Gaining experience with Dive tours

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I have two friends that have showed interests in become certified with me, however, that is now and when the time comes I cannot be certain they will still be interested. My concern is that if I certify on my own, I wouldnÃÕ really have anyone that I knew directly that I could dive with. My concern is that even if we all certify together, are we ready to venture on w/o a DM in our shadows? Where and how can we safely continue to gain experience?

Go get certified with or without your friends. If you get certified and discover that you don't like it, you can always stop. If you like it and your friends don't you can always find buddies on the internet and at any SCUBA shop.

As for your second question about the DM, once you're certified you don't ever need a DM unless you're diving somewhere it's required by law. You can start with shallow easy dives, and learn and gain experience as you dive more with your new buddies. You might want a DM when diving somewhere new, but that's a personal choice.

Diving is where you find it. If you have a local lake or two or a river that's all you need to get started. You can dive locally when you want, and travel when you can.

Terry
 
Thank you all for reassurance and helpful advice!

Terry you brought a great suggestion, as I am initially the one interested in scuba diving, so if my friends dont come thru, I really shouldnt let that hold me back if this is what I really am inspired to do. Just like anything new however, when you have someone involved you know personally one tends to have a higher comfort level, well, I do anyway.. But no matter, I feel very confident with my social skills and as TSandM stated, Im sure there are more divers out there than I am aware of.

Without getting too far ahead of myself, (as I still have to get in the water and see how I react to the flip side:confused:), it seems like scuba diving is one of those activities that can become a lifestyle. I mean that one can seemingly become passionate about it. I golf, but just because my step father did, and it passes time and its fun, but I am not passionate about it.. my score says it all:doh2:.

Being a salt water aquarist for a couple of years and having done several research papers on coral reefs ( by choice) has brought me to a world that I want to see for myself! In addition, I have been searching for a hobby that is unique in its own. And diving seems challenging enough to keep the interests high, however, still safe provided a person keeps their wits and dives within their limits! So I try to avert pressuring friends into something that I have more of an interest in.

This is a great forum and honestly one of the most informative forums I have ever been on!

I still have lots of questions, but I will keep searching and ask when I cant find an answers that satisfies.

Thank you ALL.


jR
 
Without getting too far ahead of myself, (as I still have to get in the water and see how I react to the flip side:confused:), it seems like scuba diving is one of those activities that can become a lifestyle. I mean that one can seemingly become passionate about it. I golf, but just because my step father did, and it passes time and its fun, but I am not passionate about it.. my score says it all:doh2:.

I started diving in a situation very similar to yours, and I followed a path that you seem to be hinting at here.

My wife and I visited Cozumel years ago as non-divers, and we planned a return trip. I had heard that Cozumel is a dive paradise, and I am not the kind of guy who likes to sit around on a beach, so I got certified before we went. It was a controversial decision. I live in Colorado, where there is not much of a local diving scene at all. I knew no one who was a diver. My wife has ear problems and does not want to dive. People thought I was nuts to get certified for a one time trip, but I figured that I might do a trip like that every other year or so, and I could always do a dive or two on that schedule.

Well, it turns out that Cozumel is indeed a dive paradise, and once I was under water there, I was hooked. The "couple of dives every other year or so" plan evaporated. Fortunately, my wife is an avid snorkeler, so she was not at all adverse to planning our vacations in places where I could do some diving, she could do some snorkeling, and we could do other things together. We went to Cozumel with some regularity (and it should be easy to reach from Iowa as well), but we also went to other Caribbean locales and places like Australia and Fiji.

Yes, I had to find "insta-buddies" on these trips, but I learned how to do that with some finesse.

I also got involved with a local dive shop I liked, and I joined them on some of their large, organized trips.

So here I find myself having traveled a far path from that first controversial certification. I enjoyed many diving vacations in many beautiful places around the world. I met very nice people I would never have otherwise met. I now even enjoy local diving in the cold and murky waters of Colorado. It would not surprise me at all to see you describing a similar life experience in a few years.
 
I have some of my best learning experiences in a local, shallow lake. Also I have, over time, learned to solo dive safely. Any commercial dive boat will assign a buddy to you if you are travelling with non-divers. You are looking for too many reasons not to do something. Read "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock", T.S. Eliot, for inspiration. Diving is wonderful and will open up an entirely new world for you both in and out of the water.
 
