Discover Scuba Course...

[BartBe]

Hi all...

How long does a discover scuba course take and what certification do you get after that ? How much does it cost ?

I'm starting my OW next week, My girlfriend wants to start diving too, but at the moment it's not possible to do both of us (financially). (Yes... my girlfriend is that nice ).

In january we go to Grand Cayman and it would be nice if she would be allowed to do some basic diving asswell (SRC and stuff)

How can we get around this... ?

 

[matt t.]

"Discover Scuba" (costs $25 at my LDS) is just an evening or Saturday morning 2-3 hour session where the "perspective diver" learns a little about scuba, and gets to try the gear out in the pool under close supervision. I think what you guys are looking for is a "Resort Course". Your girlfriend would take this short class at your vacation destination. She would then be allowed to make some shallow dives under close supervision with her instructor. If this wrong I'm sure somebody else will correct me. Good Luck. You will love it!!!


Matt

 

[ScottyK]

Your girlfriend can take a resort course when you get there, and you can go on the dives with her.

Jen and I got hooked on diving after taking one in the Bahamas. We did well on the first dive, and our instructor invited us to do a few more with him over the next few days. There were also newly certified divers on board for every trip.

Have fun.....Scott

PS. Discover Scuba doesn't give you any real "certification".

PPS. Sorry Matt, we must have been posting at the same time.

 

[Lead_carrier]

Are you thinking of the Passport program? That is where she will take part of the class and will be allowed to dive with an instructor or divemaster. It is very similar to the resort courses except it give more information, requires more pool time, and 2 open water checkouts. This does count toward her actual certification if she decides to get fully certified later.

 

[jbichsel]

If you're doing PADI, she could complete all the classroom work/exams and confined (pool) water segments at home, then get a referral from the instructor. Take this referral to an instructor, do your due-diligence before you go, and complete her open water dives there. Then she would be OW certified.

 

[Tropics Diver]

Doing the Discover Scuba course is like paying rent. You keep paying time and time again and don't have anything to show for it.

If you are going to Grand Cayman on vacation you can probably bite the bullet a bit and find the extra funds for her to do the OW also.

 

[sea nmf]

Because you indicated that $$ was a problem, the referral will be mega-expensive. It will cost more than getting certification locally.

Contact some dive shops in Grand Cayman by email and ask your question. No one here yet has indicated prices to you.

However, it sounds like Resort course is the way to go if you need to cut costs and want to dive.

Check the source directly since no one has answered your question completely yet.

-becky

 

[Deep Lake]

My wife did a "Discover Scuba" while on vaction in the bahama's. There were 18 divers on the boat. On the ride to the dive site there was a 10 minute coarse on the basics of diving. Once we were to the dive site three instructors got in the water and began checking skills (mask clearing, ect.). When 6 divers had passed their skills they would go on a guided dive of the site with one insrtuctor while the next six were tested on skills. Since I was certified I was allowed to dive on my own. I just floated on the surface for awhile to watch what was going on. There was 1 1/2 foot of chop on the water and the "students" were tring to hold on to the anchor rope as they did there skills. Many including my wife became quite paniced as the chop kept beating them up as the tried to learn the skills. The dive site was only 15 foot deep and the students were not allowed to touch the BCD controls, the istructors would set them up slightly negative so that they had to swim around at a 45% angle to keep from sinking and when the dive was over they would swim to the surface and then inflate the BCD for them. One student was so paniced that he sucked down his tank of air in 5 minutes. I was the last passenger back on the boat, when I got on I expected to see 18 happy faces. Instead I saw 18 people wondering what the heck just happened. Of everyone I asked only one other person said they would ever dive again. Fortunatly my wife is sceduled to start her ow on the 19th of this month.

My brother and nephew did a "Discover Scuba" in Hawaii and had a great experience, but they were the only to divers in the class.

As always check it out first but my recomondation would be to do the ow course first.

 

[Drew Sailbum]

The cheapest DSD course may not be the best.

Generally, if a program is to be conducted according to standards of a training agency, there should be some sort of academics (classroom talk, video, explanation), initial training in a pool or calm water, and the potentially an open water dive.

If a dive shop tells you that you will conduct the academics in 10 minutes during a boat ride out to a dive site, then you might want to reconsider.

 

[chiara]

Tropics Diver once bubbled...
Doing the Discover Scuba course is like paying rent. You keep paying time and time again and don't have anything to show for it.

I used to think along the same lines until last night.

I had a lady scheduled for a Discover Scuba (just a bit of theory and a pool session).

She's my neighbour and a good friend.

She was very attentive during the out of water explanations and I thought she was ready to get wet.

We jumped into the water and the nightmare began.

I never managed to get her put her head below the surface (remember we were in a pool, not even confined water, just the local heated pool).

She can swim, she's not afraid of water.

But I'm starting to think diving is not for her.

Do your girlfriend a favour: let her take a DSD (average cost in Brussels is 25€, entrance to the pool and gear included, close to nothing to the instructor), she might discover to your and her dismay that she's not happy with the sport.