Dive certification in SF Bay Area

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I just moved to the SF Bay Area and am looking to get certified and diving. I'd like to go to local spots on a regular basis (Monterrey and other coastal areas) and also do some travel once I get more experienced. I'm an experienced swimmer and snorkeler and am pretty confident that I can learn at this pace. However, I'd be interested in any advice on good programs to start with and continue diving in the area.
 
Hi, welcome to the area. What area are you in? I'm sure others will chime in on their favorite LDS/teacher if you give an area. As far as diving regularly, once certified, you can post on this board, or you checkout the dive club associated with the dive shop where you get certified.
 
Steve:

If you're in the San Jose area, then give Any Water Sports a call. You'll find knowledgeable/active scuba divers to answer your questions. Instruction is top notch and you'll have a wide selection of excellent equipment.

Training wise, I would go through the regular Open Water, Advanced Open Water and Rescue Course. If you want to delve into extended range diving (longer bottom times and deeper diving), then I would look toward the agencies oriented toward technical diving (GUE or TDI).

O.
 
... If you're in the San Jose area, then give Any Water Sports a call. ...

Yes, I second this.

I have always found Frank and his team to be friendly, pleasant and patient. Knowledgeable, too. If you have any questions about diving, there will be someone there who can answer them.

The store gets busy on the weekends. Try dropping in on a weekday afternoon for a little less bustle.
 
Anywater and Diver Dan's are good if you're in the South Bay, Bamboo Reef if you're in SF (that's where I did OW). Depending on where you live, it might be good to pick a class where the pool location is more convenient for you. All ocean dives are going to be in Monterey anyway.
Almost all the LDS run regular fun dives in Monterey as well, which is a good way to get to know local divers and get familiar with the area.

Steve:
Training wise, I would go through the regular Open Water, Advanced Open Water and Rescue Course. If you want to delve into extended range diving (longer bottom times and deeper diving), then I would look toward the agencies oriented toward technical diving (GUE or TDI).
O.
What O said. Also look at getting familiar with drysuit diving if you're going to dive SF Bay area often. I did a drysuit class along with nitrox right after OW but I think most of the local instructors will let you do the drysuit class in parallel with your OW class (I would recommend this). The nitrox cert is just a classroom session so it's worth knocking it out early as well. Whether you'll use nitrox immediately in your diving career in Monterey is debatable but it's good to have. To give you an example, I've done 20 dives in Monterey so far, including boat dives, and only used nitrox on 2 of them and that too was just because I wanted to try it out.

If you are at all considering tech diving, GUE has a VERY comprehensive course for non-divers (Rec 1) which is not usually considered by people looking at OW classes - it will give you an incredible head start over OW students who go with the more popular agencies. I'm going to be doing their Fundamentals class later this year myself. GUE follows the DIR philosophy and has specific gear requirements which may or may not appeal to everyone but I would encourage you to at least look into it. TDI is also very similar but I don't have much knowledge about it.

I'll add one more thing - Don't be in a rush to complete certifications. Just the OW cert will get you to lots of shore sites in the Bay area as well as for dive boats. Some dive boat operators require you to have AOW card before you can dive with them but not all do. I recommend the Drysuit class early on simply because it will increase your comfort level in the water and you'll enjoy diving here a lot more. I guess what I'm trying to say is don't feel like you have to do OW+AOW+Rescue first before you start doing fun dives.

Best,
elgoog
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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