Going for my Open Water. A few questions?

[Rizzo]

Hi everybody. I will be going for my PADI soon and have a few questions. First. I need to know what the depth limits are for each rating? I have been told that I am only able to go to 50 ft with the open water cert. Others have told me that there is no limit once you have the open water. Do I need to have the advanced open water to go past 50 ft?

Also I am thinking of taking the course in the Florida Keys. I will be staying in Islamorada. I have seen a few places on the net that do the training, one of them being Bud and Mary's and another being the Holiday Isle. ( Tiki Bar ) . Any advice as to a good place to get it down there. I'm not opposed to driving somewhere else if there is a difference in quality of instructors and dive sites that they take you.

Thanks everyone.

Rizzo

 

[ShakaZulu]

Dive table allow dives down to 130fsw. I believe OW cert expect divers no to exceed 60fsw.

 

[Scubakevdm]

PADI OW is 60'. Some places care some don't. There's plenty of shallow diving down in the Keys though. Are you in a hurry to go deeper than 60'?

 

[Rizzo]

Nope..not in a hurry at all. I have lots to learn and 30 or 40 feet is fine for now. But I am always looking for a new challenge and once I get a few dives under my belt I'm sure I will want to go more than 50 ft. Can't wait to get down there and do the course. It gives a whole new way to travel and the options for holidays are endless. So then if I were to get my Open Water advanced, how far does that allow me to go down?

Thanks.

 

[NINman]

OW = 60fsw
AOW = 130fsw

At least that is YMCA standards.

 

[munkispank]

hey there- Bud and Mary's is good- don't know about the other one. I can recommend a couple of DM's in Key largo for training if the others don;t work out.
enjoy

 

[IslandHopper]

The depth limits are merely SUGGESTIONS from the training agencies.... there are no laws regarding how deep you can go. Some dive operators will tell you to limit your depth based on whatever "ratings" you might have... if they do, then follow thier rules or dive with a different operator!

But you'll find (if you have a decent instructor) that there are REASONS that somewhere around 60 feet is suggested as a limit for new divers. And that there is a reason that 130 feet or so is suggested as a limit for all dives unless you are planning for decompression stops (and the extra equipment that might entail).

So don't just accept these limits as "the rule". Make your instructor explain WHY these limits are suggested... If they can't come up with an answer better than "because (PADI or SSI or NAUI or YMCA, etc) says so", then you might consider what else your instructor isn't teaching you.

In any case ... you'll soon discover that with the right experience, knowledge, and $$, you'll be able to dive on sites as deep as you want.

 

[Scubakevdm]

Nope..not in a hurry at all. I have lots to learn and 30 or 40 feet is fine for now. But I am always looking for a new challenge and once I get a few dives under my belt I'm sure I will want to go more than 50 ft. Can't wait to get down there and do the course. It gives a whole new way to travel and the options for holidays are endless. So then if I were to get my Open Water advanced, how far does that allow me to go down?

Thanks.

Well, I think that AOW for PADI is 100', then 130 with the deep speciallty. Really though, its not the cert level that should dictate the depth of the dive so much as your experience, confidence and comfort. Depth is not the guage by which a diver's ability is measured though. If you really want to be a good diver, work towards perfecting your bouyancy. What you should work towards is having control of your body's position in the water with absolutely minimal movement of anything especially your hands.

 

[ShakaZulu]

The reason that OW is 60fsw, is so that you can do a CESA (Controlled Emergency Safe Ascend) in 1 minute (ascend rate of 1ft/sec), just in case something goes wrong.

 

[garyfotodiver]

Diving in SE FL is great! Although there are many things to see deep, one can stay well above the 60fsw suggested depth limit. On my last trip, I never went deeper than ~45fsw.

During my daughter's checkout dives last year through a PADI LSD, she made a 72fsw dive to a very popular wreck. I know because I was there.

Good luck on your diving!