Sas
Contributor
Feb 08 OW
Jun 08 AOW
Oct 08 Rescue
Oct 08 Nitrox
Dec 09 Cavern
Apr 10 Cave
Jun 08 AOW
Oct 08 Rescue
Oct 08 Nitrox
Dec 09 Cavern
Apr 10 Cave
what were your first certifications?
- Thread starter silvernotch
- Start date
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CamG
Contributor
Greetings Silvernotch and it is different with a lot of divers but the reason for my short times between OW and AOW were to get more experience to be ready for vacation dives. What happened after that was very much planned progression toward a goal oriented evolution that has yet to end.
There really is no end until you decide to stop moving into new area's of diving. There really is so many different aspects to diving that it will blow your mind!
Padi OW May 2007
Padi AOW JUly 2007
Padi Rescue October 2007
Padi Dry Suit January 2008
Padi Deep Diver May 2008
Padi Nitrox 40% August 2008
TDI Advanced Nitrox to 100% November 2009
TDI Deco. Procedures November 2009
TDI Intro to Cave January 2010
In three years I have overcame hurdles, broke barriers, and realized many goals I never even dreamed of being able to complete.
I have read, researched, studied dive literature that spans all aspects and methods.
The more I study the more I see I do not know and just how much more there is out there! Mountains of information.
I am in the process of planning my Full Cave cert and my Tri Mix 1.
From there it will be Tri Mix 2 then DPV both with a Cave twist.
My OW goal is to dive the 200' shipwrecks up in the Great Lakes with penetration and memories of the wreck.
I have slowed my progression a bit but the environment I am choosing to dive demands more training and preparation. You must never exceed your level of training / experience in any environment. With more advanced dives comes more advance dive planning. The awareness that a diver needs to develop between skill sets has become a matter of debate.
The bottom line proper evaluation is critical and do not take this lightly. It is your life we are talking about and when a trusted mentor or instructor says you might want to slow things down, you better listen!
Take the time to master the skills at the level you are at and when you are ready to progress let the instructor evaluate you before you move on.
If you have chosen the right instructor he or she will tell you straight up if you are ready.
Good luck that is just my opinion and experience. Get out there and go for it!
CamG Keep diving....Keep training....Keep learning!
There really is no end until you decide to stop moving into new area's of diving. There really is so many different aspects to diving that it will blow your mind!
Padi OW May 2007
Padi AOW JUly 2007
Padi Rescue October 2007
Padi Dry Suit January 2008
Padi Deep Diver May 2008
Padi Nitrox 40% August 2008
TDI Advanced Nitrox to 100% November 2009
TDI Deco. Procedures November 2009
TDI Intro to Cave January 2010
In three years I have overcame hurdles, broke barriers, and realized many goals I never even dreamed of being able to complete.
I have read, researched, studied dive literature that spans all aspects and methods.
The more I study the more I see I do not know and just how much more there is out there! Mountains of information.
I am in the process of planning my Full Cave cert and my Tri Mix 1.
From there it will be Tri Mix 2 then DPV both with a Cave twist.
My OW goal is to dive the 200' shipwrecks up in the Great Lakes with penetration and memories of the wreck.
I have slowed my progression a bit but the environment I am choosing to dive demands more training and preparation. You must never exceed your level of training / experience in any environment. With more advanced dives comes more advance dive planning. The awareness that a diver needs to develop between skill sets has become a matter of debate.
The bottom line proper evaluation is critical and do not take this lightly. It is your life we are talking about and when a trusted mentor or instructor says you might want to slow things down, you better listen!
Take the time to master the skills at the level you are at and when you are ready to progress let the instructor evaluate you before you move on.
If you have chosen the right instructor he or she will tell you straight up if you are ready.
Good luck that is just my opinion and experience. Get out there and go for it!
CamG Keep diving....Keep training....Keep learning!
