Discover Dive then Open Water

[BuckSlice4]

Howdy all new guy here, and wow tons of helpful information!!
I am finally taking the plunge and going to venture into the diving world. My concern is over these three day study at home courses offered by the dive shops? I read the thread about new Divers and certification. So I have signed my wife and I up for the Discover Dive then the OW (for myself) if she enjoys herself and feels comfortable she will then join me in the open water.

I have chosen to take this route to gain as much parctiacl experience as possible. My plan is to do the Discover Dive in Miami (south beach divers) over a weekend then go back a few weeks later after going through the PADI study package. So is this a soild appraoch or am i taking this to far with the two courses?

Any information this board can provide will be great...thanks

 

[spectrum]

My wife and I each did a dicover dive locally. it happend to be in the shallows of a local pond. For me it was an instance of saying that I had tried scuba diving before I died. Not that I had any intentions of expiring , it was a lifelong fascination that always seemed out of reach. In the end it lit the fuse that made it happened. Not one to be left out my wife followed a month or so latter with a discover dive. These were both in the late summer / early fall of 2004.

Late that winter we got on with local class and pool work followed by our open water dives when conditions and schedules aligned in June of 2005. As it turned out she took a few extra evenings to get comfortable in the pool so being local and able to jump back in with the next class for a little extra polishing time was invaluable.

Diving is an adaptation and everyone's response is unique. For these reason I suggest getting certified locally in a course that moves at a sane pace and one that will be adaptable to your needs, whatever they proove to be.

Making discover dives is a great way to get psyched for the class. With the discover dive under your belt you are starting in as an OW student knowing that "you can do it". And what remains is formal training and polishing with experieince.

Lastly, and I may get flamed for this..... Consider doing open water training at home. Unless you have the means for very frequent dive travel (I know some do) the best way to become a proficient safe diver is to dive frequently and for most of us that means locally. There is alot of activity on this board from your region. Afterwards , your vacation diving, with reduced exposure protection will be a breeze.

Home or away doing the book work largely in an at home multimedia package is getting very common. In some cases it may provide better coverage than some live classes can or will provide. If you are left with unanswered questions, write them down and get them answered. There should still be some in person review of critical topics.

Pete

 

[ChrisA]

... My plan is to do the Discover Dive in Miami (south beach divers) over a weekend then go back a few weeks later after going through the PADI study package. So is this a soild appraoch or am i taking this to far with the two courses?

Why not go through a local dive shop?

If you are doing the PADI OW class there are five pool/lecture modules and four open water dives that must be done over two days. You can do al the pool work and classroom work near your home and then get what they call a "referral" to do the open water ocean dives with some other shp in FL. Do ing the pool/classroom work while away from home makes it to compressed and rushed. Better to take you time. Also even wtht ehrefferal program you still want the home study material (book and videos) and you need to go over then untill you know all that can e absorbed that way. Learning in the pool/classroom will go much better if you are prepared.

That said. I would very much recommend that you do the ENTIRE class close to home. It is a fact the most (not just some) people who take and pass the OW class quit the sport shortly after the class is over. A year after the class very few still activly dive. We assume the no one takes the class thinking that they will be one of those who quits bt _most_ are wrong and do in fact quit.

So, Your goal is to set your self up to be one of the few who actually continues to dive. Yes "one of the few". How to do that??? I think the number one thing is to quickly become socially integrated in to the LOCAL dive comunity. Get to know the other divers near yuo and dive with them. If you have a dozen buddies that dive all the time so will you. If diving issomething you can do on a Saturday morning and be home be lunch and cost only gas and a $4 air fill you wil do it frequently but if you have to take off from work and fly to Florida to dive I dounbt you can do that even once per month. So right now before you even sign up fr class go to the Canada section of Scubaboard and ask about dive clubs local to your area and join a few. Ask about what shops are best to take OW and about loca dive sites. the number two tthing to do so you continue is to buy your own gear. Ifthe gearis siting at your house then all you need to do to dive is getyourself to the water. You are much more likely to do that it you don't have to rent.

Buy YES "Discover SCUBA" is a great way to discover scuba. Some will argue tht it is not safe because it puts untrained people under water. I sya "maybe". Hopefuly it is very shalow water and well supervised.

 

[DandyDon]

I think your approachis fine - much like my start. Have fun...

 

[jbichsel]

My "Discover Scuba" was in March 1989 in Texas, in my above-ground pool (3 1/2' deep), wearing my friends gear and my sweat shirt and pants in 56 degree water. My time under water was about 45 minutes. I was cold, but didn't care. I had been hooked!

I think doing a Discover Scuba course is great. It gets people enthusiastic, excited and more interested in the "book" learning. It also give an understanding of some of what will be learned from the book. Having some practical experience to relate to your reading will go a long way.

Enjoy!

 

[1_T_Submariner]

I too started this way. Discover scuba is a great way to see if the OW course is for you and your wife.

 

[cleung]

You don't need the Discover program but it would be worthwhile to take a course that is spread out over a few weeks rather than a solid weekend if you are worried about cramming too much at once. Scuba diving is a new skill and for many people, it's better to spread out the course. My initial certification course was over six Tuesday nights and then a weekend for open water dives. This was good for me because it was six sessions in the pool and I got to train a bit at a time in terms of new techniques. See if you can find such a program.

 

[jbichsel]

One advantage to Discover Scuba is the cost. Usually around $25, sometimes free, sometimes more.

The nice thing is that sometimes there are people that decide right then that SCUBA is not for them.

Not as bit an investment, not a huge feeling of loss. Even if they receive a full refund for stopping OW training, there can be a significant psychological event with some people about going through so much to net complete it. At the DSD rate, this can be avoided.

You also have the option, although I don't like it, of performing all or part of the skills for Confined Water Dive 1 during a Discover Scuba Diving "class".

 

[Reggae Joe]

Discover scuba's a great way to literally get your feet wet and see if diving is something you really want to get into. That's how my girlfriend got addicted to diving...which is all the better for me.

Congrats on taking the plunge, Buckslice. Relax, have fun, and you'll be certified before you know it.