Newly certified - any one day courses we can take next?

[sled600]

A couple years ago, GF and I got certified in Tacoma on Sunday. And stepped off of a Key Largo dive boat on Tuesday. Between the stress of being the new guy and trying not to look like a fool (I failed that one . I would really recommend KL as a great first ocean dive. The boat part was ok...new but ok. The UW scenery wonderful. Vis was slightly more than Puget Sound and shallow enough to make a surfacing mid -dive as a "sanity check" for the boat location.

Whatever you do....dive often, and dive with people more experienced than yourself as often as possible.

Enjoy Florida....I love it there!

 

[Peter Guy]

OP -- my only salt water diving in Florida was at West Palm Beach and I would agree with TSandM that it is not a place for someone on their very first dive out of an Open Water class. There are several reasons for that:

a. PADI OW depth limit is 60 feet -- even if you were to dive reefs 60' average depth as said by Brendon, that is still at the outside of your certified range and, quite probably, your comfort zone. Take baby steps, not huge ones.

b. Length of dive -- as I hope you remember from class, the deeper you go the more air molecules you breathe with every breath so you use up your precious air faster as you go deeper (all other things being equal, which they most often aren't! -- in fact, typically you will breathe faster as you go deeper due to nerves so your air supply becomes even more limiting). In order to maximize your diving experience, keep it shallow which is NOT something that my experience shows occurs in West Palm unless you are diving "under the bridge." Thus, the recommendation for the Keys makes a lot of sense -- shallow, longer dives, more light, more fun.

c. Boat Diving -- unless you did your Open Water dives from a boat, you'll probably be unfamiliar with boat diving -- and it is different from shore diving. For example, especially in your case where you'll probably be wearing unfamiliar (rental) gear, your weighting may be suspect (either too much or too little). My first dive in West Palm last year, boat dive/hot drop (that means, BTW, the boat comes to the dive site, adjusts for the current, and then you jump off and go down) and, oops, my guestimate of my weight needs was wrong and so I had to swim back to the boat to get more weight. This was NOT a problem in and of itself, except it meant that my buddy and I got separated from the rest of the group and so did our first dive on a totally unfamiliar spot in new conditions by ourselves. (With almost 2000 dives between the two of us it wasn't much of an issue but had that been our FIRST dive out of Open Water?)

d. Hiring a guide -- Your PADI OW course should have emphasized that when you go to a new area, having a guide is a very good idea. As this will be a totally new environment for you, and probably with totally unfamiliar gear, I would highly recommend that you hire a "professional" guide. This should greatly enhance your experience.

accur8shot -- to sum up, maximize your opportunity for a successful first diving experience and hire a guide, go to a shallow reef and have just a ton of fun looking at all those pretty fishies.

 

[Brendon]

Brendon, all I can post is from my experience, which is admittedly limited, and from discussions with people who live and dive there. Would you recommend jumping off a WPB dive boat for someone on his first dive out of OW? Maybe I have a jaundiced view of people coming out of OW, but I wouldn't. I'd like to see new students dive somewhere like Molokini, where the water is calm and there is no current to worry about. Sounds like the Keys would be a good choice for these guys, with shallow and quiet site options.

Once they get a bit of experience under their belts, I'd HIGHLY recommend WPB. I really loved the diving there. It was very beautiful, full of color and everything from schools of batfish to Goliath Groupers and lemon sharks. I just don't think the diving I did there is for beginners. (Of course, the none of the folks on the trip WERE beginners, and the itinerary was not designed with them in mind.)

I agree on your view point when it comes to OW divers as a whole. On a case by case basis I believe it comes down to how good the instructor was and wether or not they did boat dives as part of the OW training. I don't teach the currents here as something to be worried about, more of an advantage. Any issues could be resolved in an orientation, weight check and possibly a seasoned dive guide.

 

[Jax]

Hi all - my girlfriend and I just passed our first PADI course and are happy to be certified noobs. We are going to be in Miami in early February and have the opportunity to dive only during one of our days there. Are there any courses we can take to further our progression? From what I've read on here, I believe the AOWD certification would take at least 2 days.

Also, we are looking for a great place to explore underwater - can be anywhere from the Keys to West Palm Beach. Can anyone recommend some great sites for two beginners in those areas?

Thanks!

Hi, Accur8shot, Welcome to ScubaBoard! :wavey:

Please ignore the argumentative jerks that showed up. They aren't supposed to play in your forum.

I really really like the Key Largo diving, because the shallowness let an enormous amount of sunlight show off the reef's gorgeous colors.

May I recommend you contact Key Largo Dive Center | Reefs to dive for! They have a lovely lady there by the name of Elena who can certainly recommend any classes and dives you might want to take. Ask about their specials.

