Where is the coolest place you ever went scuba diving?

CH (MAJ) William Beaver — Wed, 05 Aug 2015 16:52:38 -0400

Do you scuba dive? Where is the coolest place you ever explored underwater? We took some Wounded Warriors diving with the gentle giant fish and whale sharks at Georgia Aquarium. That was different but pretty awesome.

Response by SGT Eric Dziekan made Aug 5 at 2015 4:59 PM

SGT Eric Dziekan — Wed, 05 Aug 2015 16:59:37 -0400

I had some great dives in the Red Sea and on Saba Island in the Caribbean.

Response by SSgt Terry P. made Aug 5 at 2015 5:00 PM

SSgt Terry P. — Wed, 05 Aug 2015 17:00:30 -0400

Tennessee river in the 70's almost completely black,Had to feel for direction --retrieving downed small aircraft.It was different but exciting.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 5 at 2015 5:20 PM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 05 Aug 2015 17:20:50 -0400

I had the opportunity to work with the aquarium in Guam (underwater world) and take certified divers and discover SCUBA participants in the shark tank. That was pretty awesome. I've gotten lucky though and I've had a heck of a lot of "best dive ever"s

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 5 at 2015 5:53 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 05 Aug 2015 17:53:51 -0400

When I came back from Afghanistan, I went diving in Crete for 2 weeks. It was great!

Response by PO2 Steven Erickson made Aug 5 at 2015 6:08 PM

PO2 Steven Erickson — Wed, 05 Aug 2015 18:08:50 -0400

Bikini Atoll, 2002 and 2004. Me and Spongebob Squarepants...

Response by TSgt David L. made Aug 5 at 2015 6:30 PM

TSgt David L. — Wed, 05 Aug 2015 18:30:44 -0400

PANAMA!! Hands down.

Response by SGT Richard H. made Aug 5 at 2015 6:51 PM

SGT Richard H. — Wed, 05 Aug 2015 18:51:03 -0400

I think my favorite place to dive so far would be Curacao. Not only the diving but I had an awesome week of exploring the island.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Aug 5 at 2015 7:55 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Wed, 05 Aug 2015 19:55:06 -0400

Some small island in the Philippines. I hope it remains a secret because human touch will ruin the reefs.

Response by CH (MAJ) William Beaver made Aug 5 at 2015 8:31 PM

CH (MAJ) William Beaver — Wed, 05 Aug 2015 20:31:33 -0400

Fort Gotdon Wounded Warriors in fish tank at Georgia Aquarium!

Response by LTC Stephen C. made Aug 5 at 2015 8:36 PM

LTC Stephen C. — Wed, 05 Aug 2015 20:36:18 -0400

CH (MAJ) William Beaver, I never went anywhere cool while scuba diving. The sport scares me to death. I did enjoy skydiving though.
However, I went to high school with one the world's most renown cave divers, Sheck Exley (April 1, 1949 – April 6, 1994). "He is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of cave diving. During his career, he established many of the basic safety procedures used in cave and overhead diving today. Exley was also a pioneer of extreme deep scuba diving."
Here's a link to the Wikipedia article about Sheck:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheck_Exley

Sheck Exley - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sheck Exley (April 1, 1949 – April 6, 1994) was an American cave diver. He is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of cave diving,[1][2] and he wrote two major books on the subject: Basic Cave Diving: A Blueprint for Survival[3] and Caverns Measureless to Man.[4] On February 6, 1974, Exley became the first chairman of the Cave Diving Section of the National Speleological Society.[5][6] During his career, he established many of the basic...

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Aug 6 at 2015 1:24 AM

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 01:24:48 -0400

Never qualified with Tanks but can't beat free style diving in the Lagoon in Diego Garcia in my book.

Response by COL Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 6 at 2015 12:26 PM

COL Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 12:26:04 -0400

There are plenty of great locations around the Caribbean, however, consistently the dive spots around Cozumel are top notch. In terms of fish, reefs, water temps, clarity, and dive boat costs, Cozumel 'Paradise', 'Palancar', and wreck dives are the best.

