Question on Certs.Hi everyone.

[frogs97]

Hi everyone! My name is Brian, and I've been lurking for a little while on the board, and thought I would throw a question out there. I'm not yet certified. It was something my wife and I were planning on doing this spring, but, in Oct., we found out about a little surprise that arrived in June. We still plan on getting certified, but we are going to have to wait and see what having a new son will do to the finances in the immediate future. But it was rather frustrating on our cruise in March, that went to Key West, Belize, and Cozumel. No telling WHEN I will be able to make it back to any of those places!!

My question is: Has anyone run into problems when diving with a particular C-card? I know that the quality of training is more dependant on the instructor, and how good of a student you intend to be. But I've heard of stories where people have shown up with an SSI card, and been given a hard time (I believe this was in the Bahamas). I live in SW Fort Worth, so I have the options of an SSI, PADI or NAUI cert, all within 30 mins drivetime.

Thanks for the time. I certainly enjoy reading about all the adventures, and look forward to participating!

 

[Walter]

I don't know my way around Fort Worth, but I believe you also have a YMCA option.

There is one resort in Roatan refusing to accept SSI cards right now. They are angry with SSI and punishing the innocent. Other than that, I'm not aware of any cards from any agency not being accepted.

It's wise to interview potential instructors in your area and go with the one who teaches the most comprehensive course.

 

[Charlie99]

frogs97 once bubbled...
My question is: Has anyone run into problems when diving with a particular C-card?

I know that the quality of training is more dependant on the instructor, and how good of a student you intend to be.

I live in SW Fort Worth, so I have the options of an SSI, PADI or NAUI cert, all within 30 mins drivetime.

The agency of the card is pretty much irrelevant. On rare occasions there are idiotic, incompetent businesses such as the Oak Bay Resort in Roatan (a currently active thread on Scubaboard) that will not take a particular agencies cert card, but this is really rare. Others have posted that they have not had any trouble using cert cards of smaller agencies such as ACUC.

There are some areas, most notably the Florida Keys, where operators will want to see an AOW card before taking you out to the 100' deep wrecks. They just want the higher cert level, and don't care which agency.

As you have noted, the quality of training is mostly dependent upon the instructor and the effort put forth by the student. Pick the best instructor independent of agency.

 

[frogs97]

I had actually seen that before. In fact, it looks like that instructor would be the closest (Benbrook has it's own prefix). We have a YMCA right around the corner, but I just didn't know how that worked. Our Y doesn't have any information about any classes, so I didn't know if he did classes as he was contacted, of if he had any kind of schedule. I plan on shooting him an email when I get closer the being able to do it to find out how it works.

Thanks for the input.

 

[TexasMike]

As the others have already said, as long as the actual agency is properly accredited (as are all the ones that have been mentioned) it's not so much as which agency, but how good the instructor is.

It's the instructor who is not only going to teach you how to dive, but is going to teach you how to dive safely. Fortunately, Dallas/Ft. Worth is abundant with excellent instructors. So you should be able to find the one that is right for you.

Feel free to keep asking questions about everything associated with diving since that is what we are here for!!!

 

[frogs97]

TexasMike once bubbled...
As the others have already said, as long as the actual agency is properly accredited (as are all the ones that have been mentioned) it's not so much as which agency, but how good the instructor is.

It's the instructor who is not only going to teach you how to dive, but is going to teach you how to dive safely. Fortunately, Dallas/Ft. Worth is abundant with excellent instructors. So you should be able to find the one that is right for you.

Feel free to keep asking questions about everything associated with diving since that is what we are here for!!!

Thanks! I'm notorious for researching things into the ground, so I see no reason that scuba would be any different. I'm glad there are resources like this out there. It makes being a geek about these things that much easier!

Looking forward to joining the underwater ranks and meeting everyone!