Posted: 3/7/2010 12:02:48 AM EDT
|
I want to get my Cert. I dont know jack-squat about it other then I can get my ass killed if I dont get some training first...
Shit ton of Dive shops in my area, but I dont want to end up looking like these tools... 
Where did you get your instruction? Does PADI offer the best classes, or is there something better I should be looking at? |
|
In all honesty it is incredibly easy and the hardest part is getting the tank centered on your back so you don't crack your head on the nozzle.
There is a little more than that, but it is easy. Depending on your financial situation and vacation time, I would go on a vacation to Hawaii, Mexico, or the Caribbean for 10 days, and make it part of your vacation. You can get open water certified in 3-4 days. Take the online classes before you do the pool dives (5) and the open water dives (2). Or take the classes and pool dives at your local dive shop and do the open water certification at the resort. This way you get the grunt work done here, and do the open water stuff in warm water with tropical shit and mermaids. And if you are married, the wife gets a vacation. It feels like you're flying man. It sounds stupid, but when I was doing it I realized this is what it must have felt like to be in-utero. And Padi is the main deal. Padi is to diving what DeBeers is to diamonds. |
|
It's been awhile I've been into diving but as far as certs go, PADI is the biggest org but when I was diving it was also considered the cert with the lowest training bar and the lowest emphasis for safety. It's what the shops selling dive gear and resorts getting tourists into the water use the most. The old joke used to be that PADI stood for Pay And Dive Immediately. YMMV
I personally went with NAUI and thought it that it was very good. I believe that SSI is also pretty popular too, though I don't know much about them. Read up on training requirements for each cert and go from there. Up here is mostly cold water diving that requires a dry suit - and they area PITA. Once you dive warm water you'll never want to mess with a dry suit again 
|
|
Quoted:
It's been awhile I've been into diving but as far as certs go, PADI is the biggest org but when I was diving it was also considered the cert with the lowest training bar and the lowest emphasis for safety. It's what the shops selling dive gear and resorts getting tourists into the water use the most. The old joke used to be that PADI stood for Pay And Dive Immediately. YMMV I personally went with NAUI and thought it that it was very good. I believe that SSI is also pretty popular too, though I don't know much about them. Read up on training requirements for each cert and go from there. Up here is mostly cold water diving that requires a dry suit - and they area PITA. Once you dive warm water you'll never want to mess with a dry suit again NAUI, Thats the one I was trying to remember. 
Thanks for the info guys. I have just started looking into this stuff in the last week or so. I figure I have climed hight mountians, jumped from aircraft... May aswell see what is under the water. 
|
|
Quoted:
twodeucetrey is/ was an instructor. betting he has some insight. Quoted:
May as well see what is under the water.
dirt mud and rock. Fixed. I have a PADI advanced cert. Most people around here have mentioned the major flaw of northwest diving: the freaking cold water. |
|
I got my open water cert through SSI. I haven't been diving in so long that I'd need to be re-certified. One difference that I noticed between SSI and PADI was their dive tables. SSI leaned more towards safety with theirs. If I was going to get re-certified I'd go with SSI again just because of their emphasis on safety. |
|
Like others said PADI is the biggest and I obtained my dive master cert while in Hawaii via that org. Look around to shops and what org they use for certification such as NASE and NAUI.
Be careful, as diving is just as expensive as shooting, next thing you know you have your own tank refill station next to your reloading bench. |
|
Are you going to dive around here or are you going to be a warm water wuss? Take some time to explore the NW Dive club forum. Poking around there will find you a fair amount of info. The instructor is the important part, not the agency. The agency sets the standards (pretty low, IMO) but it's the instructor that does the teaching, if that makes any sense. It's the diving that you do after the class that makes you a diver. Anybody can teach anybody how to breathe underwater. Buoyancy control, dive planning, and all the myriad of intangibles that make a good diver can only be learned from experience. The whole certified vs qualified thing. Finally, if you can afford it, take a private class. 1 on 1 with an instructor is the best way to go. I know a couple folks that are excellent instructors. But you won't be in and out of the class in a weekend. |
|
I have my PADI advanced Cert as well. DId mine in Oceanside, CA when I was 14 or 15 ... Recently went diving with my sister and her fiance while we were all in Hawaii at Thanksgiving. I forgot how much fun it was.
I think my sisters fiance did his cert in the MUK. He seemed to like the shop and the class. I can get you info if you want. As far as the safety, it's a lot like shooting. Use common sense and you'll be fine. |
|
First off, whoever that dive master is in the vid, needs to have his cert revoked...scary...just wow!.
PADI advanced cert here, my dad is a dive master who taught at DIT in Seattle. He's taught me a bunch of stuff, but I didn't get certified through him. My first dive was a intro, resort thing, where they throw you in a pool for 30 min, then take you out for a 2 tank dive on a boat. My sister and I did this with my dad trailing behind in Can Cun Mex...I was hooked. I used Cane Bay Dive Shop in St Croix, USVI when I worked on a cruise ship to get my certs. Once a week for 8 hours, for 6 weeks, for each level of certification. I was spoiled to get learned in tropical waters. I've dove around 150 times. Got my wife and friends NAUI certified in Puerto Vallarta, MEX, 2 day class, not a heavy emphasis on safety. I sat through the classes with them, and trailed closely behind during their underwater. I reviewed with them after the class what I saw missed and left out and I made them all read my PADI books to pick up where the resort cert left off. Got some other friends PADI certified in the Dominican Republic, same thing as above...they skip a lot in the resorts...but hey, you get your card (and know enough to get by on resort dives) My advice, find a good PADI shop in the area, get your beginners, then immediately take the advanced, pay for them both up front and you can likely negotiate a discount. Resorts on vacation will get you a card, but they skip a lot of stuff...be safe, take a full course. IMHO, a divers card should a necessity in your wallet, right next to your Concealed Carry. The underwater world is simply amazing. |
|
Thanks for all of the info so far.
