SF Dive Shops for a newbie and cert Questions

[SFScuba]

Hi all,

Great resource here from a newbie perspective.

My wife and I are looking into getting certified for diving prior to our trip to Hawaii this spring. We are completely new to diving. We've snorkeled a number of times.

Just a few questions:

From what I can tell (between talking to friends and reading some of the discussions) it looks like it does not matter who you get certified through (SSI, NAUI, PADI) and even if you start with one, you can still get advanced certifications through another org. Is this correct?

Does anyone have any recommendations on San Francisco area dive shops for classes? There is one near us called Bamboo Reef which has been around a long time, they have their own pool, and they offer the SSI method of courses. The other that we've heard of is a little further away, called Wallins which also offers SSI.

Finally, doing an OW cert in the Bay area means doing the dives off the Monterey coast... I hear it's freezing... does this add any difficulty verses doing a open water certification in a warmer location?

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[scubasean]

Hi all,

Great resource here from a newbie perspective.

My wife and I are looking into getting certified for diving prior to our trip to Hawaii this spring. We are completely new to diving. We've snorkeled a number of times.

Just a few questions:

From what I can tell (between talking to friends and reading some of the discussions) it looks like it does not matter who you get certified through (SSI, NAUI, PADI) and even if you start with one, you can still get advanced certifications through another org. Is this correct?

Does anyone have any recommendations on San Francisco area dive shops for classes? There is one near us called Bamboo Reef which has been around a long time, they have their own pool, and they offer the SSI method of courses. The other that we've heard of is a little further away, called Wallins which also offers SSI.

Finally, doing an OW cert in the Bay area means doing the dives off the Monterey coast... I hear it's freezing... does this add any difficulty verses doing a open water certification in a warmer location?

Thanks in advance for the help!

First, welcome to ScubaBoard!

I am not much familiar with the dive shops around San Francisco...but many of the San Jose/Easy Bay shops do their checkout dives in Monterey waters...Certainly, in colder water you use more exposure protection (thicker, and more coverage on your body), but it isn't a bad thing...Its just something to consider. Diving in warmer waters is easlier, but I really love diving Monterey.

As for difficulty, diving with a thicker wetsuit gives you more to consider, and you'll use more weight, as compared to diving a warmer location. But, if you can dive Monterey, you can dive most places in the world.

Pick a dive shop where you've actually spoken with the instrictor that will be teaching you. If you feel you can relate to them and they are enthusiastic about teaching you how to dive safely, then GO FOR IT!

 

[melfox26]

Great to hear that more local people are getting into diving.

It doesn't matter what agency that you get certified with, they are all recognized world-wide, basically meaning you can get gear rentals, air fills, charter boat dives, wherever you go. PADI and SSI are the bigger ones, however.

I don't know much about Bamboo Reef in SF or Wallin's in San Carlos, but you are correct in that they offer SSI certifications.

Check out California Dive Center in San Bruno, www.cadive.com , great shop, friendly people, but they don't have an onsite pool, the pool that they use is in San Mateo (but it's closer than Wallins). They offer PADI certifications.

Diver Dan's in Santa Clara is a great shop as well, with an onsite pool, also offering PADI. www.diverdans.com

By going through any shop here, you'll be doing your OW dives in Monterey. It's cold, but with proper exposure protection, great diving. You can always do your classroom and pool sessions here, then complete your certification in Hawaii or wherever. Just be warned that it'll cost you more, since you'll have to pay the instructor in the warm water location, as well as here.

Hope this helps,

Mel

 

[Drewpy]

The previous posts covered everything-cold water is a bit more work than warm
but Monterey can be world class diving if you hit it right! I am not familiar with the SF dive shops either, but Bamboo Reef does have a good reputation.
Have fun and enjoy!
BTW I am in the process of getting my GF certed and I think I will do a warm water referral for her-she is a bit timid and nervous and i think Monterey might be a little overwhelming for her first dive-but that is just her! (she is not really the outdoors type)Breakwater in Monterey can be a very easy intro if the conditions are good!

 

[Scubaroo]

I used to live in SF - I would recommend Wallins Dive Center over Bamboo Reef. I have not done training with either store, but I have had varying levels of customer service from them that puts Wallins ahead of Bamboo Reef. In 2002 I booked a charter through them for myself and a buddy, they told us the WRONG time to be at the wharf, we missed the boat, and they basically told us "tough" and refused to refund. It was about $170-180 between us. If there's been a change of management in that time they might be worth a try.

 

[SFScuba]

Thanks all for the greetings and the information. We decided to go with Bamboo reef because logistically, it would be impossible to do evening cert classes outside the city due to work schedules. We're slated for March classes. So, I'll let everyone know how the experience went after it's over.

Hopefully the management has changed and Scubaroo's problems were a one time thing. I talked with the staff at the shop twice and they seemed fairly friendly.

 

[SFScuba]

I just wanted to post a quick follow-up on our open-water certification experience here in San Francisco. We finished our open water certification with last week.

Dive Shop Chosen: Bamboo Reef, San Francisco
Reason: Location and convenience (considered Wallins, in San Carlos. Their shop looked newer and bigger, but just not feasible with work schedules and distance.) Both have pools on the premises.

Course: 6 evening classes over 3 weeks.
Reason: We thought we would be more comfortable with more courses than a weekend crash course.

We lucked out with a class of 5 - only three of us went to Monterey to do our open-water portion, the other two did referrals. They do run classes up to 10, but their pool would be a little tight with a full class.

The staff at times has a bit of dive shop mentality/edge to them, but for the most part they were very friendly. Our instructor was very laid back and had us well prepared for our open-water dives.

The open-water dives: Sunny in Monterey. Certification dives at the Monterey Breakwater (San Carlos Beach) Skills went quickly with only three of us and we actually had a lot of time to just explore the critters and environment around us. We felt prepared and comfortable in the water.

Now... we can't wait till we dive Hawaii in two months..