NAUI Open Water Cert.

[nwhitney2003]

So I'm doing my NAUI open water cert. dives this weekend (June 14th & 15th) and was wondering if anyone has any last minute tips for a succesful trip. I'm diving in the Pugent Sound area in Washington. Also besides the basic gear and ideas for things to bring that will make my life easier?
Thanks and see you on the bottom!

 

[ronbeau]

So I'm doing my NAUI open water cert. dives this weekend (June 14th & 15th) and was wondering if anyone has any last minute tips for a successful trip. I'm diving in the Puget Sound area in Washington. Also besides the basic gear and ideas for things to bring that will make my life easier?
Thanks and see you on the bottom!

1. Get a good night's sleep Friday and Saturday night
2. Get to dive site early and get your gear setup and ready to go
3. Remember you are not going to be doing anything different than you already done in the pool so it is just more of the same without the swimming pool walls getting in your way
4. You would not even be doing the open water checkouts unless your instructor was confident in your skills
5. Relax and enjoy the dives.
6. Let us know what you think after you pass the checkouts this weekend.

 

[Peter Guy]

The good news is that the weather is supposed to be better -- some sun and high 60's-low '70's. Even though it might be warm(er), I'd suggest a watch cap/ski cap for your surface interval.

I'm going to assume you are going to be diving wet, so I'd suggest bringing a large jug to hold hot (not warm) water -- you can pour it over your head when you get out, pour some into your hood for your second dive, ditto with your (wet) gloves.

And don't forget to bring lots of cash. We need your money in the local economy!

 

[peterbj7]

Take a large flask of hot soup.

 

[Blair Mott]

SLOW is FAST

 

[Prostar]

Your car mats are ok but a welcome mat is great to stand on while you pull your wetsuit on.

 

[nwhitney2003]

Thanks for all the tips/ideas. One last question; I'll be shaving/trimming my moustache but should I shave the beard since I'll be wearing a hood?

 

[sphillips3]

Your instructor should give you an idea of what is going to happen but here's a few more tips:

1) Show up rested and sober

2) Show up on time

3) Relax and have fun - you will remember these dives for the rest of your life.

Although you are diving in the big cold water, these dives will not be a hard as the pool dives. You should only be asked to do the basic skills (gear assembly, mask clearing, boyancy control, weight system removal and installation, regulator removal and recovery, air share and a few others). No ditch and don, no extended no-mask swims, none of that stuff. It will be deeper and presumably colder than the pool, but water is water. You've been trained in every skill you wil need to peform - just do them the same way you did them in the pool.

With luck, you will get all the skills out of the way in the first one or two dives. Then, the remainder of your dives will be real scuba dives where you will get to see some sights and have fun.

Your instructor should give you a list of dive gear to bring so I'm not going to belabor that.

Assuming you are diving in a wet suit, bring a couple of big towels and some warm clothes to change in to. As mentioned in the posts above above, a cheap tarp (6 foot by 6 foot or so) will help give you a relativley clean & dry spot to orgainize your gear. If you have one, a big storage bin (think Rubbermaid) makes a handy way to organize and tranport your dive gear.

Bring a cooler with a bunch of bottled water or gatorade and some light snacks or sandwiches. You are going to get thirsty and hungry. Minimize your caffeine intake - the more you pee the colder you get.

Bring a camera so you can have your buddy take a picture of you in all your dive gear - your mom will love it!

BTW - if your mask did not leak in the pool with the moustach then it should not leak on the checkout dives. Shave if you want, but I dive with a beard and moustache all the time. If the mask leaks a little, just clear it. Unless you have a real Santa Claus beard the hood will work fine.

Once again - relax and enjoy. Let us know how it goes.

 

[XPATMANX]

I just did my padi Open water dives on the 7th and 8th it was allot of fun. One thing i found difficult was using the right kick at the right time. Try not to use the normal kick. Use the frog flick kick more than not. I found with the normal kick you would just dig up allot of dirt from the bottom therefore making it impossible to see. so just try to rember that keeping your feet up is good and kicking sideways instead of down is good also

 

[Andy0918]

If you don't want to shave the moustache, you can smear vaseline or silicone grease over it.