So, what's it like where you live?

As this is a US forum, and I live in sunny England, I was just wondering what it looks like where you live. There are so many images of US life on TV that I just wondered what it is really like ......

The nearest webcam I can find to where I live is http://www.eastbournecentre.co.uk/beachcam.html

Eastbourne is where virtually every boat I go out on comes from (the Marina is about a mile os so past the pier and out of sight just round the corner). I can drive there within 15 mins from home -maybe 25 in summer when it's very busy.

Anyone else got a local or nearby webcam?

well i'm in washington. the diving here is great! we have lingcod, cabazone, octopus, harbor seals, ratfish and many more. http://jeff98208.blogspot.com these are just some of the creatures of our waters.

Just across the river from Cincinnati in northern KY, the local diving consists primarily of quarries. There are lots of caves around here, and some even have sumps to be pushed, but nothing like FL or Mexico. As for weather, lately it has been sunny and warm one day followed by freezing rain and ice the next.

We don't have jack here in central GA.. We have to travel to the coast (3 hours) or North Florida Springs (4 hours) to get wet. But, considering the diving in N FL, it's well worth the drive.. I just wish we had some where here in our local area to dive so we could make an afternoon of it instead of a weekend.. Even Lanier is a couple hours from here. :(

We have a good mixed bag in Sydney. Shallow reef shore dives to deep wrecks offshore. Just about every headland is diveable. Nearest caves are about 4 hours away but the main cave area is over 15 hours nonstop drive in Mt Gambier South Australia. Were lucky in that we can dive in just about any weather condition. It does get rather full at some of the spots that get dived in bad weather conditions but its all good cause were diving.

Matt

Well the 2km. drive to the ocean is BRUTAL!!! The snowbirds are crazy! Alright, so I am rubbing it in. The inlet is even closer to the house, just can not get the boss to stop flying so I can have a day off! The weather is nice and sunny with temps in the mid to high 70's (20+ C). The only thing is the winds have been 15 knots or better for a couple of weeks, keepingf us from going out. We are all plannning trips up to cave country as a result. Any other questions?

More specifically, I live on the South East coast of England about half way between Dover and Brighton - if any of you have heard of these places. We get a big tidal range through the English Channel so diving on slack water is important if you want to surface within a few miles of where you started.

Generally speaking the inshore vis is rubbish and you need to get out on a boat to go diving. During any prolonged calm spell during the summer inshore diving is possible. Usually, diving is done along side 'harbour arms'.

The predominant type of sea bed is silt or sand with some stony bits and some shingle banks.

The only diving I really do is wreck diving of which there are hundreds of known wrecks of the coast of Sussex alone.

My most exciting Channel dive was diving the wreck of the Lan Franc which is in between the shipping lanes of the English Channel. This was a 48ish mtr dive and I had a home brewed normoxic trimix for the dive (lovely stuff and much easier to breathe at depth than air/nitrox). It was quite ............... exciting surfacing in the middle of the lanes with container ships passing by within ¼ of a mile or so ......... you can really hear those engines under water.

The diving conditions can be awful (dark and down to zero vis) and we like to think of those conditions as 'character building'. On a really bad day some will drop down to the wreck and come straight back up again. I like to crawl off a few metres feeling by hand and stop and look at an anemone or dead men's fingers .......... how often do you normally stop to look at this stuff? On a good day (which we REALLY appreciate) then WOW - what a fantastic place to dive!!

We have a rocky rugged shoreline, gobs of sealife and fishies and wrecks. There is also an inland sea here with brackish water that is mostly a silt bottom. We are never more than 20 minutes from the water in this part of the woods. Viz ranges from 10' sometimes depending on time of year and conditions, to 100'+ right now in the winter. We dive wrecks, shallow and deep, critter dives, and wall and rock formations. Water temp ranges from about 27F to 70F (-3C to 21C).