Response by SFC Mark Merino made Aug 6 at 2015 1:23 PM

SFC Mark Merino — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 13:23:45 -0400

I have an irrational fear of sharks (although someone still has to make up the statistics) or I would be all over it. I got my daughter PADI certified for her 16th birthday and she went to S. California with her friend but I remain wimpy. Guam/Saipan is really shaping up for our new base camp in 6 months so I better get on it. Why keep the sharks waiting.

Response by Cpl Gregory Hajder made Aug 6 at 2015 11:04 PM

Cpl Gregory Hajder — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 23:04:47 -0400

Coral Habor, New Providence Island, Bahamas. Catching conch and lobster with the Bahamian Defence Force in exchange for rum.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 7 at 2015 2:38 AM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 07 Aug 2015 02:38:25 -0400

Well I recently just got back from Guantanamo Bay Cuba and got certified to scuba dive there also while I was there they brought wounded warriors there to scuba dive in the Cuban ocean with us it's pretty cool I end up getting a picture with them so Cuba was amazing cuz it was Caribbean side

Response by SPC(P) Mark Newman made Aug 9 at 2015 2:48 PM

SPC(P) Mark Newman — Sun, 09 Aug 2015 14:48:52 -0400

Good question, Captain B! There was a wrecked ship in 100 feet of water sunk off the coast of Oahu. I was so excited to go explore... until one of our group told me, "The ship didn't sink, it was scuttled for tourists to see when diving." I was kind of disappointed: but once we were down? Amazing. It was as if I were flying (slowly) above this vessel. Even without going inside the ship (that was a little too advanced for us; safety first) it was my favorite dive ever.

Response by SPC David Hannaman made Aug 13 at 2015 5:24 PM

SPC David Hannaman — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 17:24:11 -0400

Cozumel. It's the only salt water drift diving I've had the opportunity to experience, so I'm afraid it's not much of a race.

Second is Aquarena Springs by San Marcos, TX... not very deep, but extremely clear (and cool, 73 degrees year round). It takes a special endorsement to dive there, endangered species, and an archaeological site (longest continuously populated site in North America, 12,000 years).

Other than that's it's just been "mud diving" around Texas lakes... still, a bad day diving beats a good day doing almost anything else.

Response by SSG Aaron Rivera made Aug 13 at 2015 8:52 PM

SSG Aaron Rivera — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 20:52:34 -0400

Damn !!!! Sounds awesome.
Although any warm water reef dive will be exactly the same. Just like a big aquarium. So far all the reefs off Cozumel have been my best experience and they have drift dives for every level of diver since those currents can get strong

Response by MSG Cliff Brogdon made Aug 17 at 2015 11:22 AM

MSG Cliff Brogdon — Mon, 17 Aug 2015 11:22:14 -0400

I went diving in Djibouti Africa. We dove with the Whale Sharks. It was Incredible. Just to be down there and see a creature of that size without anything between you. That was my best dive!!!

Response by MSG Cliff Brogdon made Aug 17 at 2015 11:23 AM

MSG Cliff Brogdon — Mon, 17 Aug 2015 11:23:28 -0400

I went diving in Djibouti Africa. We dove with the Whale Sharks. It was Incredible. Just to be down there and see a creature of that size without anything between you. That was my best dive!!!

Response by SSgt Robert Jorgensen made Sep 1 at 2015 8:33 PM

SSgt Robert Jorgensen — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 20:33:06 -0400

Grand Cayman, night diving, played with an octopus, caught a cow fish by hand, got my butt kicked by a lobster who's antenna was 2 ft long, went down Sand chute and lost all color at 130 ft. Best week I had.

