How much classroom and pool instruction do you need to be ready to dive?

[KevinNM]

Hey, as long as you can see your buddy's fins one foot in front of your face then it's good enough

I will point out that if you are looking at his fins he can't see you. Which is undesirable.

 

[Youngandfree]

On one hand you have the advantage of diving with someone who is experienced and confident, but on the other hand, like you said, he is always moving at fast pace. I would think that as long as you can keep an eye on him (so as not to lose sight of him) you might be able to still explore on your own and gain some experience that way. At the very least you are probably learning not to stick your hand in some dark hole without looking first I don't know how it is in Virginia but here in California when the visibility is low I just look at the small stuff that's on and under the rocks plus whatever is in the sand. I see a LOT of amazing stuff. Most of the diving I do is shore diving in about 35 feet of water and I have a great time doing it. But I also love to dive places such as Cozumel and Hawai'i and won't easily pass up an opportunity to do so. And if such an opportunity does not present itself, I make the opportunity

Yeah I didn't have much issue seeing my team. Surprisingly the night dive didn't freak me out since we had good lights.

 

[Youngandfree]

FWIW, this is my instructor. 50 y/o retired cop, started diving with the PD in the 80's.

The second pic me praying for it to end, or a chair to magically appear since I didn't think my legs would make it back the last 100 yards to the hotel.

 

[Codger81]

The best viz I have had this year has been 5m and the warmest water has been 14degree. 2weeks ago on a shore dive I could not see my fins and in Feb temp was down to 4degree at 10m

Will see them tropical waters one day

There's been days where I've dived in 2/3m viz and it's not bothered me, but I definitely haven't enjoyed it as much. The coldest I've dived in is probably around 21c and Thailand never went below 28c ... even at 40m!

My brother does dry suit diving in Scotland, but it's definitely not for me.

 

[DanielRJones]

I will point out that if you are looking at his fins he can't see you. Which is undesirable.

I spent the dive with my head about 1ft off his knee and would give him a touch every 30 seconds

 

[okvij]

It depends, people are different. I've seen some do 10 pool sessions and then in the sea look like complete idiots. Recently I did a DSD with a swimming coach - perfect discipline, did everything exactly as instructed and swam like an experienced diver. Had two other guys who did maybe... 20 pool sessions until they mastered buoyancy and trim. Later in the sea they were perfectly stable. So no general rule, like with most things in life.

Hi guys, I'm an 18 year old girl who wants to learn scuba diving. I've noticed there are classes available that offer one 6 hour pool session, and are then followed by beach dives. I don't want to rush the learning process, and I'm skeptical that one pool session can really teach you everything before you enter the ocean. An online portion also has to be completed, but I feel that learning something online and learning something in person can be very different. Do you guys think that this is enough time to learn everything and be prepared for the certification dives?

 

[Themerrydiver]

Personally, I chose to do two Discover Scuba sessions before I got certified. It gave me the opportunity to get underwater and see if I liked it as much as I thought I would. I did!! So, I had about 7 dives completed before I actually took the OW PADI course. The advantage for me was that I learned some of the skils ahead of time, then read the PADI instruction manual. When I read the required PADI manuel it made sense and it was easy to relate to my experiences under water in the Discover classes. It was easy to connect what I read to what I experienced, so the actual certification was easier and I was relaxed and ready for whatever I was tested on. That process may not be right for everyone but it was perfect for me.