ft on an Inspiration, hundreds of dives, Padi and NAUI certs out the butthole, one case of DCS and I HATE when new divers are put in precarious circumstances.
You end up DMing out of concern for the others on your trip.
Congrats, though Superman. It's a lot of fun!

[RoninLB]

[Dueller]

Hol Chan...Belize. Dove it on my honeymoon.

[Superman]

I appreciate the information and the concern. I'm learning and this helps. I've got a healthy respect for diving requirements and dangers. The "rest of the story" is like this:

First, I am part-fish. I was a blonde-haired, brown-skinned fish until I was at least twelve. After that, more of an amphibian. Lakes and rivers. If we had a dollar for every hour I've spent swimming, boating, water skiing, etc., we could easily pay off the national debt. Plus, I'm impressively fit for a fifty year-old smoker. WAY more athletically gifted than I deserve. And finally, we were in good hands. My buddy is a rescue diver. Plus, we had the Dive Master. We were fully briefed before. Descended together. The DM was 100% vigilant. Heck, previously during the week we had spent quite a bit of time between 60 and 95 feet. A lot of time there.

And besides, whaddya gonna do? Would you have looked over the side of the boat and said "Golly, I'd like to dive the Great Blue Hole but I've only got a dozen dives under my belt up to 100 feet and it might just be dangerous, so you guys go ahead without me and I'll stay here and watch your bubbles." Huh? You gonna say that?

I will say that nitrogen narcosis makes bubbles look really pretty.

[dhoward]

Point taken.
Have fun. Be safe.

[Moses]

I loved the Blue Hole. Lots of big sharks and structure. It's not as pretty as a clear water reef dive, but it's dramatic.

I just watched Jessica Alba's "Into the Blue" in HD. The Bahamian dives were beautiful, but Jessica Alba underwater in HD is truly a wonder to behold.

[The Gaijin]

Supe - you are the Man!

My old boss dived in then British Honduras when SCUBA was first being popularized. (He built his own rig.) Some great stories. When he got on a roll - that would be it for the morning. No work got done..

[legion]

Man...I'm dissapointed.

I thought this thread would be about Smurfette.

[lendaddy]

Originally Posted by legion

Man...I'm dissapointed.

I thought this thread would be about Smurfette.

Heck I thought it was a thread on the latest GILF flick.

[varmint]

so, is this where the atlanteans built their particle accelerators?