iflyndive
Guest
Hey all. I'm new here, just certified, and thought I'd post my experience for the benefit of others who may be interested in certification or dive trips with Aquazone on Oahu. I would have liked to have done a lengthier course, but I work on-call, so I didn't have the flexibility. I had vacation last week, so I decided to get certified while I was down in Waikiki Beach. I was a bit skeptical of the 3-day courses based on some experiences I'd heard, so I figured a little research would be prudent.
I called/emailed several of the dive shops on Oahu that offer courses and I will say that they all were friendly and informative. Upon calling Aquazone, Liz sold me because not only was she helpful, she was enthusiastic and made me feel like they really looked forward to having me down to dive with them. I picked up my books at the LDS so I could read and study on the plane and be ready for the tests on the first day.
I showed up the first day and Devin, the general manager, sat down with me to go over the bookwork. He put me at ease, letting me know there was no rush and he was there to help me through the material at whatever pace was comfortable for me. As I said, I had done my homework so we moved through it at a good speed. He signed off my logbook and told me to be back in the morning to hit the pool.
I showed up at 8am and Darrin was waiting for me, so we headed to the pool. He was enthusiastic despite the early hour and it made for a fun time. We found out I'm freakishly bouyant, but after a few adjustments, we were in the deep end running through the skills. Aquazone shares the pool with Outrigger on the Beach, so we had a large breakfast audience for our pool session, but it was no big deal. After a bit of a break, it was out to the boat at 11am. The boat is in Hawaii Kiai, about a 20 minute drive. Until this point, the instruction had been 1-on-1 which I appreciated. We picked up another student who was doing an OW referrel and 4 Discover Scuba people. The boat is fairly small, but we all fit comfortably. The crew(Jason, Scott, Dave) were all efficient and enthusiastic as well. They made it clear that they were there to help us and ensure safety. We headed out to the dive site and talked about the dives along the way. Jason was our instructor and he talked us through the equipment setup on the boat, entry procedures, etc. We arrived at Koko Craters and Jason told us the first dive would not involve any skills. We'd just go down, get used to the equipment, get oriented, and have fun. The three of us went down before the Discover Scuba folks and headed out along the craters. There were two other dive boats in the area, so there were 10 or so other divers in the water as well. Jason guided us along, making sure to check on us frequently. Before long it was time to head up. Back on the boat, we reviewed the skills and went over the dive plan again. We moved the boat over to Turtle Canyon and headed back down. Jason led us through the skills and then we cruised around a bit more. Visibilty was good that day, though a heavy South swell was on its way, so we got some experience with that. We saw many turtles and fish, espcially around the edge of the craters.
I showed up in the morning of Day 3 and Devin was waiting, so we hit the pool and continued with the skills exercises. Back the boat at 11, this time it was only myself and the OW referrel student. We headed back out to Koko Craters with Jason and Scott. This time it was Scott who was going to take us down. They advised us that conditions had deteriorated since the day before as they had seen on the early morning boat trip. Jason was straighforward; he told us it would be a bit ugly, but he felt that we were capable, that it would be good experience to get while having supervision, and that they wouldn't do anything unsafe. Visibility was good where we were moored and I felt OK about it, so down we went. Along the top of the craters, visibility was still decent, about 10-20ft. Once we dropped into the crater though, the sand was being stirred and blown by the swell, so it dropped drastically, at some points only a couple of feet. We went up a bit above the sand layer and found a flat spot where we could kneel and brace ourselves while doing the skills. Because of the visibility, the rest of the dive turned into an impromptu lesson on underwater navigation using reference points and headings. We just followed Scott underwater, but when we got back up top, he explained what he was doing and it was quite informative. We decided to stay at Koko Craters for the final dive since the swell made it difficult to find the mooring lines. After the final skills were done, we cruised in a wide circle around the mooring line to keep it in site. I found the swell to be quite fun actually, though it made photography very difficult. Once I just went with it, I found I was reacting to it instinctively rather than fighting it. Back on top, the guys congratulated us on finishing up and we headed back to the dock.
In summary, I would definitely dive with Aquazone again and recommend them to others. Everyone was friendly, relaxed, and made me feel like they were happy to be teaching me. I never felt rushed and the guys were clear that safety was the first priority. They were eco-conscious, which I appreciated. Whenever I walked into the shop, Liz would greet me with "Hey! Andrew!" They acted like professionals while keeping an atmosphere of friendly relaxation which is exactly what I was looking for. It's only my first experience, but they made it a good one.