Conditions: http://streams.camzone.com/scrippspi...hp?cmd=goflash

Local critters, wrecks, and dive sites: http://s29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/SoCalDiveGirl/ (channel islands, wrecks, p38, dive pics-- just dig around, it's all local stuff)

Leaving for Cozumel in about 6 hours..... :D Supposed to have wifi in the hotel-- we'll see!

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Originally Posted by SoCalDiveGirl

http://s29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/SoCalDiveGirl/

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Wow - pinkness!! :):)

Even down to the toenails:o Way better than plain old black anyday but and much better to photograph.

Matt

I understand Finless was initially asking about U.S. diving (oh wait, not even about diving per se) but, seeing that the others "represented," I thought, er, okay, might as well put it out there too...
I live and work in Manila (the capital of the Philippines). Most of us carpool from here to Anilao in Batangas when Saturday rolls around. Our usual style is two-dives out, you know: launch off in a banca (outrigger boat) to one dive site (easy does it at first), gas off on some island over snacks while the bangkeros change our tanks (I know, I know, we’re a bit spoiled), then head off on the second plunge (most likely a drift dive this time) before motoring back to the resort for laaate lunch.
At this point, it’s usually the non-diver companions’ turn to make a shore entry, escorted by the resident dive master for an intro-dive right there along the house reef (circling jacks there, a lone turtle, flutter of cuttlefish).
If we’re staying overnight, we squeeze in a night dive, otherwise we hit the road back to Manila (making sure we talk the diver-driver’s ear off to keep her energized).
These are our confidence-building dives. Later, we venture out farther—say, in Verde and Puerto Galera’s waters (still in Luzon) where we get a taste of bigger-and-brighter (critters and viz-wise)—and farther still in the Visayas (a favorite is Malapascua’s manta rays and thresher sharks). We fly out to Palawan for the Coron wrecks one summer, to Puerto Princesa the next (for a pre-booked live-aboard to Tubbataha Reefs).
The funny thing is, the biggest creature I ever saw, a whaleshark, was because of snorkeling (the Donsol tourism office doesn’t allow scuba).

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Originally Posted by PinayDiver

I understand Finless was initially asking about U.S. diving but, seeing that the others "represented," I thought, er, okay, might as well put it out there too...

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I probably didn't word my opening post too well ......... I just assumed most forum members would be from the US. I'm just being curious as to what it looks like where you lot live and dive. Lots of places have web cameras these days.

OK, I admit it, I was being nosey!

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I live and work in Manila (the capital of the Philippines). Most of us carpool from here to Anilao in Batangas when Saturday rolls around. Our usual style is two-dives out, you know: launch off in a banca (outrigger boat) to one dive site (easy does it at first), gas off on some island over snacks while the bangkeros change our tanks (I know, I know, we’re a bit spoiled), then head off on the second plunge (most likely a drift dive this time) before motoring back to the resort for laaate lunch.
At this point, it’s usually the non-diving companions’ turn to make a shore entry, escorted by the resident dive master for an intro-dive in the house reef (circling jacks there, a lone turtle, flutter of cuttlefish).
If we’re staying overnight, we squeeze in a night dive, otherwise we hit the road back to Manila (making sure we talk the diver-driver’s ear off to keep her energized).
These are our confidence-building dives.
Later, we venture out farther—say, in Verde and Puerto Galera’s waters (still in Luzon) where we get a taste of bigger-and-brighter (critters and viz-wise)—and farther still in the Visayas (a favorite is Malapascua’s manta rays and thresher sharks). We fly out to Palawan for the Coron wrecks one summer, to Puerto Princesa the next (for a pre-booked live-aboard to Tubbataha Reefs).
The funny thing is, the biggest creature I ever saw, a whaleshark, was because of snorkeling (the Donsol tourism office doesn’t allow scuba).

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Sounds like fun.

