Northern Virginia Instructor/Shop Recommendations Needed

[O-ring]

IMHO, the most important thing when seeking someone out is finding a good instructor that does real diving in his/her free time and does the type of diving you think you will enjoy. If kneeling on the platforms at Millrook or Rawlings every weekend is not your idea of diving (and it sure as hell isn't mine), then you definitely don't want a local quarry rat as an instructor.

There are tons of good threads on what to look for in an instructor...I would peruse a few of those before settling on one.

 

[MAK52580]

I was certified through Sea Ventures in Fairfax while a student at George Mason. My instructor is amazing, though he rarely does classes directly for the shop as he is also a reef conservational biologist and professor, thus he spends a lot of time in the Caribbean and in the classroom.

However, he is an amazing instructor and actually cares whether or not you become a better diver. I now work with him at GMU and he always wants a smaller class... he is all about quality over quantity.

That said, I would not recommend ANY or ALL instructors at Sea Ventures. If you can get either Tom Wood (the professor) or Whit Anderson (his assistant who will only be here until late August) then I recommend those two. You WILL be a good diver when you exit their classes and not just there to get a card.

 

[divepup]

I would recommend Aquatic Adventures in Alexandria, VA. I did my OW in March 2004 and my AOW in July, 2004. The instructors were fantastic, and also care about quality. However, since you live near Dulles you will have about a 40 minute drive. Your other two buddies will be much closer.

www.learn2dive.net

 

[DivingMonkey]

I work at Splash, and have just completed my AOW, EANx and EFR courses with them within the past month.
We're a small store but very very customer oriented and we try to work with you if you're looking for something we don't have in stock or on the schedule.
I just started working there in June, and I absolutely love it. The staff is great, really knowledgeable and just a lot of fun to be around.

 

[mindseye20]

Hi Alix,

A few more shops you might want to check out are Sea Ventures in Fairfax or The Dive Shop in Fiarfax. I got my OW Certification at "The Dive Shop" and felt the class went well (ask for sandy and skip), however as far as purchasing gear is concerned I went with Sea Ventures because they were interested in selling me what I needed, not what would cost the most, contrary to my experience at "The Dive Shop."

As far as getting a top-notch instructor is concerned, I would recommend talking to Dr. Tom Wood at George Mason University. I have been on diving trips with him, joined additional certification classes to keep my skills up, and am pursuing scientific diving and additional certifications through him. I guarantee if you learn through Tom you WILL be a very good diver. I am including a previous post ffrom another scuba board member, just to reinforce the recommendation.

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07-19-2004, 11:24 PM #12
MAK52580
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I was certified through Sea Ventures in Fairfax while a student at George Mason. My instructor is amazing, though he rarely does classes directly for the shop as he is also a reef conservational biologist and professor, thus he spends a lot of time in the Caribbean and in the classroom.

However, he is an amazing instructor and actually cares whether or not you become a better diver. I now work with him at GMU and he always wants a smaller class... he is all about quality over quantity.

That said, I would not recommend ANY or ALL instructors at Sea Ventures. If you can get either Tom Wood (the professor) or Whit Anderson (his assistant who will only be here until late August) then I recommend those two. You WILL be a good diver when you exit their classes and not just there to get a card.
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Good luck! If you are more interested in contacting Tom let me know and I will send you his info.

 

[mindseye20]

Haha, I see Mak52580 has already posted. My fault for not checking all the posts first.

 

[HilaryF]

If you're still looking, I've taken classes from and taken trips with both Splash and Aquatic Adventures and can recommend both. I consider Aquatic Adventures to be my "home" shop, but I've been very happy with the classes from Splash. Hope this helps!