Looking for Advanced Open Water Instruction Recommendations- Los Angeles Area

[mimsai]

Hello,

I got my SDI basic Open Water Certification last month through a local dive shop. I wasn't entirely satisfied with the class, and want to get some recommendations on where to take the Advanced Open Water class. I'm less concerned about which agency I'm certified through, and more concerned about finding the right instructor.

I'm looking for the 'Mercedes Benz' of scuba classes. I don't mind paying more, but I want a high performance class. Instructors who tailor their classes to their students, and who are extremely detail oriented.

I'd love to have folks give me recommendations, and be sure to tell me why you recommend that shop or that instructor.

Thanks!

 

[Empty V]

After going though what you're going through last October looking for a solid AOW instructor I went with Hollywood Divers. They're probably the only shop I trust in LA when it comes to training. I've met lots of instructors and lots of shop owners in the area and I can honestly say, Hollywood Divers is the way to go.

Good luck with your decision! Remember it should really be called intermediate open water. I don't think you're really going to find too many shops that offer a benz type of AOW because IMO it's kind of a joke, at least with PADI. With Hollywood Divers you have competent instructors who can answer any questions you have and help dial you in as a diver. If you don't mind spending the extra money your best bet will be to go with a one on one private instruction type of deal opposed to the class session.

Billy

 

[liuk3]

Empty V has got a good handle on a great dive shop in the LA area. Hollywoodivers is a great shop from what I have seen and experienced.

If you are looking for more of a private or independent (i.e. independent of a dive shop) instructor setting, I would also recommend my OW instructor Tom Wetzel. He operates his OW classes out of the Glendale YMCA. His contact information is scubatomwetzel@earthlink.net.

The price of his courses are competitive or cheaper than others, yet he will give you more of his own time. The only requirement is that you have to be patient and willing to commit the time since his program does typically take longer. You also have to find mutually agreeable scheduling appointments. Tom doesn't believe in the quick turnaround time of agencies in churning you through a class. He certifies for LA County, YMCA, NAUI, and PADI.

Finally, an additional benefit is that Tom lets his previous students come to his future OW pool sessions if you want to refresh skills or kick laps. For instance, my wife and I were his previous OW students. My wife hasn't been diving for months, and I just bought her new dive gear last weekend. So, we are going to go to his OW pool session to refresh her scuba skills and test out her new dive gear before we head into the ocean diving. I think that it would be worth trying to contact Tom and ask him about his AOW program if he is offering one. Good luck!

 

[CompuDude]

To my knowledge, Tom only teaches the YMCA classes, and does not do AOW, only OW. I could be mistaken, however, and will ask him next time I see him.

Mimsai: If you truly want the Mercedes Benz of AOW classes, I suggest you (a) ask me and (b) send a PM to NWGratefulDiver here on ScubaBoard. His AOW class is nothing short of amazing, having read through some of his written materials, and he gets rave reviews for his classes. The downside is you'd have to fly up to Seattle to get the class... but who knows, perhaps it's both possible and worth it.

Oh, and welcome to ScubaBoard!

 

[Thalassamania]

If you live in LA and you don't do the L.A. County Advanced Diver Program you are missing out on what is one of the finest diving instruction programs in the world. It will change your life. Ask Liuk3 who just finished the course.

 

[CompuDude]

If you live in LA and you don't do the L.A. County Advanced Diver Program you are missing out on what is one of the finest diving instruction programs in the world. It will change your life. Ask Liuk3 who just finished the course.

I completely agree, but I think mimsai is looking for something sooner than next summer.

Mimsai, I hope to take it next summer, however, if you want to join me.

LA County ADP

 

[ScubaSeanMaui]

Hello,

I got my SDI basic Open Water Certification last month through a local dive shop. I wasn't entirely satisfied with the class, and want to get some recommendations on where to take the Advanced Open Water class. I'm less concerned about which agency I'm certified through, and more concerned about finding the right instructor.

I'm looking for the 'Mercedes Benz' of scuba classes. I don't mind paying more, but I want a high performance class. Instructors who tailor their classes to their students, and who are extremely detail oriented.

I'd love to have folks give me recommendations, and be sure to tell me why you recommend that shop or that instructor.

Thanks!

If you feel unsafe in the water then instruction is probably a good thing for you. If you feel like you can handle yourself for some shallow dives then I would suggest you find some buddies who would take you out diving and give you some pointers and some confidence. I took my AOW soon after my OW and I had a bad experience down at 100 feet on the Yukon when my instructor left me on the wreck. It's definitely a good idea to find a good instructor, but you may learn more in a class if you had some more experience. Even hiring a DM to dive with you from a boat or doing some escorted dives from shore could help you nail the fundamental skills you need to dive. After that bad experience I bailed on the AOW and found some buddies down in San Diego and was diving at an AOW level in no time. I personally think you should have 50-100 dives before doing AOW. I also wouldn't take any instruction from a diver with below 1000 dives. I'm not against instruction, but you may be in a situation you can't handle doing AOW. Maybe auditing an OW class's pool sessions or some "tune-up" dives would be helpful. Also I think NAUI is probably the best Agency to get certified with but I did PADI which I regret

Dive safely!

Sean

p.s. I'm not from LA so the LADP isn't an option for me but maybe it's good; just talking about national scuba agencies.

 

[liuk3]

To my knowledge, Tom only teaches the YMCA classes, and does not do AOW, only OW. I could be mistaken, however, and will ask him next time I see him.

Please do ask him to verify because Tom did offer me an Advanced Dive Class after I completed his OW course.

I do agree that if you live in the Los Angeles area, that the LA County ADP program really can't be beat, especially considering the amount of time and resources available to you through the program for the price. Hands down, definitely the best value. Unfortunately, it is only offered once a year during the summer and requires a significant time commitment. Over 100 hours of training over 14 weeks.

The other thing I would do is just meet people and dive. We are really lucky here in Los Angeles to have such an active year-round dive community. There are so many dive clubs, groups, scheduling organizations, dive shops, etc. where you can hook up and meet people to dive with. I guarantee that you can easily find groups of people who would welcome a new diver. Only once have I run into someone who didn't want to dive with me because I was an unknown noob. Trust me that I doubt I'll ever dive with that person. Just ignore those types of people and hook up with those people who can have a positive impact on you. If you need help looking for some of these groups, shoot me a PM.

For what it's worth, I was only OW certified about 5 months ago, so I am not far removed from where you are today. I'm also just trying to dive and get better myself. Have fun doing it!

 

[scubatomwetzel]

I am certified under the YMCA, NAUI, PADI and Los Angeles County

 

[robertarak]

I just finished my AOW through Hollwood Divers (now doing Rescue with them). The LA County ADP program was my first choice, but there was just no way for me to meet the time commitment. I did a lot of research into instructors and shops in Los Angeles before doing my BOW, and chose Hollywood Divers. I was very happy with that training. After doing my AOW with Hollywood, I was very impressed with the instructors (Jeanie and Nikki). All the instructors at Hollywood are top notch and very detail orientated.

With all that said, I will say that the AOW is really not "training". It is more like experience.
The book gives most of the training information and the pre dive briefings are fairly extensive. However, the time spent in the water is really more to allow students to experience deep dives, night dives, etc. while under supervision and to certify that the student demonstrated skills and safe diving practices during those dives.

For what it's worth, I took AOW as a stepping stone to Rescue (that I am doing with Hollywood Divers). The Rescue class has real hands on training in pool and open water, and gives you the basic skills that I think should be part of AOW.