Andrew
I called/emailed several of the dive shops on Oahu that offer courses and I will say that they all were friendly and informative. Upon calling Aquazone, Liz sold me because not only was she helpful, she was enthusiastic and made me feel like they really looked forward to having me down to dive with them. I picked up my books at the LDS so I could read and study on the plane and be ready for the tests on the first day.
I showed up the first day and Devin, the general manager, sat down with me to go over the bookwork. He put me at ease, letting me know there was no rush and he was there to help me through the material at whatever pace was comfortable for me. As I said, I had done my homework so we moved through it at a good speed. He signed off my logbook and told me to be back in the morning to hit the pool.
I showed up at 8am and Darrin was waiting for me, so we headed to the pool. He was enthusiastic despite the early hour and it made for a fun time. We found out I'm freakishly bouyant, but after a few adjustments, we were in the deep end running through the skills. Aquazone shares the pool with Outrigger on the Beach, so we had a large breakfast audience for our pool session, but it was no big deal. After a bit of a break, it was out to the boat at 11am. The boat is in Hawaii Kiai, about a 20 minute drive. Until this point, the instruction had been 1-on-1 which I appreciated. We picked up another student who was doing an OW referrel and 4 Discover Scuba people. The boat is fairly small, but we all fit comfortably. The crew(Jason, Scott, Dave) were all efficient and enthusiastic as well. They made it clear that they were there to help us and ensure safety. We headed out to the dive site and talked about the dives along the way. Jason was our instructor and he talked us through the equipment setup on the boat, entry procedures, etc. We arrived at Koko Craters and Jason told us the first dive would not involve any skills. We'd just go down, get used to the equipment, get oriented, and have fun. The three of us went down before the Discover Scuba folks and headed out along the craters. There were two other dive boats in the area, so there were 10 or so other divers in the water as well. Jason guided us along, making sure to check on us frequently. Before long it was time to head up. Back on the boat, we reviewed the skills and went over the dive plan again. We moved the boat over to Turtle Canyon and headed back down. Jason led us through the skills and then we cruised around a bit more. Visibilty was good that day, though a heavy South swell was on its way, so we got some experience with that. We saw many turtles and fish, espcially around the edge of the craters.
I showed up in the morning of Day 3 and Devin was waiting, so we hit the pool and continued with the skills exercises. Back the boat at 11, this time it was only myself and the OW referrel student. We headed back out to Koko Craters with Jason and Scott. This time it was Scott who was going to take us down. They advised us that conditions had deteriorated since the day before as they had seen on the early morning boat trip. Jason was straighforward; he told us it would be a bit ugly, but he felt that we were capable, that it would be good experience to get while having supervision, and that they wouldn't do anything unsafe. Visibility was good where we were moored and I felt OK about it, so down we went. Along the top of the craters, visibility was still decent, about 10-20ft. Once we dropped into the crater though, the sand was being stirred and blown by the swell, so it dropped drastically, at some points only a couple of feet. We went up a bit above the sand layer and found a flat spot where we could kneel and brace ourselves while doing the skills. Because of the visibility, the rest of the dive turned into an impromptu lesson on underwater navigation using reference points and headings. We just followed Scott underwater, but when we got back up top, he explained what he was doing and it was quite informative. We decided to stay at Koko Craters for the final dive since the swell made it difficult to find the mooring lines. After the final skills were done, we cruised in a wide circle around the mooring line to keep it in site. I found the swell to be quite fun actually, though it made photography very difficult. Once I just went with it, I found I was reacting to it instinctively rather than fighting it. Back on top, the guys congratulated us on finishing up and we headed back to the dock.
In summary, I would definitely dive with Aquazone again and recommend them to others. Everyone was friendly, relaxed, and made me feel like they were happy to be teaching me. I never felt rushed and the guys were clear that safety was the first priority. They were eco-conscious, which I appreciated. Whenever I walked into the shop, Liz would greet me with "Hey! Andrew!" They acted like professionals while keeping an atmosphere of friendly relaxation which is exactly what I was looking for. It's only my first experience, but they made it a good one.
Andrew