Response by Lt Col Michael Thomas made Sep 18 at 2015 4:36 AM

Lt Col Michael Thomas — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 04:36:53 -0400

West Turks and Caicos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaCdHWTMzcs . Next trip will be Manta Ray nite diving in Hawaii.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d24LR0BeILQ

West Caicos Scuba.

Mike and Chris. Filmed on 9Apr2015 using GoPro. 2 Reef sharks appear at the end.

Response by Maj Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 25 at 2015 2:47 PM

Maj Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 25 Sep 2015 14:47:59 -0400

Okinawa, Japan! The diving out there is amzing. Maeda Point and Toilet Bowl were my favorite spots!

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 29 at 2015 11:02 AM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 11:02:09 -0400

I have two favorite places! The Red Sea in Egypt, specififcally Sharm El Skeikh and The British Virgin Islands. We rented a catamaran for two weeks there and dove straight off the back of the boat the whole time we were there. Pretty much only ate what we caught. :)

Response by PO2 Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 23 at 2016 12:04 PM

PO2 Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 23 Mar 2016 12:04:08 -0400

For me it would have to be "Kin Red" in Okinawa, Japan. Only place that I've dove that scares the hell out of me. It's location is where the Pacific and Sea of Japan meet. the currents cross and at times make it feel your in a whirlpool. But for hunting has the largest Rock Lobsters I've ever seen in my life. The biggest I've seen was the tail of one that when you measured it was 4 inches across. Talk about a lot of meat...lol

Response by Sgt Chuck Harvey made Mar 28 at 2016 10:15 AM

Sgt Chuck Harvey — Mon, 28 Mar 2016 10:15:44 -0400

Just got back from Cozumel, Mexico beginning of March.
Roatan, Honduras last Feb.

Response by SSG James Arlington made Mar 31 at 2016 3:24 PM

SSG James Arlington — Thu, 31 Mar 2016 15:24:11 -0400

I have a house in Kona. Time to go for a dive!

Response by CPO Kayle Zimmerman made Aug 21 at 2019 11:21 PM

CPO Kayle Zimmerman — Wed, 21 Aug 2019 23:21:19 -0400

Rubbing my stomach on Stag Horn Coral in Guam and being able to see clearly for 100 yards through clear water, well I could see almost everything except the Manaray's large shadow above me in Shark's Pit. What a beautiful creature it was, gliding in the water like a bird in the wind. I am a certified diver but also a disabled Vet with spinal stenosis, but that's okay, I'm old! LOL

Response by PO3 Gary Harris made Aug 22 at 2019 12:40 PM

PO3 Gary Harris — Thu, 22 Aug 2019 12:40:33 -0400

the red sea

Response by Arlene W made Aug 24 at 2019 1:42 PM

Arlene W — Sat, 24 Aug 2019 13:42:40 -0400

Best or I should say our favorite place was Bonaire, NA. The island off Veneszuela is a marine park. The entire island. We saw a whale, sharks, tropical fishes, fauna, ... There is a park with amazing views on land and you can dive from shore at various sites along the road that are marked as dive sites with easy access. The whole island is into scuba diving. Best ever.

Response by PO1 Wendy Stevens made Sep 28 at 2019 10:18 AM

PO1 Wendy Stevens — Sat, 28 Sep 2019 10:18:13 -0400

Having been so many places and each time thinking how great it was, Hawaii cave diving looking for Bug Blue was the best!

Response by CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 28 at 2019 12:51 PM

CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 28 Sep 2019 12:51:18 -0400

Snorkeling off Boca Chica Road Key West early 70s.

Response by HN Alex Slinkard made Jan 20 at 2022 5:43 AM

HN Alex Slinkard — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 05:43:35 -0500

Palau one stop shop for every type of dive

Response by Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen made Jan 20 at 2022 5:12 PM

Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 17:12:46 -0500

Tinian, lots of wrecks to explore.

Response by Stephanie Rose made Jan 20 at 2022 8:36 PM

Stephanie Rose — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 20:36:35 -0500

Hello..how are you doing today