Just got certified in Monterey!

[kathydee]

WOOT! Just got certified in Monterey yesterday. Visibility was like 3 feet, the water was cold, there was a fairly strong currently, BUT I PASSED!
Now time for tons of research into finding the right gear...ughh.. Im also thinking about doing the AOW right away.. -LT

I was just certified in Monterey last weekend. Welcome

Congrats to you both!! Not easy conditions for an OW class!

Hope you drop into our NoCal forum which is a great place to meet locals and learn about our diving. See ya there!

NorCal - ScubaBoard

 

[Togalive]

WOOT! Just got certified in Monterey yesterday. Visibility was like 3 feet, the water was cold, there was a fairly strong currently, BUT I PASSED!




Now time for tons of research into finding the right gear...ughh..

Im also thinking about doing the AOW right away..

-LT

Congrats! IMO those are some of the best conditions you could get certified in, now when you hit 15ft vis you'll be finning around wide eyed and everything is going to be a breeze!

As far as gear goes, dont neglect using the search function here on the forums for tips. Many people, including myself, have found themselves at the crossroads of whether or not to immediately purchase gear, and for each person there is one side that holds more advantages.

As far as AOW, I dont have enough dives to definitively tell you one thing or another, but from instructors I have spoken to, and also from reading posts online here about dive mishaps etc I am highly of the opinion that nearly certified divers should get somewhere around 20+ dives under their belt before going for AOW, and thats the road im following as well. I just hit 35 dives and I'm recovering from a surgury, but as soon as I get moved into the college i'll be attending, I'll be signing up for AOW, Deep Diver, and Rescue Diver certifications. The reasoning for waiting, one which I noticed firsthand in both myself and my father (we got certified together), is that in those first 30 dives I'd made and continuing on to my current dives, I'd been learning new things on each dive, and seriously progressing in my overall diving skill on each.

So on that note, dive happy!

Toga

 

[svnipp]

I tend to agree with this logic myself, and this is the plan I'm following also. I just completed dives 11 and 12 yesterday morning. These were my first dives at a location other than where I certified, and were also my first boat dives. This was also my first dive into chocolate milk, and I got a new max depth of 55 feet into that near zero vis. So many new things to learn and experience.

I'm really happy right now with my skill building. I figure another 10 to dozen dives and maybe I'll be ready to really focus in on the AOW class at that point. I might slip the Nitrox class in before then, just depends on how lucky I get with the schedule and water temps as far as how much diving I'm able to get in over the next couple months.

I really can't wait for my first salt water dive. Unfortunately, this probably won't be able to happen until spring. I'm loving diving so much so far, and that it just in the murky lakes here in Texas. I'm so eager to get out in the ocean with coral and marine life and vis measured in tens of yards rather than feet.