Key Largo Shop recommendation for learning to be a Dive master

[Pete O'Neill]

Hello, I'm new to this forum, if I should post this elsewhere on the forum, please advise.

I live in Colorado, but I winter in Key largo.

I am looking for a recommended PADI dive shop in Key Largo to work with me on attaining my Dive master certification. I have over 300 dives under my belt, I believe I meet all the prerequisite (Advance diver, Rescue Diver, first aid and CPR in the past 24 months, medical etc. I'm 58 years old in reasonably good shape, I am concerned about the swimming tests, so I am going to take some stroke improvement lessons at my local YMCA before going down to Florida. I don't plan to be a professional dive master, I'm just looking to improve my skills.

I'm looking for a friendly shop that has the time and interest in working with me.

Thanks in advance,

Pete
BTW, if there is an area on this forum where I can chat with people who have gone through the dive master training program, that would be great...

 

[Billy Northrup]

My first instructor works at Rainbow Reef and before he worked there we actually took our Adv rebreather at Rainbow. I'm biased and have good things to say about them. I haven't used any other Key Largo shop so that's all I know.

Divemaster is good stuff. Enjoy

 

[tursiops]

"I don't plan to be a professional dive master, I'm just looking to improve my skills."
I question using DM training as a way to improve your skills. Very little of the course is actually about becoming a better diver.

 

[kensuf]

Call Horizon Divers and talk to Pam Wooten.

 

[The Chairman]

Great recommendations so far. Horizon and Rainbow Reef are excellent choices.

 

[rhwestfall]

I don't plan to be a professional dive master, I'm just looking to improve my skills.

Sorry to derail this, but then why go DM? Why not something like Fundies, or hire an instructor to improve yourself on a personally crafted plan in a one-on-one scenario? With your end goal, which was similar to mine (just being a better diver), I went NAUI MSD, SDI Solo, SDI Ice, and NAUI AN/DP.

Lots of options..... now, if you are wanting to work to dive, then DM is the likely route.

 

[The Chairman]

I have to agree with Bob... if you're really looking to up your skills, go take a cavern class in North Florida and improve, trim, buoyancy, propulsion, situational awareness and more. However, if you're set on becoming a DM, as I was, then you've got some awesome recommendations already.

How much did becoming a DM improve my skills? Not a bit, but I had the most incompetent and irresponsible instructor the world has ever known. Choose your instructor wisely and Pam Wooten would be a wise, wise choice.

 

[Pete O'Neill]

"I don't plan to be a professional dive master, I'm just looking to improve my skills."
I question using DM training as a way to improve your skills. Very little of the course is actually about becoming a better diver.

Thanks everyone for the advice. Jeff from Horizon also suggested I should consider some of their Tech training. vs DM. However, I often go diving off my own boat in the Keys with my wife, and having some DM skills may help. I also have a number of friends who dive with me and often count on me to lead a dive.

 

[Doby45]

and having some DM skills may help

Not sure what "DM skills" are. You mean like, carrying tanks, filling tanks, cleaning your boat, cleaning the shop, helping hand people their gear when they are getting in the boat, being a set of eyeballs in confined water training? There are no "skills" you learn in your DM class. Now if you want to take DM just so you can say you are a DM, then more power to ya, but do not fool yourself that you are picking up some cool new set of skills.

 

[bmorescuba]

It's a common argument on SB that the DM course does not make you a better diver. I think this is somewhat of a simplification. The content of the DM course does not focus on the diving skills of the DM, but rather on managing dive students and their safety during training and during certified diver excursions. (I'm using the PADI DM course as a reference here). So, if your buoyancy needs work or your air consumption is off, nothing in the course is going to address this, per se. The repetition and demonstration of skills can be helpful in honing technique, but with 300 dives, that's probably not terribly relevant for you. But if your DM training includes an internship and working with classes or trips, that experience can go a long way to improving your overall diving. I've picked up so many skills working as a DM - estimating weight & exposure protection, navigation with a group, fixing equipment issues, situational awareness, and so on. When you take the safety of students and guests seriously, you also are more aware of your own personal safety in general. When anyone on the boat can ask you for assistance with their equipment, then you learn more about gear. There are many examples I could cite.

So while I don't disagree that a tech, fundies, cave, or solo course would probably help your own dive skills more than a DM course, I do think there is real value in the experiences you gain working as a DM that help you to become a better diver. And to work as a DM, you have to take the DM course. And don't worry about the swim tests too much - you don't have to be Michael Phelps to pass.