Scubamike16
Contributor
divndoc
Registered
Started diving when in about 1965 at 12 years old. No cert, just went diving. First cert was PADI in 1971 as a phys ed class in college. Did open water in about 1981. Did advanced open water 2 years ago with my step son. Do anywhere from over a hundred to a few dozen dives a year since 1965 and still loving it.
I dove for 9 years in the Midwest without certification before moving to SoCal where it was required for airfills. Took the Los Angeles County course in 1969. That course covered "everything" that is currently in OW, AOW and Rescue in a three week class.
When I started traveling internationally (after overcoming my 22-year fear of flying) to dive, operators had little clue what the LAC certification meant (who do they think the founders of that "upstart" PADI trained with before that agency existed?). When I located a dive instructor in Cairns, Australia, who knew and respected the LAC card, he offered to get me PADI AOW certified for the cost of the book. That was 32 years after my LAC cert and 40 years after my first dive.
When I started traveling internationally (after overcoming my 22-year fear of flying) to dive, operators had little clue what the LAC certification meant (who do they think the founders of that "upstart" PADI trained with before that agency existed?). When I located a dive instructor in Cairns, Australia, who knew and respected the LAC card, he offered to get me PADI AOW certified for the cost of the book. That was 32 years after my LAC cert and 40 years after my first dive.
Bob DBF
Contributor
1963 Dad's school of SCUBA, trust me you would not enjoy it.
Dove without a cert untill I moved to No. CA and got tired of having a buddy fill my tanks after a new shop monkey asked me for a c-card and he wouldn't fill them and I was busted.
1980 OW
A buddy was interested in trying Nitrox so we took the class.
2009 Nitrox
My daughter, who wouldn't dive untill she left home took up diving and she kept talking about doing AOW and had started and not finished. I said I'd have mine first. And did.
2009 AOW
I liked the instructor, learning more about diving, and getting in more diving.
2009 Deep
2009 Altitude
2010 Navigation
2010 Rescue
2010 Search and Recovery
During the dive trips when I am not in a class, I serve as a buddy for single divers and help out as needed. The trips are fun and I'll be tagging along next year, might even learn something without being in a class. If nothing else, I am living proof that you can still dive when you are old.
Bob
-----------------------------------
I may be old but I'm not dead yet.
Dove without a cert untill I moved to No. CA and got tired of having a buddy fill my tanks after a new shop monkey asked me for a c-card and he wouldn't fill them and I was busted.
1980 OW
A buddy was interested in trying Nitrox so we took the class.
2009 Nitrox
My daughter, who wouldn't dive untill she left home took up diving and she kept talking about doing AOW and had started and not finished. I said I'd have mine first. And did.
2009 AOW
I liked the instructor, learning more about diving, and getting in more diving.
2009 Deep
2009 Altitude
2010 Navigation
2010 Rescue
2010 Search and Recovery
During the dive trips when I am not in a class, I serve as a buddy for single divers and help out as needed. The trips are fun and I'll be tagging along next year, might even learn something without being in a class. If nothing else, I am living proof that you can still dive when you are old.
Bob
-----------------------------------
I may be old but I'm not dead yet.
darron
Registered
August 8, 2010 - PADI OW in Jamaica (8 Very warm dives.)
August 28, 2010 - PADI AOW in Banff, Canada (4 Very cold dives.)
August 28, 2010 - PADI Dry Suit in Banff, Canada (2 Still very cold dives.)
Sept 26, 2010 - PADI Nitrox in Calgary, Canada (No swimming.)
Next week - PADI Wreck in Key Largo, Florida (20+ Hopefully very warm dives.)
My plan is to do a few more specialties and courses next year:
Altitude
Deep
Drift
Night
Rescue
I will need to work on Dry Suit buoyancy a ton over the next year - so I'll be diving as much as I can next year up in Banff. Planning another warm water trip in August to (hopefully) Cozumel.
Then in 2012/2013 go for Master Scuba diver - and start working on Tec stuff after that.
I'm enjoying the challenge and reading everything I can get my hands on.
