16nine

Gill - very, very tempting, your description is everything I'd imagine. I'm soooo close to a purchase that needs to wait a little longer. mebbe after tax season... agree - monterey, mendo, etc. can be crazy weather this time, then the bloom hits, but there are always choices and i'll never complain. how fortunate we are to have so many dive sites within a relatively short drive. was talking to a guy from Las Crucas who has to go several hours to dive in a land-locked cavern - interesting, he said but nothing changes. was down at breakwater & playground late Jan with 90-ft vis almost entire weekend, 2 wks later back to normal 20-ft

my ccr delay is a tough but obvious decision right now - get kids thru undergrad, wife has another year on her masters. i'm counting on technology, reliability & cost improving, meanwhile will keep researching posts and take any voluntary suggestions. great idea on the training/purchase route! how long have you been doing this and what got you started?