FL or GA sites where I can bring students to complete Open Water dives?

[LaurenDiveSC]

Dear all,

I am an instructor based in Charleston, SC looking to teach independently. But without access to a boat to take students off-shore to complete their open water dives, I am looking for other dives sites where I could take them. I was recommended Devil's Den and Blue Grotto in Florida, but see that they now require all divers to have at least open water certifications to enter. Does anyone have suggestions of sites which can be accessed by shore or of operators who would be willing to contract their boats out to me so that I can lead my own trips and certify students as Open Water divers independently?

thanks in advance for your responses.

~Lauren

 

[RVBldr]

Way back when I got certified with the now-defunct Buddy Line Divers in Mt. Pleasant sometime around 1984, we did open water in one of the local ponds, then did the Edisto River under the Walterborough HWY 14 bridge. We were in college at the time, and just happy to be diving, so I don't think we really cared what the water was like! My log also shows dives at Royal, Troy, and Rainbow Springs, but I don't think we were doing OW check-outs at that time.

 

[uncfnp]

Isn't there diving available at Lake Jocassee or Keowee?

 

[diversteve]

Maybe look north - Express in Murrell's Inlet (south Myrtle Beach) seems like an outside instructor friendly option. There's a few 40' or less dive sites they go to. Express Water Sports - Myrtle Beach Scuba, 843-357-7777 - Group Charters

Isn't that about a 2hr. drive?

 

[WheelsUSN]

Dear all,

I was recommended Devil's Den and Blue Grotto in Florida, but see that they now require all divers to have at least open water certifications to enter.

I take students to both of those sites on a regular basis. As long as you have your instructor card and proof of insurance your students can dive there with you.

 

[kelemvor]

As WheelsUSN said, they take students all the time. Call them to verify; I did my last OW checkout dive at blue grotto just last year.

 

[JamesK]

Blue Grotto and Devils Den allow classes. As does Troy and Ginnie.

 

[SC_Hoaty]

Lake Thurmond has a shore entry site. Viz is poor, and it is easy to silt up, but it works well once you learn a few of the lake features. There is a small plane that new divers enjoy seeing, along with a few other artifacts left by other divers.

 

[Instructor_Tom]

we certify divers at devils den and blue grotto all the time. the den has a pool out back where we do the confined water and then move to the den for the first ope water dive, then we go to blue grotto for the second day to do all the open water skills.

hopefully soon now that blue grotto is under new management they will be putting in pool and some new facilities to support the dive community there.


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[SOFDiver]

JMO: While Blue Grotto, Devil's Den, and all the springs are great dive sites I find it hard to believe that one would travel there to conduct "Open Water" check outs. Student divers face none of the challenges of a real open water dive, I've been to all of these sites and they are like being in a swimming pool. The reason I say this is we very often have divers aboard our boat who were certified under these kind of conditions and they are in many cases overwhelmed by real open water conditions. Give them a wave breaking over their head, a face full of salt water, or a wind driven surface current to deal with and they are lost to near panic. While each instructor must choose for him/herself how they conduct training and the conditions which meet the standards for open water, I submit that most of the sites mentioned above should be considered confined water locations.