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Bill, you can find excellent instructors associated with NAUI, PADI, and SSI in the Phoenix area; I just don't know anything about the YMCA program(s) locally, but the same is probably true there, as well. My own preference is NAUI. It might help to know a little bit more about what kind of...

No offense, but nothing you have said in this long harangue about Dr. Ewy even *attempts* to demonstrate that he is wrong on the merits. His recommendations are either based in good science, or they are not. He obviously thinks they are based in good science, and he has compiled a lot of data...

Here is the PADI site's description of the AOW course. http://www.padi.com/english/common/courses/rec/continue/aow.asp There will be five dives, including a "deep" dive and a "navigation" dive, and then three more from a list that includes night diving, fish identification, and a bunch of...

There's more than one way to define "total dark" in the ocean. A human being would not be able to make out any light in any direction, no matter how clear the water, and even looking straight up toward the surface at noon, at about 850 meters. At 1000 meters, even the most light-sensitive...

The Aeris Atmos 2 can be used to dive with air or with any nitrox mix up to 50% oxygen. They are just noting that the computer is designed to be used while diving with nitrox as well as air, and that it can keep track of your dive limits and give you the appropriate information for whatever mix...

Those are good points, but if he's diving to 90-130 feet and is using up all the air in his tank, he needs enough air to complete his dives safely. That need isn't going to wait for him to get more experience. Whether it is a good idea to be diving to those depths before getting the...

I understand what you're saying, but make sure you have thought it all through before you decide how to spend your money and set up your rig. How much do an Aluminum 80 and a pony bottle weigh together? A Luxfer 80 weighs 31.4 pounds empty, and an aluminum 30 weighs another 11.6 pounds...

I don't use a pony bottle, and I'm not sure that I would recommend it, either - but to answer your question: A Luxfer 30 cf tank will cost about $130, and a Luxfer 19 about $105-120 (these are "DiveBooty" prices that I just grabbed off the internet, not the result of shopping around)...

I have to say that I don't get it. I don't think there is anything very dangerous about removing and putting on gear under water, or in exchanging gear with another diver while doing it. It's actually a pretty fundamental skill (not the exchanging part - but that's just a detail), and anybody...

Mike, I wear disposable contacts (wear for one day and throw them away) in the water, and have yet to lose one, even while deliberately flooding or removing and replacing my mask in the water. I tend to keep my eyes half shut - sort of squinting - just to reduce the risk of one of them floating...

I have always carried around in my head a "statistic" that may be right, wrong, or entirely off the charts - that about half of those who experience DCS have "deserved" hits, from violating the rules; that approximately half of the cases of DCS are "undeserved" and occur in people who are...

I would take an underwater navigation course to really learn how it's done. Otherwise (or until then), I think ScubaJenny's answer includes the basic drill - you find your way back to the boat by never losing track of where you are in relation to your starting point. You can use a compass...

Those CO2 cartridges are still used on some models of rescue swimmers' vests, to fill the vest on the surface immediately, rather than taking a few seconds (when you have other things to do) to blow it up orally. Where they are still used, the milspec type cartridges are generally larger and...

It is just like a cave, but you're on the outside.

I always find myself checking on the populations and condition of various critters, and sort of vaguely updating my knowledge about the sealife, especially in the areas surrounding the Olmec and Maya lowlands, and in the Sea of Cortez. In other places, I am mostly just a tourist, although I am...

Bear in mind that you don't want to be in the water beneath the bridge when the *next* Ford F250 gets dumped over the side. I don't know how useful the river certification would actually be for you, but I know there are enough hazards in a river that you won't find in the ocean or a big lake...

No Logo Dive Trunks are very similar to bicycling shorts, but without the padding for a bicycle seat. The only problem with them is that the drawstring is *way* too long, as if they think you might gain 200 pounds after buying a size that fits...

Yeah, let's not start with the assumption that Dr. Ewy is some crank from the hinterlands in Arizona - he is one of the founders of the heart program at the UofArizona medical center, a professor of cardiology, and has been recognized by the American Heart Association as one of the "giants" of...

There's always a silver lining ... congratulations for sticking it out and completing this mess of a check-out dive. I think you are right that the experience will be beneficial to you in your future diving - if nothing else, you will recognize better than many other new divers what surface...

The swimming requirements are not difficult, and if you go out and practice them, you will see that they are not hard to complete. If you can swim at all, you can do it - if you're not in good shape, just set a steady pace and keep going. Don't try to swim fast or hard, because the effort...