What is the best environment to learn to dive in?

[Jumpinghorse]

I was fortunate to be able to dive in many different environments. I first learned in a deep and cold fresh water quarry then moved to fresh water springs in Florida and fresh water lakes. Then I started salt water diving and have dove most every type of salt water dive conditions there are. I also did some salvage/commercial diving, biological research dives and then I worked as a dive master for a little while in a foreign country. (It was really an internship). I think the more environments and different conditions you can dive in the better a diver you will be. It all depends on your preference too. I know people who will only dive to 30 feet in warm water and then some that prefer deep tech diving only. I think diving in different environments gives you a chance to use skills you may not use on a regular basis as well.
Good luck and happy diving!

 

[bookofmaya]

that's crazy man!

 

[fisheater]

I learned in Monterey during a driving rain storm in winter, which caused all the other classes to cancel and it came down to just me and my instructor.

In fact, we had to walk past the Coast Guard filling sand bags in response to the local flooding in order for us to get into the water.

Water temp was in the low 50s and vis was just OK.

I loved it!

By learning in marginal conditions, I set a low baseline on conditions that I'm willing (and happy) to dive in. As a consequence, I will have 75 dives in my first year, most in the "cold, dark" northern California waters.

Most of the people that know around here who were certified in warm, clear tropical waters don't dive unless they're on vacation. At that point, they've forgotten what they learned the year before and they don't advance. Because they don't have experience with cold water, they're too intimidated to try local diving.

My advice is always to learn where you live.

 

[Winterpeg]

Thank you Mattboy for articulating my view so well. I live where the only local diving is in a cold dark murky lake with questionable life (I saw only one fish on my 4 dives there). If that had been my only opportunity to dive I would never have bothered. And if it had been my first experience I would have run away.
I took a Discover Scuba class 3 years ago in Aruba - THAT is what provided the motivation for me to complete my OW. I tried to avoid my local lake by taking my OW dives on referral in Puerto Vallarta, but that didn't work too well, as I have noted in previous posts. However, the diving in PV was great, which reinforced my determination to pass my OW "properly".
Only then did I force myself to redo my OW dives locally. So those dives were actually #'s 6 through 9 in my logbook. If they had been #'s 1 through 4...... well, I would have dropped out after #1. And only now, after having done them, can I say that I am glad that I did. My motto became "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger".
Since that experience I have vowed never again to dive in that miserable cold lake. That could change as I get more experienced I suppose, but I wouldn't count on it.
I totally agree that it makes sense to learn in more favorable conditions if possible. Adapting to harsher scenarios becomes easier with some experience.

 

[calwolf]

I totally agree that it makes sense to learn in more favorable conditions if possible. Adapting to harsher scenarios becomes easier with some experience.

For those that already have the motivation, though, I'd suggesting learning in cold water with somewhat limited visibility... as so many others have mentioned, if you can dive cold water in marginal conditions, you can easily do warm water tropics. The reverse is definitely not true, or at least a whole lot more difficult.

 

[Winterpeg]

For those that already have the motivation, though, I'd suggesting learning in cold water with somewhat limited visibility... as so many others have mentioned, if you can dive cold water in marginal conditions, you can easily do warm water tropics. The reverse is definitely not true, or at least a whole lot more difficult.

I agree with you, and that's why I redid my OW dives at home in cold water with limited visibility - it's just that I did it AFTER doing some basics in tropical water. I'm just saying that trying warm water first gave me more incentive to dive in the first place, and I was more motivated to improve my skills after I knew I could do the basics. If I had started from scratch under local conditions I think I would have given up.

 

[Doc]

If everyone could knock out their first thirty dives in an 84° swimming pool that was 65' deep, they could gain superb levels of self confidence, mastery of basic skills, and become a very relaxed diver very much quicker.

NASA has such a place.

 

[String]

If everyone could knock out their first thirty dives in an 84Ž° swimming pool that was 65' deep, they could gain superb levels of self confidence, mastery of basic skills, and become a very relaxed diver very much quicker.

Then do what normally happens, get into cold, dark murky water and hate it, panic, struggle with the kit, struggle with thick gloves, struggle with cold water on the face and realise they need to effectively relearn everything. Some do relearn, some quit diving.

Or do what the coroner here warns of quite often:- Jump into waters with current, tides, low vis and cold without understanding or having the experience to plan and handle all that and end up dead.

 

[Doc]

Then do what normally happens...cold murky... then hate it...

No wonder they quit, I mean local diving.... the smart ones, anyway. They go to more hospitable zones. Not everyone has to be a combat diver.

Oh, so, you like to toughen them up for local conditions, then?

YouTube link: BSAC! Are you tough enough to dive?

Perfected buoyancy and absolute familiarization with gear is paramount.

Then you can take them out for a scrape in that RN Lifeboat. (The other stuff comes later)

 

[crobatic]

Limited or no visibility , its scary but it will give you confidence and everything else will be easy