Im starting to see some options. I do have kind of a limited time frame to work with. ( I work swing shifts on Fri/Sat/Sun/Mon so weekend dives are out of the question) I hate cold water, but being a Swiftwater Rescue Tech for 10+ years, I do own my own drysuite, and 4 wet's already.  ( Im betting my dry is not up to the job though by looking at some of the stuff I have been seeing on the SCUBA side of the house).
This just looks like fun. I have been running Youtube into the ground trying to learn things. I know this is a long way off, but I really would love to give The Blue Hole, in Dahab a shot one day... I just dont want to end up like this guy...
Here is the Video he was doing during the dive..
|
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Habu knows about divin'. The only thing HABU knows about is killing shit... So If he is able to kill shit underwater even better...
I killed over half of these cabezon by myself while the other two guys teamed up for the rest.
FUGR 
I taught through NAUI 20 years ago. There was a PADI shop in town too. We'd watch some of their open water stuff and shake our heads. Of course, that's a two way street. Generally speaking, PADI is not recognized as the safest orginization. That said, there may be a PADI course somewhere that blows everyone else away. If your're really feeling like wading through it, go to GD and ask.
There are lots of people that dive with a wet suit around here. You'll learn with a wet suit and if you stick with it and dive a dry suit you'll have the basics under control. Diving dry right off the bat just adds another complication to the mix. There's a bunch of cool diving in Puget sound and the straights. Neah Bay has a bunch of cool diving too. |
|
Quoted:
Im starting to see some options. I do have kind of a limited time frame to work with. ( I work swing shifts on Fri/Sat/Sun/Mon so weekend dives are out of the question) Best option, IMO, is a private class. Costs more but the class will be a lot better than the typical OW CF. I know this is a long way off, but I really would love to give The Blue Hole, in Dahab a shot one day...
If you want to look at Red Sea vids that don't involve death, there are some on the front page here. I just dont want to end up like this guy...
The Russians have a certain reputation as divers. And it ain't a good one. 
|
|
SCUBA cert is a great investment. Took mine through Underwater Sports in 1994. It went like this:
Classroom training: learn about depth, physiological effects of diving, and diving safety Pool training: 2 or 3 times with equipment...weights, BC, Fins, Mask, snorkel, Tank and Reg. You learn to equalize, mask skills, safety, maintain buoyancy Open water cert in Puget sound: wet suit...demonstrate proficiency of buoyancy, mask skills, buddy breathing, safety stops, etc. Pretty much my last time in cold water. Have since enjoyed Honduras, Caymans, Cancun, Cozumel, Turks and Caicos, Maui, and Kauai I didn't really buy any equipment other than fins/boots, mask and snorkel. When traveling to dive spots, I use the dive boat equipment. It is a really good to check over the gear even though the crew tends to set things up for you. I have have received some pretty questionable setup but if you call them on it...they will find you some better stuff. Good luck...and have fun! |
|
I got licensed through Padi when I was 18 in Hawaii.
When I went to Divers Institute in Ballard we got certified Naui. They seemed pretty much the same. ETA- for beginner stuff, I think they branch out differently for technical and instructor ratings. Basics are just basics though. You are going to have to get training and a cert anyway, any shop following the rules won't rent you gear unless you have a Card. Not a big deal. You can do it expensive and quick (4 day class) or cheap and SLOOOOOW (weeks to a month). Remember, the conditions you certify in, are the conditions you are trained to dive in. Cold water vs. hot water, lakes vs. ocean etc. Really, as long as you; 1.Don't run out of air 2.Don't come up faster than your exhaled bubbles (follow rate of ascent) and, 3.NEVER hold your breath while coming up, it's all pretty straight forward, easy and fun. |
|
PADI Asst. Instructor (non-teaching status) and havne't been active for 11 years. I hear people say that PADI has safety issues but I know the classes I worked with, it was the thing we emphasized most. The biggest safety issues I saw were through people doing stupid shit and not paying attention.
It is a tremendous amount of fun. Did loads of diving in the Gulf of Mexico aroudn wrecks and oil rigs. Biggest fish was a 100+# grouper. I have a fake tooth from that fish. I never did find the tooth.  Also got a 75.5# amberjack during a spearfishing contest. That fish took me for a ride to 115 before I was able to wraps myself onto a crossbrace on the rig. That was my one and only decompression dive but that was why I always dove with a computer when spearfishing.
Equipment adds up quick and the trips will cost you if you want to do warm water diving. Cozumel, Belize, Honduras all have great diving. There is nothing else like it. The Great Blue Hole in Belize is a cool one time dive. |
