Okay, so tell me, what's the deal with Bamboo Reef in SF?

[angelfire13]

=)

I'm in the proccess of looking for an instructor for my OW certification, and every single person from this board who has given me a recommendation has told me to go to Bamboo Reef -- though I've only gotten one specific instructor's name. For any of you who are familiar with them, what makes Bamboo Reef "the best" in the area, in your opinion? Are they just the biggest, or are they really just that good? (I'm a skeptic, if you can't tell!)

I'd also be happy to take any other recommendations on specific instructors, if anyone would like to share. Feel free to PM me if you'd rather not post here.

Thanks much.

 

[dsafanda]

I did my OW certification with the Marin Dive Center in San Rafael. They're now owned by the Monterey Bay Dive Center. I was very happy with my instruction but I couldn't give you the name of an instructor. You're doing much more research than I ever did.

 

[angelfire13]

Thanks for the rec. I have good reason to do much research, as I had a very bad experience with a resort course in the past. It has taken me 10 years to get over my fear of diving and give it another try.

I just want to make sure that the dive shop and instructor are reputable so as not to repeat mistakes! I also want to chat with the instructor a bit beforehand so I can alert him to my situation.

Thanks again, I'll look into your recommendation.

I did my OW certification with the Marin Dive Center in San Rafael. They're now owned by the Monterey Bay Dive Center. I was very happy with my instruction but I couldn't give you the name of an instructor. You're doing much more research than I ever did.

 

[dsafanda]

Sounds like a good plan. Best of luck. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

btw. My brother just got back from a dive trip to Honduras. Sounds great.

 

[koi]

Here's another option since you're in the SF Bay Area. I was certified by Tom Yang at the California Dive Center. Although I haven't been terribly happy about my experience with CDC itself, Tom Yang is at the opposite end of the spectrum. He is an absolute top notch instructor and has had many happy students graduate from his class. PM me for more info if you'd like. Good luck!

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

You're in San Francisco, and I think Bamboo Reef is the only game in town. Sal Zametti,
the owner, has probably been in the dive shop business longer than anybody else in the
bay area, but I spent a week on a liveaboard dive boat that he had a group on, and he
spent the whole week giving me the hard sell about replacing all of my gear in his shop.
I got really tired of the hard sell.

I don't think there are any really bad dive shops -- they just don't survive long when
the economy turns down. I could recommend a number of instructors, but they are in
San Jose, and GUD (Geographically UnDesireable) for you.

 

[dsafanda]

I just thought of one other place. There's a little dive shop in Sausalito. I just bought a new wet suit from them. I don't know anything about their certification classes but they seemed like super nice people. If you run out of other ideas it might be worth looking in to.

 

[angelfire13]

You're in San Francisco, and I think Bamboo Reef is the only game in town. Sal Zametti, the owner, has probably been in the dive shop business longer than anybody else in the bay area, but I spent a week on a liveaboard dive boat that he had a group on, and he spent the whole week giving me the hard sell about replacing all of my gear in his shop. I got really tired of the hard sell.

Blech. I hate the "hard sell", it's a real turnoff for me. One of the reasons that I've been somewhat skeptical about Bamboo Reef is that their website gave me the feeling that they are big on the high-sales pressure. What you've said confirms my suspicions. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

 

[MoonWrasse]

You're in San Francisco, and I think Bamboo Reef is the only game in town. Sal Zametti,
the owner, has probably been in the dive shop business longer than anybody else in the
bay area, but I spent a week on a liveaboard dive boat that he had a group on, and he
spent the whole week giving me the hard sell about replacing all of my gear in his shop.
I got really tired of the hard sell.

I don't think there are any really bad dive shops -- they just don't survive long when
the economy turns down. I could recommend a number of instructors, but they are in
San Jose, and GUD (Geographically UnDesireable) for you.

Sums up why I won't go back there. He wanted to know where I bought all my gear, which is a silly and stupid question IMHO.

If you do go in there, notice the ancient BCDs he has up on the wall. Somehow I had the feeling they weren't bought at a yard sale.

 

[WileEDiver]

Here's another option since you're in the SF Bay Area. I was certified by Tom Yang at the California Dive Center. Although I haven't been terribly happy about my experience with CDC itself, Tom Yang is at the opposite end of the spectrum. He is an absolute top notch instructor and has had many happy students graduate from his class. PM me for more info if you'd like. Good luck!

Let me echo Koi's comments: Tom Yang is an excellent instructor! He's also a great guy.