I'm enjoying the data I'm getting out of my dive computer, working out to get stronger and more fit, working on getting my SAC down and just learning about everything so I can be safer and have more fun. Everything gets logged and saved so that I can go over it all later.
My wife got OW certified with me, but she thinks I'm OCD over this - she's not entirely wrong.
August 28, 2010 - PADI AOW in Banff, Canada (4 Very cold dives.)
August 28, 2010 - PADI Dry Suit in Banff, Canada (2 Still very cold dives.)
Sept 26, 2010 - PADI Nitrox in Calgary, Canada (No swimming.)
Next week - PADI Wreck in Key Largo, Florida (20+ Hopefully very warm dives.)
My plan is to do a few more specialties and courses next year:
Altitude
Deep
Drift
Night
Rescue
I will need to work on Dry Suit buoyancy a ton over the next year - so I'll be diving as much as I can next year up in Banff. Planning another warm water trip in August to (hopefully) Cozumel.
Then in 2012/2013 go for Master Scuba diver - and start working on Tec stuff after that.
I'm enjoying the challenge and reading everything I can get my hands on.
I'm enjoying the data I'm getting out of my dive computer, working out to get stronger and more fit, working on getting my SAC down and just learning about everything so I can be safer and have more fun. Everything gets logged and saved so that I can go over it all later.
My wife got OW certified with me, but she thinks I'm OCD over this - she's not entirely wrong.
I got my Open water in 2007 mainly to get back to Hawaii and do the much better dives then I did on the discover scuba. I went and enjoyed the dives then went all winter without so much as a single dive. I had the general mentality that hey I am never going to go deeper then 60 feet and most likely would never do deeper then 30 feet but I was hooked even more then before.
I then started 2008 with a bang and got several certs that year alone. mainly just for the prestiege and self satisfaction. Though some of my courses seem fluffed I am glad I got each one of them especially the nitrox which has allowed me the ability to dive and drive. It does give me the relaxed and not so drained feeling post dive so it proved to be one of my greatest certs!
Anyway thats my story
I then started 2008 with a bang and got several certs that year alone. mainly just for the prestiege and self satisfaction. Though some of my courses seem fluffed I am glad I got each one of them especially the nitrox which has allowed me the ability to dive and drive. It does give me the relaxed and not so drained feeling post dive so it proved to be one of my greatest certs!
Anyway thats my story
OW, June 2005. Went directly into AOW, because I was afraid to get in the water with anyone but an instructor. Finished AOW about the same diver I went into it, except I'd now been to 100 feet. Went immediately into the PPB, Deep and Nav specialties, because my diving still sucked. Finished PPB and Deep before the end of September, and I still sucked.
Did my first dive with NW Grateful diver in September.
Fundies, November 2005 -- that was the beginning of not sucking. Passed in June of 2006.
Rescue, about March 2006. Good class.
Marine Life ID, winter 2005/2006 -- excellent class.
GUE Rec Triox, begun 3/06, never finished.
NAUI Helitrox, spring 2007.
Cavern/Intro, October 2007.
GUE Cave 1, May 2008.
UTD Tech 1, June/July 2009.
GUE Cave 2, begun Aug 2009, not finished.
NACD Full Cave, 11/2009.
There's not much left I want to take. Fred Devos's cave survey class, maybe, and eventually a sidemount class.
Did my first dive with NW Grateful diver in September.
Fundies, November 2005 -- that was the beginning of not sucking. Passed in June of 2006.
Rescue, about March 2006. Good class.
Marine Life ID, winter 2005/2006 -- excellent class.
GUE Rec Triox, begun 3/06, never finished.
NAUI Helitrox, spring 2007.
Cavern/Intro, October 2007.
GUE Cave 1, May 2008.
UTD Tech 1, June/July 2009.
GUE Cave 2, begun Aug 2009, not finished.
NACD Full Cave, 11/2009.
There's not much left I want to take. Fred Devos's cave survey class, maybe, and eventually a sidemount class.
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