steelemagnolia6
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- I'm a Fish!
I am from a family of divers, 2 PADI, 3 SSI... I had a crappy instructor PADI, who biggest concern was cranking out divers who had to take more classes to fix their diving problems (can we say peak performance buoyancy) and other classes that he and the dive shop peddled. I spent a great deal of time having to learn to dive after being certified, and a great deal of time one-on-one with a diver that mentored me until I felt that I was a safe and comfortable diver..
It's not the agency, it's the quality of the instructor... My other half had a great PADI instructor... My brothers and my step daughter had great SSI instructors... I know a terrific couple of PDIC instructors, one of them is simply the best and a wonderful NAUI guy... and one great guy named Walter in FLA who should have his own agency, I hear from relible sources that think that he's the best that ever dove in a ocean...
They all teach pretty much the same basic stuff, but the difference is that some of these instructors care about the divers that they certifiy being safe divers and comfortable in the water....Diver turn over is getting to be a big issue, some divers never dive again after their open water because they are not comfortable in the water...
Ask lots of questions, see if you can talk to some of his other customers.... If he's a great instructor he'll be glad to get you in contact with other divers that he has trained... Ask around at dive shops, talk to more than one.... Get all your fees in writing, and find out exactly what is covered in the cost. You'd be surprised how many people have signed, and paid up for a course just to find out that the check out dives are an extra fee...As always Buyer Beware....
It's not the agency, it's the quality of the instructor... My other half had a great PADI instructor... My brothers and my step daughter had great SSI instructors... I know a terrific couple of PDIC instructors, one of them is simply the best and a wonderful NAUI guy... and one great guy named Walter in FLA who should have his own agency, I hear from relible sources that think that he's the best that ever dove in a ocean...
They all teach pretty much the same basic stuff, but the difference is that some of these instructors care about the divers that they certifiy being safe divers and comfortable in the water....Diver turn over is getting to be a big issue, some divers never dive again after their open water because they are not comfortable in the water...
Ask lots of questions, see if you can talk to some of his other customers.... If he's a great instructor he'll be glad to get you in contact with other divers that he has trained... Ask around at dive shops, talk to more than one.... Get all your fees in writing, and find out exactly what is covered in the cost. You'd be surprised how many people have signed, and paid up for a course just to find out that the check out dives are an extra fee...As always Buyer Beware....