And there I went editing myself (belatedly realizing that your initial post didn’t pointedly ask about diving at all)…Funny, this thread is actually under the forum “Discussions Not Dive Related.” Just goes to show, we can’t help ourselves. Yey, I’m in good company :)

Finless, we have members from Australia, New Zealand, Isreal, Singapore, Tasmania, the UK, Austria, and a whole bunch of Pinoys and Pinays from the Philippines.

The area from Thailand to the Philippines to Indonesia is known as the Coral Triangle and is the marine biodiversity epicenter of the world, and PinayDiver is smack dab right in the middle of it!

Hey Finless!!
Well I am familiar with your plight bro!!
Originally from Sunderland as you probably are well aware is on the North Sea, I joined the Royal Navy at the end of 1996 and moved down to Plymouth. I now however live in south Florida in a town called Delray Beach where the diving is fantastic. It's one of Florida's best kept secrets.....OOOps
Check out this website of a friend of mine's boat. It has quite a few webcams of the stretch of coastline where I now live.
www.uwexplorer.com
Take care in that channel bro

http://s29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/SoCalDiveGirl/ (channel islands, QUOTE]

Wow! God forbid that some one is color blind. All that pink and no pink fins? I detect a note of inconsistancy. That must be a heretic at work!

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Originally Posted by iDiveChick

Finless, we have members from Australia, New Zealand, Isreal, Singapore, Tasmania, the UK, Austria, and a whole bunch of Pinoys and Pinays from the Philippines.

The area from Thailand to the Philippines to Indonesia is known as the Coral Triangle and is the marine biodiversity epicenter of the world, and PinayDiver is smack dab right in the middle of it!

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Still not wording it well am I?

"Unless you live near me (ie in Sussex, England) what is it like where you live AND USUALLY DIVE."
:)

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Originally Posted by iDiveChick

Finless, we have members from Australia, New Zealand, Isreal, Singapore, Tasmania, the UK, Austria, and a whole bunch of Pinoys and Pinays from the Philippines.

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and Canada ... !! Rep-re-sent!!! :)

www.keysnews.com


scroll down.. right side there should be a link to webcams for the florida keys.

everyday baby
dano

www.keysnews.com


scroll down.. right side there should be a link to webcams for the florida keys.

everyday baby
dano

although i'd like to dive where you guys are from.

maybe we could start a you fly i buy forum....you/i pay for the ticket..you/i pay for the diving. kind of like an exchange program...accomodations included of course at the person's home?

http://www.coastalwatch.com/contents/default2.aspx
We use these guys in Sydney. Not really on dive sites but good to see what the bumps are doing and how big they are. Can check out a few different places around the coast and a few O/S. A few directional cameras are good to see what way the swell is running too.

Matt

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Originally Posted by amtrosie

http://s29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/SoCalDiveGirl/ (channel islands, QUOTE]

Wow! God forbid that some one is color blind. All that pink and no pink fins? I detect a note of inconsistancy. That must be a heretic at work!

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uh I do have pink fins too.. but thanks for your "input"...

A couple of webcams near the city center, here in Chicago, that I kinda like:

Field Museum of Natural History

WGN Television

NOAA Offshore Buoy

The last link has some weather data - it's unseasonably cold today but the buds are on the trees. The ice has been off the lake for several weeks now and this past weekend surface temperatures were near 40F (4C) and the water is warming quickly.

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Originally Posted by SoCalDiveGirl

uh I do have pink fins too.. but thanks for your "input"...

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Sure no problem. I just think that pink hoses (not hose protectors) is the true mark of a devotee of all things pink.......just trying to help!

Back when I was heavy into competitive shooting, I used to love showing up for matches clad in as much pink as I could find. You would be surprised how easy it is to sap some shooters' concentration ;)

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Originally Posted by amtrosie

Sure no problem. I just think that pink hoses (not hose protectors) is the true mark of a devotee of all things pink.......just trying to help!

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Really- thats great, you should get some since you seem to fixate on pink dive gear so much..
:)

I dive regularly in Monterey bay...
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/e...cam.asp?bhcp=1