 

[Jax]

BTW, Accur8shot . . what do you shoot?

 

[diveprof]

Nitrox is a great one day course and particularly helpful in W. Palm area.

 

[freewillie]

I can't comment on where to dive in FLA since I've haven't been there for diving.

If you are complete newbies then I would echo the sentiments of hiring a private DM for two reasons 1) you are new to diving in general and having more experienced diver with you is a very good idea. as new divers you would be better served doing your initial post certification dives with more experienced divers. 2) even experienced divers benefit from local knowledge when diving new places. I generally hire DM's when going to new places especially when diving with my daughter who is a newly certified diver as well.

You would benefit from just diving and getting experience that continuing to have courses IMO. AOW training is nice but you would get more out of it after more dives in the 10-25 dive range.

Have fun.

 

[mselenaous]

Hey Accur8shot,
Welcome to Florida.

First, Jax, thanks for the kind words...and when are you coming back to dive with us again?.

Second, I too disagree about WPB area. I taught up there for a year, and certified many OW and AOW students in those waters. The reefs are about 60 ft deep. It is all drift diving so you don't really have to work, just stay near your guide and watch your buoyancy. I recommend you practice inflating a safety sausage in the pool, before going as you will be required to have one in case you come up early. When booking your dives with an operator be frank about your experience level. Operators in WPB put guides in the water with their divers. When they know upfront experience levels, they put more guides on (better DM to diver ratios) to ensure new divers have a fun safe dive. For WPB & surrounds, I recommend: Abernathy's Scuba Adventures, Little Deeper Charters, and Ocean Quest (Sandy's Sunday). There are also other fine operators in this area, so I recommend searching SB for others' opinions.
A bit further south in Boynton Beach, is Underwater Explorers (ScubaKevDM) here on SB who does an outstanding job with personalized service for divers of all levels.
All of these operators will be more than happy to listen to and counsel you on any concerns you may have.

Also in WPB, is the Blue Heron Bridge (Phil Foster Park) which is a local shore dive full of surprising diversity of critters in about 18ft deep. It is also a haunt for many local SBers who might be willing and available to show you around. There is a long ongoing thread here on SB about the site where locals keep adding pics, local conditions, and schedule meet ups. I recommend reading from the last page back a bit.

Third, Key Largo is a great place for new divers as most of the reef structure is about 30 ft, full of life. There are more dive ops here than gas stations, so there is something for everyone. Here is a thread, FL Keys Guide, listing the dive ops, each has it's own personalities and strengths from large boats (best if you tend to get seasick), to small boats (if you prefer smaller dive groups), some offer hunting, others, tech diving. FL Keys is an often discussed topic here on SB. I recommend you search the ones that interest you here on SB where you will find many oft praised dive ops as well as info on accommodations, dive sites, conditions, training, eateries, etc. Then call those shops and chat with the folks to get a feel for a good match to what you expect.

Fourth: On the topic of additional training, I recommend doing some fun diving first to get the feel for salt water diving. Most folks straight out of OW classes have issues with buoyancy, trim, and propulsion so a class or instructor coaching in these areas is time & money well spent toward improving your technique and comfort level while diving. As you get a bit more time in the water, are more relaxed and have improved your air consumption rate (which only comes with experience), then you are ready for extended bottom times using Nitrox which does require a certification course. Although you could start your Advanced open water right away after Open Water, most folks get more out of the class once they have a handful or two of dive experience on which to build their new skills upon an established foundation.

Feel free at ANY point in your dive career to hire a DM/guide to show you the way and ensure your comfort level. All of these dive ops mentioned can arrange those services for you. (FYI, I may have been diving for decades and teaching a while now and know the local waters well where I have lived, but there are times when I hire a local expert and rely on their local knowledge and skills for my own safety and piece of mind).

Whether you dive in SoFL, or you come dive with me in the Key Largo or one of the other local shops (I have friends who work at many and we all want you to have a safe memorable dive vacation), please stop by to say hi :wavey:.

 

[Kourtjestr]

If you are going to the keys for diving, I recommend going to Islamorada and diving through Key Dives. They were awesome when we went in October. They put a guide in the water for every 6 divers. I don't remember one of our guides, but Stacy was awesome. We only had 6-7 people, and 2 guides. 2 tanks, very comfortable. And the guides bring a slate so they can answer questions and ID stuff while you're still in the water. They were my first post-cert dive, and if I ever go back, I won't dive with anyone else unless it's a site they don't visit.

**Sorry for sounding like a commercial, I just had a great experience, and figured I would share.

 

[boulderjohn]

**Sorry for sounding like a commercial, I just had a great experience, and figured I would share.

Don't apologize--an operator that supplies great service has earned the plug.