tenacious
Contributor
- Messages
- 78
- Reaction score
- 37
- Location
- 7 miles from the gulf stream
- # of dives
- I just don't log dives
well, I've done it! I am a certified diver! I did a ton of research and asked all of the normal newbie questions, and got some really good advice from this board.
I am in the process of moving to Port St. Lucie Florida, and was there last week where I got my certification and a few dives in. here is a breakdown of what I did learn in the process:
I purchased almost all of my gear prior to ever diving. I bought all quality gear minus a wetsuit and tank (still looking) . I went with a backplate and wing setup that worked out great for me. I went to PSL last week with the intentions of getting my family moved in and settled and checking out some prospective dive shops.
I checked out one shop pretty close to home, but I didn't feel we were on the same page at all. This shop was recommended to me on another forum. The shop owner was very nice, but...... he wasn't willing to train me with my own gear (brand new atomic regs, scubapro bp&w, oeanic computer, etc, nice stuff). they both kind of hinted around the fact that they would have talked me out of every purchase I made if I contacted them before buying anything. The shop owner and his instructor were both pretty overweight and up there in age. granted, they may have been very knowledgeable and nice, but the whole thing just didn't feel right to me so I moved on. I went to another dive shop and was very impressed.
I spoke with this shop prior to coming to Florida for 30-40 mins and they were very patient with all of my rookie questions and concerns over our long conversation. When I got to the shop, it was a totally different experience than the first shop. The staff at the shop were young and in shape and pretty enthusiastic about the gear I purchased. They were doing a "discover scuba" dive in a few days and encouraged me to check it out. They went over my gear and corrected 2 issues in how I assembled it (as per the instructions). I followed the instructions to a "t" which led me to mount the wing backwards on my backplate and I had the wing nuts on my single tank adapter facing my back. they helped me correct them and get my tank straps adjusted to fit snugly on a tank and installed my ss1 with a quick disconnect. I decided to purchase my open water stuff from them while I was there. The owner of the shop (also my instructor) Had the same regulator and safe second/ inflator as me, so that worked out very well. They are also an atomic dealer and authorized service provider, double win.
I really had no intention of getting certified while I was in Florida (I was only there for a week to get my family moved in then head back to nj to finish some work obligations). Me being me though, I went home and did the online portion immediately. That sent an e-mail notification to them telling them that I completed it. I got a phone call from them Immediately and they said since I completed it, I should attend a pool dive that they had scheduled for the next day. That dive didn't happen because of lightning shutting down the pool they train in... the pool was having a swim meet the following day so they invited me into their personal pool at there home the following day to get a pool dive under my belt. I went to their home and completed the pool dive and training, then headed to their shop to get a new tank and head for the beach for some real diving!
The beach dive was awesome! While it was very training based, I still got to enjoy seeing tons of fish. The training was very professional, I felt comfortable the whole time. The open regulator drill seemed a little intimidating at first, but I was fine with it once I tried it. Being underwater was a blast, I saw a large snook, barracuda, tons of spades and triggers, and some fish that I'd never seen before. We wrapped up our training there and headed back to their shop. They invited me to attend another pool session the following day for some more training which I attended. This was just covering some more stuff like different entries and exits and some more underwater stuff. After that dive we went back to their shop and exchanged tanks, this time I got a hp steel tank (which is what I intend on diving with). The instructor said I am very relaxed and under control underwater and she felt I could manage the few extra pounds on my back. We headed to the beach again for 1 last drill and navigation, then we joined the discover scuba crowd after their orientation for some exploring. This time I was on the bottom for just shy of an hour. I had my buoyancy just about as perfect as I could expect for so few dives (I could hover motionless, swim and change directios without using my arms, etc). We dove around pilings, under a bridge, around some sunken boats and saw a ton of fish again, it was great.
When we got out of the water and went back to the shop, my instructor told me that in 30+ years of diving, she has only seen 1 other person with no underwater experience show so much "calm, confident, competence underwater". She invited me to return to the shop when I return to Florida and begin the training to become her next divemaster. She explained what was involved in that and what the job would entail, then handed me my advanced open water book! I am super excited about getting involved in that. They have 2 local boats that each make 3 trips a day, plus a place in the keys, plus they travel the Caribbean and Bonaire fairly regularly.
So now I am studying the advanced open water stuff and cant wait to get back down there.
here is some things that may help someone that is brand new to scuba:
the first couple of breaths underwater were kind of unnatural. that unnatural feeling went away very quickly, so if you feel weird taking your first few breaths, don't be discouraged. I think for me it was just a mental thing since I had never taken a breath underwater. It only felt funny on the first couple of breaths on my first pool dive and never returned.
buy the anti-fog stuff at the dive shop. the first beach dive my mask was fogging up pretty regularly, on the second dive (after the anti-fog) I didn't have any problems. It is just one less thing to worry about and will make your dives more enjoyable.
equalize your ears more than you think you need to. you are way better off doing it a couple extra times on your descend than to feel the pain of pressure building.
control your breathing. I could change depths by simply taking deeper or shallower breaths after some trial and error. I wouldn't have to add or remove air in my bcd.
get yourself familiar with your gear prior to entering the water. I probably looked like an idiot putting my stuff together and putting it on a few miles from the water, but it gave me a better understanding of where things were than if I had just jumped in the water and winged it.
enjoy yourself! it was a ton of fun and I look forward to logging a bunch of dives, hopefully in some exotic locations.
