My first 2 open water dives =)

[Raphyy]

Were done today, and all I have to say is - I LOVED IT! We saw this GIANT sting ray and some other fish. Some people spotted a dolphin, but since I was doing my tests I couldn't swim toward them. Anyways, how does the advanced course change anything? I'm definitely considering that one.

 

[rawls]

Raphyy...CONGRATULATIONS!!!...and it is great to see that you had such a positive experience.
IMHO the "advanced" wording is pretty much a misnomer. You do not become an advanced diver. What an "advanced" class does is expose you to more skills. For me...I will never consider myself an advanced diver. I'm always learning...

 

[rsigmund]

Raphyy,

I must say congrats as well. Hopefully it is the beginning of a lot more diving for you. If you are talking about the PADI Advanced Open Water cert. the differance is that they teach you more advanced skills (buoyancy, navigation, etc.) they also give you a taste of some of the specialties (wreck, deep, night, Dry suit, etc). What that means to you... the AOW will let you dive deeper, 130 feet rather than the 60 that you are limited to now. Also, you will get a bit less babysitting from any divemasters that you dive with. Basicly, this is the next step as you move from a new diver and want to expand what you can do safely in the water.

Rich

 

[Raphyy]

The crazy thing was that it was raining, we could see a bit of a storm west of where we were. The water was a bit cold IMO, but every single moment under there, like when I put my head under and saw that the sand was SO deep was just awesome. I just got up, I had a few cramps from time to time. The only not so fun part of my dive was when I had to switch tanks and I put the new tank on top of my mask by accident...it shattered. Other then that, I loved it.

 

[redhawktwo]

Great Job!

 

[chilie]

Cograts- and a very important skill is learning what and what will not support a full cylinder!

 

[CamG]

Congratulations Raphyy! It only gets better! AOW goes into more detail about boat, drift, deep, navigation, night, etc. diving. Personally I did it 2 weeks after OW so I could dive deeper and have a more in depth understanding of navigation as well as my local diving. I have not regretted doing it right away so I recommend it. Go for it training is a blast! Dive as much and as often as you can. Training and instruction give us the tools but diving takes practice to hone skills. I hope I never stop learning new things! The adventure continues for us both, good luck and safe diving! CamG Keep diving....keep training....keep learning!

 

[BioLogic]

I just did my OWs a couple of weeks ago, and oh yeah, so cool! Even though in my case we were doing it in a flood-stage freshwater lake with awful vis, and the aquatic life was on the order of bluegill -- still such a neat feeling, and a joy to be among the fishes. I must have been raving, because my husband decided to get certified too so we can dive together. Major bonus!