Looking for open water cert South Fla

[hanglide]

Hi everybody,

I'm heading down to South Fla (Deerfield Beach) for business in the second week of January and wanted to get my Open Water cert done while I was down there. I really need a condensed weekend course in Deerfield Beach. Can anybody recommend one? What will the water be like?

I've had a few "discover" scuba dives -most recently this past summer in Hawaii (34'-40')- so I'm pretty sure I know what to expect but if anybody has any advice that they would like to offer I'd would appreciate it.

Thanks,

Scott

 

[--tom--]

Okay. There will be a backlash on response regarding you wanting a condensed course; I do have an opinion, but I won't express it. I will simply address how to accomplish what you want. I do not have local knowledge of Deerfield Beach, someone else will have to fill in that information.

• First, contact a shop/instructor that you want work with (you may want to check the above sticky at the header of this forum) & see if there is an opening in the schedule.
• If he/she can accommodate your schedule, then find out what gear you need for your class; (it may be mask, fins, snorkel & boots or it may be nothing). NOTE: The instructor/store will want to sell the gear to you (it's a profit center)--your call. If you choose to buy online or where you live, make sure you have time to try all of the gear out in a pool in time to exchange the gear if it doesn't fit/work correctly.
• See if the instructors program has an e-learning option. That way you can have the academics completed. This doesn't shorten the class overall, but it does shorten the class time at your destination.
• Make sure you have filled out the medical self-disclosure form accurately, if any questions have a "yes", get your doctor's blessing on the form. No self respecting instructor will teach you otherwise.
• Most likely you will have a private class, which is defined as: time is more important than money, so it will be more expensive. If the instructor is good, it will be much more thorough and demanding, because he/she isn't distracted by anyone else.
• Make sure you are fit, well rested and well hydrated before the class starts. This will be two or three very physically/mentally taxing days, probably involving 6+ hours a day in the water. Cold will be an issue. You will sleep very well.
• Ask your instructor for any other suggestions that I can't answer. (e.g. is the pool indoors, so temperature is less of an issue? Will the ocean dives be windy so you need a heavier jacket between dives? those kinds of questions that you can be prepared for.)

I hope it goes very well for you.

 

[anklefoot]

Last winter I did my open water at Sea Experience in Fort Lauderdale. I did my academics online, and they were very flexible about matching the pool and open water dives to my schedule. I was on a very tight timeline - I wanted to be certified before I boarded my cruise ship - and they made it work.

Mark was a great instructor - very safety conscious, made sure I had the skills down pat.

 

[LakeCountyDiver]

For sure find a shop you would like to work with in the area. Now is the time to do that research. Tell the shop your plans and your past experience in diving. You got Lauderdale to the South and West palm to the north You have a good line up in that area to find a good shop.

The weather should be ok the water temp this time a year is about 70F-72F in the ocean. Lake temp by my house (central Florida) is about 50F-55F. Really cant be sure on the Viz due to weather at the time of the check out dives.

Good Luck and have fun

 

[sickday]

Dixie Divers is in deerfield, there is also a dive shop on federal hwy and SE 10th street I thnk it is scuba network

hope that helps

 

[DMDavid]

Wouldn't you be better off taking a full course where you live then doing the open water checkout dives in FL?

As my flight instructor used to tell me after I scored a 95% on a test "It's the 5% that you don't know that will get you in trouble".

 

[hanglide]

Just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for their input.

Based on a recommendation here, I chose Donna Askew as my instructor and it couldn't have worked out better. She is very easy to work with and is patient, knowledgeable and a fantastic instructor. I got very lucky in that Donna had brought along a friend, Christie<sp?>, who was in the process of doing her checkouts with Donna for her instructor rating so I pretty much ended up with two instructors

The weather was beautiful (water & air ~70) and I did my checkout at the Blue Heron bridge in West Palm Beach where we saw quite a bit a wildlife -including a Manatee on my first dive after my checkout was complete.

I'd also like to thank Force E for letting Donna borrow a BCD that fit me better.

Thanks again to Donna and Christie for an amazing experience. Can't wait to go again.

Have fun in Bonaire

Scott