Completed my advance certification! :-)

[Mochosla]

So, I went ahead and enrolled for my advanced certification with Simi Valley dive shop. James scheduled a trip on the Bottom Scratcher boat and we headed out to Catalina with an oil rig stop. The oil rig was a bust. Horrible conditions did not allow us to dive it (although we did jump in the water just to be dragged by the current and beat up by the chop). We made it to Catalina where the conditions were so much better and we did 3 dives on the first day including my deep dive to 116' with about 40' vis. The next day we did 3 more dives with a low light dive at 5AM (it was cold!!!). Got to see a 6 to 7’ mako and a huge leopard shark, lobsters and a bunch of other cool stuff. I'm now an advanced certified diver and can't wait to start logging a bunch of dives

Overall, it was a great experience. James is a fantastic instructor and the divers in the trip were all very cool. While the boat is in the older side, the crew was excellent. Food was also very good.

Can’t wait to see you in the water!!

 

[bbdqsony]

Congrats!!

 

[sunfishh]

A mako shark. That sounds awesome.

 

[DiveNav]

which sites did you dive in Catalina?

116' after only 20 dives? Isn't a bit too much?

 

[USCScubaboy]

which sites did you dive in Catalina?

116' after only 20 dives? Isn't a bit too much?

I believe he's referring to the deep dive portion of his AOW training.

 

[fnfalman]

which sites did you dive in Catalina?

116' after only 20 dives? Isn't a bit too much?

Better doing it with an instructor as part of a class than doing it with a questionable buddy.

 

[DiveNav]

I believe he's referring to the deep dive portion of his AOW training.

yes ... but, If I am not mistaken, the "recommended" maximum depth for AOW training is 100ft

 

[tflaris]

Congrats

 

[Spg01]

yes ... but, If I am not mistaken, the "recommended" maximum depth for AOW training is 100ft

He is probably NAUI, I went to 115' in my AOW at vets.

As part of your certification, you will complete a minimum of six open water dives including three separate dives for navigation, night or low visibility diving and deep diving (130 feet/40 meters maximum depth), plus three different dives.

 

[ligersandtions]

Congrats on passing your class!

However, I'm a bit concerned that an instructor would take an AOW student (with less than 24 dives, assuming your profile is correct) to the oil rigs....a dive site that has no hard bottom for multiple hundreds of feet. Just my opinion, but that plus a 116 fsw deep dive seems pretty aggressive for a very new diver.

I'm glad that things went well, but I would probably recommend sticking with some shallower sites (with hard bottoms) until you gain a little more experience.