New diver looking for summer suggestions

[Cairns]

Hi, I did an open water course last December. I had great instructors and learned a lot, not one of those vacation courses where they don't teach you anything.

I'm planning on doing a lot of diving this summer, I haven't done anything since the course because of school. I'm thinking of two options for starting out. 1. Meet up with a local dive club and do some simple stuff like shore diving. Or 2, I'm interested in doing an advanced open water course just to get exposure to different aspects of diving. Or I guess I can do both.

Is either approach a better one of the other? Or is there an even better idea?

Thanks

 

[Riger]

IMHO, Join up with a local club and see how that goes, your most valuable lessons come from interaction with other divers AND diving.

AOW is good, but experience is better.

Just my 2c

Best Regards
Richard

 

[tfsails]

I agree with Riger. Plenty of time for AOW after you get some idea of what you want to do with your diving career.

 

[k ellis]

the guys are correct. I moved through my courses rather quickly but looking back the best experience has been gained by simply going out there and having fun with other divers. The unfortunate thing about diving is that it can get expensive quick which in turn keeps alot of would be divers from ever even giving it a try.

But finding fellow divers is just as easy as going to your local dive shop and just meeting other divers. As far as dive clubs they would be a hit and miss type of way since there are some places that the nearest dive club may be an hour or more away.

Your first boat dive when you get too it will be a unique experience. I always get the first time jitters but never look back once I hit the water.

Good luck with your diving and hope it goes well

 

[Colliam7]

I'm planning on doing a lot of diving this summer, I haven't done anything since the course because of school. I'm thinking of two options for starting out. 1. Meet up with a local dive club and do some simple stuff like shore diving. Or 2, I'm interested in doing an advanced open water course just to get exposure to different aspects of diving. Or I guess I can do both. ... Is either approach a better one of the other?

The answer depends in part on where you are, and what local diving options exist. You mention shore dives, so I presume west coast. Linking up with an active dive club is a great idea, if one is available. One potential advantage of AOW would be getting back in the water, in a somewhat controlled environment (you mention that you haven't done any diving since certification last December), if a dive club or active local diving community is NOT readily available. However, I do not think this is an 'either-or' situation, and pursuing both might be a reasonable course of action. If you elect to pursue AOW, I would suggest you speak to the instructor about his/her approach to the course, possibly speak to one or more divers who have done the course with the particular instructor. You can get the certification by having the 'boxes checked', or you can be exposed to valuable additional instruction / mentoring.

 

[ligersandtions]

Meet up with a local dive club or find some local buddies on SB. You can do your AOW anytime and you don't necessarily need to do it with your buddy....but as a new diver, you shouldn't be diving solo, so meeting some people from a club or SB is a great way to find new buddies and get out diving right away.

Do yourself a favor....when you're taking your AOW class, make sure you're taking it with an instructor who will actually push you and expand your diving. It is very possible to get nothing from the class other than a plastic card....but it is possible to get a lot from the class with the right instructor.

Good luck finding new dive buddies and have fun getting out!

 

[E.C.Hansen]

I was recently asking myself the same questions, the conclusion I came to was that for about the same $ as 5 dives, the AOW class is 5 dives along with some valuable (and fun)training. I still rent most of my gear so 5 dives costs more than just the tank fills for me, and I bet I'm not the only one in this situation.

There was also an added bonus once I actually did the course; For my first dives in overhead environment, in the ocean, and especially for the deep dive, I was with DMs/instructors that I had to spend some time with and had a chance to get comfortable and build trust with.

If your curious I did the class at Maya Diving in Tulum, Mexico. Deon the DM was excellent, but someone in management wasn't completely organized and spaced on the communicating the time and requirements for my friends Discover Scuba so that she missed the chance.

 

[TSandM]

Since you have done no diving since your certification, I'd highly recommend at least one pool session with an instructor, to refresh your skills and make sure you are comfortable with your equipment and with buoyancy control. Buoyancy control is one of the things that contributes to new diver accidents, so it's worth making sure you're on top of it before you get in an open water situation.

AOW could give you that kind of refresher experience, but the instructor quite probably would expect you to start the class at at least the level of competency you had at the end of your OW class, and you probably aren't there any more.

 

[Cairns]

Thanks for the input. I'm in SoCal, so plenty of diving options here. I'll be picking up the rest of my gear soon, so I think a refresher pool session would be a good idea along with the new gear. I'm technically a member of the dive club with the LDS I did OW with, so I'll attend their next meeting since the people I met there were very cool. I'll probably try to do some diving with them.

I don't know if this is unrealistic or not, but I had in my mind to get at least one new skill cert per year. A lot of people seem to say that Nitrox is a great idea, any reason why I shouldn't do that towards the end of the year once I have more experience?

Thanks!

 

[ligersandtions]

Come visit us in the socal subforum! There are lots of active local divers....you will have absolutely no problem hooking up with a bunch of divers to get out diving!