Good Open Water Class around Port Orchard?

[Ross-O]

Hi Guys,

One of my buddies lives in Port Orchard, WA and is interested in getting his OW cert. Can anyone recommend a good shop to take lessons from somewhere in that area? Somewhere with a slant towards the DIR gear configuration would be ideal but not required. I suspect that he'll mostly be a warm water diver but I'm pressuring him to learn up there so he can handle the tougher conditions of cold water diving.

Also, my job territory recently changed and I'll be making trips up to the Seattle & Portland area every month or two. I'm hoping to stay a few extra days on some of the trips and get in some diving up there. I look forward to meeting some of you so I'll have a dive buddy when I get in town.

Cheers,
Ross Overstreet
www.rossoverstreet.org/scuba

 

[TASea]

Well, the nearest shop to him is in Bremerton, but based on personal experience I recommend avoiding it. There are a number of good shops in Tacoma (Tacoma Scuba, A2Z, Lighthouse, etc). Tacoma Scuba uses Dive Rite gear for their OW classes. Might have to go to Seattle if he wants DIR stuff.