I am in the process of moving to Port St. Lucie Florida, and was there last week where I got my certification and a few dives in. here is a breakdown of what I did learn in the process:
I purchased almost all of my gear prior to ever diving. I bought all quality gear minus a wetsuit and tank (still looking) . I went with a backplate and wing setup that worked out great for me. I went to PSL last week with the intentions of getting my family moved in and settled and checking out some prospective dive shops.
I checked out one shop pretty close to home, but I didn't feel we were on the same page at all. This shop was recommended to me on another forum. The shop owner was very nice, but...... he wasn't willing to train me with my own gear (brand new atomic regs, scubapro bp&w, oeanic computer, etc, nice stuff). they both kind of hinted around the fact that they would have talked me out of every purchase I made if I contacted them before buying anything. The shop owner and his instructor were both pretty overweight and up there in age. granted, they may have been very knowledgeable and nice, but the whole thing just didn't feel right to me so I moved on. I went to another dive shop and was very impressed.
I spoke with this shop prior to coming to Florida for 30-40 mins and they were very patient with all of my rookie questions and concerns over our long conversation. When I got to the shop, it was a totally different experience than the first shop. The staff at the shop were young and in shape and pretty enthusiastic about the gear I purchased. They were doing a "discover scuba" dive in a few days and encouraged me to check it out. They went over my gear and corrected 2 issues in how I assembled it (as per the instructions). I followed the instructions to a "t" which led me to mount the wing backwards on my backplate and I had the wing nuts on my single tank adapter facing my back. they helped me correct them and get my tank straps adjusted to fit snugly on a tank and installed my ss1 with a quick disconnect. I decided to purchase my open water stuff from them while I was there. The owner of the shop (also my instructor) Had the same regulator and safe second/ inflator as me, so that worked out very well. They are also an atomic dealer and authorized service provider, double win.
I really had no intention of getting certified while I was in Florida (I was only there for a week to get my family moved in then head back to nj to finish some work obligations). Me being me though, I went home and did the online portion immediately. That sent an e-mail notification to them telling them that I completed it. I got a phone call from them Immediately and they said since I completed it, I should attend a pool dive that they had scheduled for the next day. That dive didn't happen because of lightning shutting down the pool they train in... the pool was having a swim meet the following day so they invited me into their personal pool at there home the following day to get a pool dive under my belt. I went to their home and completed the pool dive and training, then headed to their shop to get a new tank and head for the beach for some real diving!
The beach dive was awesome! While it was very training based, I still got to enjoy seeing tons of fish. The training was very professional, I felt comfortable the whole time. The open regulator drill seemed a little intimidating at first, but I was fine with it once I tried it. Being underwater was a blast, I saw a large snook, barracuda, tons of spades and triggers, and some fish that I'd never seen before. We wrapped up our training there and headed back to their shop. They invited me to attend another pool session the following day for some more training which I attended. This was just covering some more stuff like different entries and exits and some more underwater stuff. After that dive we went back to their shop and exchanged tanks, this time I got a hp steel tank (which is what I intend on diving with). The instructor said I am very relaxed and under control underwater and she felt I could manage the few extra pounds on my back. We headed to the beach again for 1 last drill and navigation, then we joined the discover scuba crowd after their orientation for some exploring. This time I was on the bottom for just shy of an hour. I had my buoyancy just about as perfect as I could expect for so few dives (I could hover motionless, swim and change directios without using my arms, etc). We dove around pilings, under a bridge, around some sunken boats and saw a ton of fish again, it was great.
When we got out of the water and went back to the shop, my instructor told me that in 30+ years of diving, she has only seen 1 other person with no underwater experience show so much "calm, confident, competence underwater". She invited me to return to the shop when I return to Florida and begin the training to become her next divemaster. She explained what was involved in that and what the job would entail, then handed me my advanced open water book! I am super excited about getting involved in that. They have 2 local boats that each make 3 trips a day, plus a place in the keys, plus they travel the Caribbean and Bonaire fairly regularly.
So now I am studying the advanced open water stuff and cant wait to get back down there.
here is some things that may help someone that is brand new to scuba:
the first couple of breaths underwater were kind of unnatural. that unnatural feeling went away very quickly, so if you feel weird taking your first few breaths, don't be discouraged. I think for me it was just a mental thing since I had never taken a breath underwater. It only felt funny on the first couple of breaths on my first pool dive and never returned.
buy the anti-fog stuff at the dive shop. the first beach dive my mask was fogging up pretty regularly, on the second dive (after the anti-fog) I didn't have any problems. It is just one less thing to worry about and will make your dives more enjoyable.
equalize your ears more than you think you need to. you are way better off doing it a couple extra times on your descend than to feel the pain of pressure building.
control your breathing. I could change depths by simply taking deeper or shallower breaths after some trial and error. I wouldn't have to add or remove air in my bcd.
get yourself familiar with your gear prior to entering the water. I probably looked like an idiot putting my stuff together and putting it on a few miles from the water, but it gave me a better understanding of where things were than if I had just jumped in the water and winged it.
enjoy yourself! it was a ton of fun and I look forward to logging a bunch of dives, hopefully in some exotic locations.
