Regional SCUBA Pages

As more and more dive related businesses come on-line with their own home pages, and dive magazines establish a presence on the web, the role of the personal SCUBA page will change. Even though these commercial interests will be able to provide certain types of info better than any individual with a job, life and bills ever would have the time to, I believe there is still a place for the personal SCUBA web page.

This place, in my opinion, is in providing local dive info and contacts. No group can provide this kind of stuff better than we. After all, we're talking about our own back yards. Those of us who are out diving our own home waters day-in and day-out are the ones best qualified to talk about diving where we live.

Firmly believing this, I have put together this list of personal home pages that focus on particular geographic regions. I try to keep this list as current as possible, but it can be difficult to find all new home pages in a timely manner. If you know of a well put-together SCUBA home page that provides good local info that I have not listed, please e-mail me and give me the URL. Especially if it covers a region that none of those below do.

Okay, if you've gotten this far, you've probably realized that the above intro is a little out of date. It was written in 1996, so it predates the commercial explosion of the web. I still feel that the sentiments are valid though. Whether you're all for the commercialization of the web or totally opposed to it, there is still a place for the page put up by the enthusiast who does it out of love of the sport rather than to make a buck, not there's anything wrong with doing both. Some of these sites have gone commercial since the page was originally put up, some haven't. Either way, pages maintained by local divers will always be the best.

California Sites

Despite the cold water and generally low visibility, California remains my favorite place in the world to dive. The challenges it offers only add to the wonder of the experience. There will simply never be anything to compare with the beauty of a giant kelp forest moving with the power of the Pacific Ocean, or the fantastic array of life to be found there. These sites are specific to California diving.

Beneath Pacific Tides is a site dedicated to diving in Point Lobos State Park. With detailed maps and site descriptions, it's an excellent resource for anyone wanting to see this underwater wonder.
GPS for the Monterey Diver, by Chuck Tribolet, is a listing of GPS coordinates and instructions for finding a few of Monterey's popular dive sites. It also includes some interesting history behind the names of the sites.
LADiver.com is a directory of SCUBA related websites dealing with all of California.
Diver.net is another site that serves as a web directory for California diving.
Adventures Through Inner Space is another site dedicated to diving in Monterey. You can never get enough of them!
And just to make that point, Metridium Fields is yet another.

Sites Across the Country and Around the World

New Jersey SCUBA (I know it's a scary thought) is actually a great all-around diving page, and might just change your mind about the Garden State.
Planning on a dive in Texas? Check out Amistad Scuba Divers
WETFUN is a home page that includes a decent SCUBA section. It's an good example of how fancy a page can get. Go to Real Wetfun for the SCUBA stuff.
Big Daves Tallahassee Scuba Web Page. A good Tech Diving page.
How about Great Britain? If so, these are the pages you want.
Lesen Sie Deutsch? If so, Tauchen in Deutschland is a great source of info for diving in Europe. It includes a guide to diving in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. No, not Australia. The one without the "L". Schwarzenegger, not Gibson. Also lots of links to sites all over Europe and the world.
Dive South Africa is exactly what it sounds like. If the great white action isn't enough for you in California, you can always visit here
Australia is obviously a big favorite for divers. Steven and Mary Bilson's Scuba Diving in Australia is a good start if you're headed that way.
If you're planning a trip to the Red Sea or the Med, you might want to give this site a look. It includes versions in Hebrew, Russian, and Chinese.

Dive Clubs

In addition to pages run by lone enthusiasts, another good source of local dive info is from pages run by regional dive clubs. Below are a few of these.

FAU Dive Club is the dive club I have recently joined. It includes students, staff, alumni, and faculty of Florida Atlantic University and Palm Beach Community College.
Cal Poly Scuba Club is the dive club for Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo
Cen Cal (Central California Council of Diving Clubs) is an association of over 40 diving clubs throughout the Central California area. Look at their list of member clubs to find a club that's near you.

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