This is not actually a planned event, so please excuse me if I've lured you in here. But that's partly the idea.

I've had a few discussions with other FlyerTalkers recently and I've come to realize that there are quite a bit of us who SCUBA. Naturally, I put the quintessential FlyerTalk gathering together with a hobby I really enjoy and I come up with "SCUBA-DO".

I'd like to see if there's any interest in such an event. I figure with all the frequent flyer miles some of us seem to rack up, sometimes we just can't find a good enough excuse to blow them. Pehaps this could be one.

If you are a SCUBA diver (or will be) and think this would be a good idea, please post here. Post ideas about how to get something like this going, where to hold the event, etc. I searched the forums here and did not find a previous DO involving SCUBA, but I did notice a lot of FlyerTalkers dive. Why not give this a try?

If this takes off at all, I'll probably need some help organizing such a thing as my organizing skills are basically non-existent. I'm what they call an "idea man".

Thanks!

I'm always up for some diving. Cozumel would be a fine venue.

Agreed. Been diving for awhile and have not been to Cozumel.

My wife and I are both certified, but a couple of caveats:

1. It's been many years since I've been diving, and I'd probably want a refresher (or a certified dive master along), before I'd go out in the ocean.

2. My wife HATES cold-water diving (she considers the Channel Islands off California cold water).

SCUBA, SCUBA-DO, where are you? ^ ^

now, that made me chuckle

anyway, would love to dive some day... but, right now, can only deal with Marathon running (with the requisite training time) and casino gambling.

Anybody for Sharm?

went two years ago and both my wife and I had HORRIBLE head colds, no way we could dive.

I'd be up for Sharm but my guess is that most FT'ers would not, especially in light of the recent bombings up the coast from Sharm.

I'm glad to see that there's some interest.

As far as a refresher course, I certainly understand a desire for one, especially since it's been about 1.5 years since I've last "been wet". Usually I just do it at the dive location with the divemaster on-staff before I begin my journeys. I've found that most vacation destinations do not find this to be an unusual request.

I guess I was initally thinking something a little closer to home, like the Caribbean (includes east coast of Mexico, Caymans, Virgin Is....), Mexican Riviera, or Central America (Belize, Honduras, etc.). But if there's enough interest, I've always wanted to dive the Red Sea, so that would be of personal interest to me. Frankly, I'll go almost anywhere. Micronesia has always had a lure, Fiji, back to the Great Barrier Reef, Hawai'i's less-dived regions, et al.

Most FlyerTalk DOs seem to be only a day/night, or a weekend. This would likely have to last at least several days, if nothing else than for decompression concerns. Is it even realistic to think that any significant number of people could find a chunk of time where they would all be free to go? Personally, I can't do much until August. Any suggestions about possible timeframes or length of the DO?

If you know any other FT divers, put some feelers out if you could to gain more interest. Thanks!

Closer to home and not requiring many days would be the Flower Garden Banks and some oil rig diving in the Gulf of Mexico. Most charters depart from Freeport TX (South of Houston). http://www.flowergarden.nos.noaa.gov/

Of course there is always the Keys for reef and wreck diving.

Aldora Divers in Cozumel uses smaller and fast six-pack boats - each one has an instructor as opposed to a divemaster... they try to match by skill level but will do buddy groups... can do with refresher... use 80 cu ft Al to 120 cu ft steelies, so it can be a longer dive... EAN - Nitrox no problem... they have their own villa (Villa Aldora, of course!) and transport to the best dive sites (two tank dive, first one south, next one where the slowpokes go first, surface interval at a beach venue with restrooms, restaurant, bar (ahem! soft drinks, etc.)

Sharm is nice, but very, very crowded. If you haven't seen twenty boats maneuvering to drop and recover sticks of 12 - 20 divers on a drift dive, you haven't seen anything. I am sure diver sushi is made frequently there (I spent a week on aliveaboard, one week land-based boat diving.) OTOH, Hilton has several properties (and I am sure there are others) at reasonable prices and points award use. (Getting to CAI on FF miles no problem - on to SSH, local air only. Those with a yen to do so can even do a day trip to AQJ and on to Petra via land.)

Fiji is a bit distant, but great diving... and FJ will take your AA, QF and BA miles, if not others.

I'll keep an eye on this thread - maybe we'll DO it! But in a few days, I am on my way to Indonesia - 10 days land based diving from Wakatobi, 7 days on Pelagian, to celebrate my 50th anniversary of scuba diving ^ . Indonesia will be my 29th country to dive in, and I love that area of the world (Fiji, Vanautu, Papua New Guinea, Australia - but South Oz, not so much the GBR.)

Best wreck diving: Chuuk is good, but the S S President Coolidge in Vanuatu is first class! Best drift dives: Fiji and soft corals! Best shark dives: Uhm, maybe Tiputa Pass in Rangiroa, French Polynesia, or maybe Darwin and Wolf Ids. in the Gal�pagos, or maybe the family of Grey Whalers at Nigali Pass off Gau Island in Fiji (or anywhere there are lots of Silvertips.) Best night dive: Off Malekula Is, in Vanuatu, with six (unbaited) Chambered Nautilus on a moonless night at 55 feet. Best manta dive: If you know how, and I do, you can call them in in Yap.

Back June 9 or thereabouts. Keep on diving!

Come join us on St. Maarten for July 4!

Is this an official DO? If so, perhaps we could try it as a "pre-DO" to see how it works. If it's a success, we could try another.

I am.

How about Pulau , Yap , Chuk? Can't beat the diving there.....well there is the Maldives too.

Nothing official. Just our anniversary trip.