Don't worry about a lack of friends who dive. We have a little more variety in WI than in IA, but you will find plenty of friends about. Most dive shops have a connection to a dive club where you can find someone with similar time off. Most will be only too happy to show you the local sites.

There are things in our Midwest waters to experience. A lot of "interesting" items end up at the bottom of our lakes from ice fishing gear to boats and bottles. Flooded quarries often have equipment left behind. Our fish are not as colorful, but they are varied and have behaviors you can observe because most lack any fear of you. There are insect and invertebrate life forms with bizarre life cycles -- and many are unidentified. The view is much more restricted (5-25ft), but it adds to the challenge and the atmosphere.

During the winter there is ice diving, for the truly dedicated, and pool/aquarium diving for the rest of us. The Mall of America in MN and Shedd Aquarium in Chicago both give one the opportunity to dive with creatures one seldom sees in open water. Pools can be boring, unless you're helping someone learn to dive, which brings its own rewards.

Last, some people make fun of us "muck divers," but you will quickly see the difference when you go on a dive tour in the open ocean. Saltwater is different, but you will adjust by the end of your first dive. Buoyancy is only learned through practice and the experienced "muck divers" seldom touch the bottom vs. the "tour only" crowd who have "more difficulty" controlling their actions underwater.

I hope you give scuba a try. If you do, look me up come Spring and I will drive over to try one of your local spots.
 
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Read "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock", T.S. Eliot, for inspiration.

Really? Which lines do you find inspirational for a budding diver?

I should have been a pair of ragged claws
Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.​

or

I grow old . . . I grow old . . .
I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.

Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?
I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.


I do not think that they will sing to me.

I have seen them riding seaward on the waves
Combing the white hair of the waves blown back
When the wind blows the water white and black.

We have lingered in the chambers of the sea
By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown
Till human voices wake us, and we drown.​

Just kidding--it's one of my favorites.:wink:
 
Paul, you have several options.

Check with a local dive shop about lessons. Most shops will have an Intro to Scuba, or Try Scuba. The cost in minimal (some do it free). If there isn't one close, you can make arrangements to travel to a larger city and do a long weekend class. You can get it all done in 3 days.

The shop can get you through basic certification. Most shops also have "fun dives" or buddy lists, for those that want to do local dives. Almost every shop I know does trips. The Carribean is very close, and relatively cheap.

If it's three of you, you could do a "private group" lesson. It's a lot of fun.

Many dive places cater to single divers. You can often stay at a dive resort, and meet people to dive with there. All-in-all, divers are a great group to meet on the fly, and dive.

There are also places you can go, where you can do everything there. That includes the certification and the open water dives.

It's a great sport, once you dive in!!!!
 
Well, as I enjoyed learning to dive in open water I sure wanted to get diving. My diving friends were all lethargic or busy elsewhere, impatient I went back to my shop. Figured they knew what I knew (or was that how little?) probably compared some notes so were the best persons for me to be with.
Forking over more cash (yike) was in the long run a good deal. I had lower cost for the dives as a former student, was familiar with the boat and general situation (one less anxiety point) and best of all received generous further instruction or refining of technique.
The only down side was rapidly developing the taste for the good life (I like climbing ladders over surf) having insufficient funds to live it.
 
Paul I am in border line midwest southwest and I have found that there are a lot of places that do tours on area lakes. In many cases they are extremely affordable for what your getting out of it. I.E. 60 dollars to go do a 2 tank dive off a dive boat. If you rented your own boat and did the same dive it would around the same price if not more. With the tours you can always tag along 3rd party if your the odd man out (7 on a boat for example). Find an area lake and google it on the web to see if they offer tours.

Also being just north of Missouri there are some of the most incredible fresh water dives just to your south. Look in to them and see what they have! Dive Training Magazine — Scuba's magazine for new divers and their instructors. also has a very handy local dive spot map that shows great places to dive and may have further information on who to contact and so forth.

The buddy thing is not really a big thing to worry about because if your friends dont want to dive you can always go to the local dive shop. Thats all that go to them is divers so its an interesting way to meet new people and set up dives.

If you find yourself solo remember your cert is lifetime. All you would have to do is a very inexpensive refresher course if you dont dive for a period of time.

Hope this helps!
 
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