finding a dive school

[flippedr6]

i have been reading all the post in this section and they all offer a ton of info and am greatful for what i have learned thus far but i was wondering if there was anyone that lived in the Reading, MA area that could give me some info on the local schools. thanks in advance i really appreciate the help

 

[joewr]

Hi,

I have a suggestion about dive schools for you to consider.

Instead of a local school, why not take a week's vacation in Florida, the Carib or Hawaii and get trained there. It will take less total time, be nice and warm, and you will see some of the wonders of diving almost immediately.

A second approach is to do your classroom work at a nearby dive shop and then head for Florida, the Carib or Hawaii for your open water cert.

Just a thought....

joewr

 

[PriusDrIVER]

I'm going to suggest the opposite of Joewr. I see great value in learning from some one local. It gives you an instant relationship with the local diving community, this will make it more encouraging to dive more and to advance your level more rapidly. You will already have a bond or level of comfort with an instructor, which will make it easier to work to getting more classes. However, if you don't ever plan to dive locally and just on the occasional trip to tropical waters, then maybe its a non-issue. Personally, I have found some great people locally that I wouldn't have ever met without going through a local shop for training. I have a good number of dives scheduled over the next couple of months with the local shop, and I will just fill in the blanks with people that I meet during those dives or via the forums.

The other advantage is you will learn to dive and adapt to your local conditions, i could see it being rather intimidating if I had certified in Hawaii and went to dip my toes into the Pugeot Sound after getting back...it would be foreign terroritory, its easier to go from your local non-tropical waters to the clear waters of your vacation spot than the opposite.

I can't help you find a local shop, but I would encourage you to do so. I certified through SSI, their dealers in MA can be found here: http://ssiusa.com/dealerdb/index.cfm?action=get&ckey=149&pid=1&pkey=72&cid=2

Good luck!

 

[flippedr6]

thanks for the replys i actually went down to burlington scuba diving today to talk to them but i think most of my diving will be local for the near future then expanding the biggest prob i face is when im on the road i need to watch out for the rest times because im a pilot but during the winter months most of our flights are to the south so id have the oppertunity to dive down there if i have a layover

 

[Dash_Riprock]

Hi,

You might also want to check out North East Scuba in Chelmsford at:

http://www.northeastscuba.com/

Get trained localy and you'll be able to enjoy all our local diving which happens to be some of the best around. We have a big dive communty here in New England. Check out the New England Lobsta divahs in the local clubs section.

Al

 

[barebones]

You could take the academics online at home and then arrange a trip to Florida's East coast. Palm Beach to Fort Lauderdale has the best diving and its the most reasonable on hotel and food costs. The Keys are good but its more expensive and its an hour and a half drive from Miami International.

Fly into West Palm Beach if you can. Its easier and very close to everything from West Palm to Boca Raton. Fort Lauderdale is better to fly into than Miami. Its close to everything from Fort Lauderdale to Delray Beach.

Do the academics online. Do the pool sessions at home or in Florida. Then do the open water dives in Florida. The pool and open water dive could take as little as three days.

The water in Florida right now is 74 degrees top to bottom. Its clear and the reefs are full of life and color.

The total private course price is around $500 including everything (academics online, pool sessions, rental gear, boat charters --the works) if you do dives and pool work in Florida. Its less if you have a friend to join you.

Just Google "Southeast Florida Scuba" and see what pops up or do the same if you like a particular town down here. The dive shops and Instructors are mostly pretty good. Talk to them or email a few. Go with what strikes you.

Come on down. Get some sun. Have fun.

Barebones