New divers in the desert

[ScottBonis]

Hi Brian,

Glad to hear from you.

For six months each year, I live in Congress, AZ, about a half hour from Lake Pleasant, but I have never been diving there. For the other six months I have a condo 60 miles south of Cancun in the Yucatan.

Thru which shop are you planning to get trained?

Good luck with your future scuba adventures.

 

[newdiverAZ]

ScottBonis once bubbled...
Hi Brian,

Glad to hear from you.

For six months each year, I live in Congress, AZ, about a half hour from Lake Pleasant, but I have never been diving there. For the other six months I have a condo 60 miles south of Cancun in the Yucatan.

Thru which shop are you planning to get trained?

Good luck with your future scuba adventures.

Thru El Mar in Mesa Scott

 

[newdiverAZ]

Thanx for the info Doug. Maybe once we get certified my wife and I can get together with you and your wife for a dive trip. Have you heard anything good or bad about El Mar dive shop in Mesa??? We met the vice president and a few of the people and they all seemed really great.


Brian

 

[nyscubanerd]

Welcome to the boards from Manhattan. Good luck on your OW. eek:

Kevin

 

[fireguy]

Nice to see more of us here! I live in East Timor (an island above Australia) but I'm from AZ. Will be back in late Sept to buy gear - so I'm anxious to hear about dive shops in the Tempe / Mesa / Chandler area. Am a newbie too - but have started diving each weekend. Will see you on the boards, and look forward to any info you can give.

Scott - Suai Pirate / Dili Diver / FireGuy

 

[dgangi]

newdiverAZ once bubbled...
Have you heard anything good or bad about El Mar dive shop in Mesa??? We met the vice president and a few of the people and they all seemed really great.

I actually visited that shop the first time last week. I bought a pair of Aeris fins on sale -- good price.

I don't personally know much about El Mar. The owner of the dive shop I go to, Ultimate Dive & Travel in N Scottsdale, doesn't have a lot of nice things to say about El Mar. But he also doesn't seem to like most other dive shops. Somebody told me that he used to be at El Mar and left because of some differences, so there may be an additional bias he has against El Mar.

The dive shop community is very close...and some would say inbred. Everybody knows everybody else...and everybody's ego is above everyone else's. So every dive shop thinks they are the best. I don't know if that's how it is in other cities, but in Phoenix that seems to be pervasive.

So if you have done some homework on El Mar and feel comfortable with them, then stay with them. That's how we got hooked up with Ultimate Dive and Travel -- knew some people that worked there. How you feel about the personnel who will be certifying you is tantamount to a pleasant experience.

And yes...once you get your certification, let's go diving together!

Thx...Doug