too much??

[Louma]

You live in the dive capital of the world, why not get certified here? People fly in from all over to get to dive some of the real gems we have here. We have the Springs (year round 72 degree water temp), the Atlantic, the Gulf. We have caves and caverns, the Keys, shipwrecks, reefs, etc. Get certified here and enjoy your trip to the Dominican by making it a dive trip and spend a lot of time underwater diving instead of having to set aside 2 or 3 days to finish your course there. Also, look around your area to find a great instructor (may or may not be affiliated with a shop - may or may not be PADI or NAUI or SSI, SDI, SEI, etc), not just one that is close or cheap. Ask some questions on SB about who you should use in the area. One more point, ALL instructors in the US carry liability insurance (just in case), the rest of the world ??? up for grabs.

 

[f86sabjf]

Thanks for all the ideas gang


Louma : I have lived in central fla my whole life and have freedived most of the springs in the area my whole life. I wish I had a dollar for every dive class i had seen in them . Then i would probably have all the money i needed to do this but close to home is probably a good idea. I know there is a dive club in Lk Mary and blue springs is minutes from my house. We have been checking into flights to Dominica and that migh move our time to about 2 yrs from now(due to cost) which should get us a good deal of experience in Fla waters. Now to find an instructor we are comfortable with.

I am a little confused on the certification part . I thought you had to be certified to get on a dive boat??? So if the instructor isn't certifed how do you get a certification???

 

[RonFrank]

I am not clear what you are asking, but you need to be certified to get air. An instructor can get air for you when taking a class. You may or may not be allowed on a dive boat if you are not diving. That is up to the boat captain.

You should ask questions and shop for an instructor. There are a ton of scuba instructors in FL. You can even do this cheap as FL is one of the few states that has a ton of scuba in state. I've seen classes for $200 and that includes everything except gear. That's cheap! I'm not saying cheap is necessarily good. Just shop around and get value for your $$$$. If two classes both teach 20hrs of instruction and 4 checkout dives and one is $100 more what do you get for the extra $$?

 

[Louma]

f86sabjf , yes you do have to be certified as a diver to get on boats, air fills, buy equipment (theoretically - sometimes I wonder). I think you might be referring to my statement about an instructor not working for a dive shop. Some instructors choose not to do so for various reasons. I myself do not work for a shop. I am "affiliated" with a lot of shops - but work for no one but me. That being said, I put out about 200 quality divers a year; I can (and do) teach up to and through the instructor level; and I teach for NAUI, SDI/TDI, NASE and Handicapped Scuba Association. So, not only am I certified to teach scuba, I am certified to teach by a variety of agencies. If there were a need to teach for more, or one over the other I would. I find that the agencies that I teach for all fill the bill for me to make a very good living in this area. If I were to move somewhere else in the world, then I might have to reassess my choices of training agencies and adjust accordingly. This is a long winded way of saying don't get too hung up on the agency. Anyone of the dozen or so that are out there all issue a certification to dive after the completion of their course, all are good for life, all are recognized worldwide, all are accepted by dive shops/operators no matter what agency they are connected with; and, if you wish, you can "mix and match" agencies if you choose to take other classes down the road. Do some looking, do some asking and find the instructor that is right for you. Good luck and hopefully I'll see you underwater at Blue!

 

[mselenaous]

f86sabjf,
+1 on all the previous advise. Get certified in FL, your own back yard. You live in the dive capital of the US and are the envy of so many far away divers. Get in plenty of experience locally and economically to build up your skill level before that big vacation, so that when you do go, you spend all your time actually diving for pleasure rather than training dives.
+1 dive locally and meet tons of fun local Scubaboarders (and mentors of newbie divers) - that is the magic of Scubaboard.
+1 talk to multiple shops to see what is available in your area. Try to compare apples to apples and not apple to oranges. Some offer all inclusive pricing, others have a low price but add on for rental gear or open water dive trips, etc. Finding a shop that will support you in the long run is worth an extra $ or 2, and many will make an attempt to [-]price [/-] value match.
+1 pricing usually has very little correlation with quality of instruction
+1 Basic open water training has very similar minimum standards among the various agencies. It is the instructor that will enrich your training with their experience and knowledge and train you to a higher standard than just the "minimum". Find an instructor (independent or shop-affilated) whose personality and teaching style mesh with your learning style. Interview potential instructors - there are many to choose from.

And last but not least, If you can, connect with louma - I've seen him teach - he is a great and thorough and patient instructor.

Hope to see you at some of the Scubaboard events, like Megadive at Ginnie Springs.
Have a blast and let me know if you come down to the Keys.

 

[f86sabjf]

Thanks a million again for all the advice and your patience. I believe our next major adventure is hitting crystal river in jan to spend a few days snorkeling with the manatees. This weekend will probably be blue springs before they shut it down for manatee season. So as of now we are going to get certified in Fla probably in this spring. Now to find an instructor.

If Louma would be interested down the road i would love to talk to you and see if we mesh well.

 

[Louma]

Elena, well golly jeez, thank you for such kind words! f86sabjf, when you are ready you can find my number on my site Dive-Florida.com I am always willing to talk scuba, and if I'm not the best instructor for you we'll find the right one.

 

[freewillie]

FWIW, my daughter and her friend certified as Jr OW divers while on vacation in Turks & Caicos.

We originally schedule her intro to scuba early as soon as we arrived but the pool facilities were not available so dive was pushed off two days. They barely had enough time cramming in their course work. It did create a little friction with family since she wanted to start skipping dinner with us to study.

She she didn't get any short cuts either and was held to all PADI standards. She had to to all the skills and pass all the tests I did for my OW cert. But the time compression did create a little stress since she had absolutely no margin for delays.

 

[Katie K]

You have certainly mad e the right choice by getting certified at home.. Id also suggest if you have the time to get you Nitrox at home as well... it is an easy course and gives you a little more understanding as to how diving affects the body...

if you were interested in taking a course on vacation the Advanced course is always there and well worth it...

I have seen many people take there OWC on vacation and be disappointed they worn't allowed to fallow the cool turtle because they still had skill to do...

Happy new addiction KT

 

[The Chairman]

I would even go so far as to suggest that you certify with Louma. He's a great (if a bit crotchety) instructor and very patient. He's just over in Tampa, so he's not that far from you. Most of the classroom stuff can be done online.

Have fun, and when you're done: come visit us in the Keys. We have some awesome diving of our own!