Anyone in Boca Raton (area) willing to dive with an almost OW certified diver??

[ScubaDoo83]

I have finished my classes but my damn final has been pushed back a month until the beginning of September (ugh). I have a friend who lives in Boca who will let me stay at his place so I can come down and dive. Problem is I'm not sure if I'm allowed to and I'd really like to have a dive buddy or two to go with. I have all of my own equipment (except for tank) and I just want to get some dives logged. I can take instruction and follow directions if need be. I just simply want to log some dives and not wait until September!!

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

How about finishing yer cert. down here? What agency are you with? Perhaps we can point you in an instructors direction..

 

[ScubaDoo83]

How about finishing yer cert. down here? What agency are you with? Perhaps we can point you in an instructors direction..

*sigh* I would but I have committed to finish this thing with my dad who agreed to take the OW with me. I would have had this done a long time ago if I was doing it solo lol. Unfortunately I have to wait.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

that's a bummer.

 

[boulderjohn]

While I would be happy to dive with you were I in Florida at the time and were you a newly certified diver, I would be reluctant to dive with you before you had the certification--regardless of your skill.

Since you would need to rent tanks or borrow mine, then I could potentially be held liable should anything happen to you. I am not a lawyer, but I would think it would be similar to what would happen if I as an adult supplied liquor to an underaged driver who was killed in an accident. Just a few months ago I was involved with investigating the details that led to a lawsuit filed against a person who had been diving with someone who died on scuba. In this case, the diver being sued was an instructor (as am I), but the deceased was not his student at the time. It was all very ugly. I would not want to become involved in something like that, and I would counsel anyone else to avoid the situation as well.

If you have completed both the academic work and the pool sessions, you should be able to get a referral and finish up with a local instructor in two days. Then you can hang nearby with your father while he does his dives and dive with him thereafter. It would not be much different.

 

[kelemvor]

You could probably get away with hiring an instructor for a guided "discover scuba" type dive and keep all the bloodsuckers happy.

 

[ScubaDoo83]

Thanks for the recs guys. Yea it sucks, I should have just gone through this myself but when I mentioned I wanted to do this my old mans eyes lit up with the thought of another use for his GoPro.

I wonder though, there are a couple students who have been diving for years in my class. Were they just illegally diving this whole time? Is it really a huge problem to dive without being certified? I know it's not smart and potentially very dangerous if you have not been taught safety techniques but logistically how much of a problem could it be?

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

It can only kill you once. :cool2:
I think everyone is trying to tell you that once you have the training/certiification you are in a better position to decide for your self the dangers and risks you are willing to endure... Don't worry about what others are doing - that will only get you in trouble. Do the risk/reward for yourself and you will be a better diver for it.

 

[Hawkwood]

... I know it's not smart and potentially very dangerous if you have not been taught safety techniques but logistically how much of a problem could it be?

I do not mean to come across as a jerk, but have you ever looked through the "Accidents and Incidents" Forum?

 

[docmartin]

as mentioned above, you need to get air to dive. no cert, no air. whoever gets you a tank exposes themselves to major liability issues in case something happens to you. also, virtually all dive ops will check your certification before they take you out on a boat. just finish your cert in boca, return home and do it again with your dad. i know a guy who did it twice for his girlfriend.