Key Largo OW Training

[ncstage]

Anyone used pirates cove at the reef house resort?

 

[RyanT]

Horizon Divers.

 

[Jake 10]

Islamorada Dive Center
Key Dives
Rainbow Reef

 

[Litefoot]

Rather than asking us, I would call the shops and ask these three questions:

What is your maximum student/instructor ratio? Smaller is usually better and safer.

Do you teach and then require demonstration of skills in the pool while kneeling or hovering? Hovering is the answer.

How much time do you spend, if any, teaching weighting, trim, and buoyancy? These aren’t check-the-box demonstrable skills, but are arguably the most difficult to master post-certification.

 

[jwarrenod]

Check out Sea Dwellers. Great shop and team. I've dived with them a few times, my dad got certified through them and now one of the guys I worked with during my DM internship teaches there.

I did my certification there in 2019. Nice group to work with. They also have a convenient pool and dock at the Holiday Inn Express there. I doubt that you'd go wrong there or with Amoray, I did some diving with them last year twice and really enjoyed their crew too. Didn't do any training with them though.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Do you teach and then require demonstration of skills in the pool while kneeling or hovering? Hovering is the answer.

The entire open water course, including confined water, should be taught neutrally buoyant and trimmed. No starting on the knees and then going neutral.
Ask them to explain how to deal with the difference between the center of mass and center of volume/displacement, and describe how they mitigate this practically (the correct answer is to distribute the correct amount of weight - the amount needed to maintain a safety stop with a nearly empty cylinder with no gas in the BCD and be able to control the ascent to the surface - so that you are effortlessly horizontal. They should describe use of weight pockets, choice of fins, shorty vs full-length, etc.).

 

[FreqFlier]

Heading to Key Largo in July and interested in doing the OW certification courses. So far, Silent World is my first choice. any other ops I should consider?

So which OP did you go with? Share your experiences?

 

[ncstage]

So which OP did you go with? Share your experiences?

Ended up going with Amoray. Great experience. Great instruction and crew.

 

[Hoyden]

The entire open water course, including confined water, should be taught neutrally buoyant and trimmed. No starting on the knees and then going neutral.
Ask them to explain how to deal with the difference between the center of mass and center of volume/displacement, and describe how they mitigate this practically (the correct answer is to distribute the correct amount of weight - the amount needed to maintain a safety stop with a nearly empty cylinder with no gas in the BCD and be able to control the ascent to the surface - so that you are effortlessly horizontal. They should describe use of weight pockets, choice of fins, shorty vs full-length, etc.).

While I don't disagree with anything above, please keep in mind that the person answering the dive shop phone may not be an instructor . If you want questions like the above answered, please ask to speak to one of their instructors.

Jackie