Some thoughts after NAUI Master course and a year in diving

[Drewski]

I cant believe how much better Naui is , i will never have anything to do with Padi again.

I'm curious as to why you say that?

(BTW, this is NOT a bust on PADI and I'm NOT trying to start a battle here, so PLEASE keep the guns in the holster... Several of my friends are PADI instructors and they are as good or better than me!)

Was it the course design, the instructor, the teaching style, the dives required or something else?

THANKS!

 

[Steve_Dives]

Congratulations and thanks for the posting! I've been devouring training myself and wondering if I should be diving rather than *gasp* card collecting. I probably would not have any more dives, and might have less, if I did not continue.

Relative to the PADI to NAUI cross-over, I'm planning to cross from SSI to NAUI. My reason is the SSI Master = OW + 4 specialties (e.g. deep, nitrox...) + rescue + 50 dives in the log. (If you're wondering, SSI AOW = OW + 4 specialties + 24 dives.) The NAUI Master has additional requirements including a simulated deco dive. With the SSI Master, I only gain dive experience which I will earn regardless.

 

[roakey]

It may sound odd but the primary reason that i kept taking courses is that i don't have a regular dive buddy (at least here in the US) and wanted to be active in diving.

A good place to start to find a buddy would be to fill in your profile so people know where you live!

Roak

 

[theatis]

Thanks for the comments everyone; it's nice to see that others share a similar approach. I think the general gist here (including ehuber's cautionary note) is that ultimately ambition, but also responsibility and self-assessment rest with the individual.

Spankey, that's similar to our course and even more inclusive since we didn't do the DAN stuff that you list. How come your course is so comprehensive? In our case, it's because as an official university course it has to last an entire semester. Don't be scared of the exam, just be prepared. If you have the workbooks in addition to the textbooks, use them, they really helped me. And, good luck!

 

[theatis]

A good place to start to find a buddy would be to fill in your profile so people know where you live!

Roak

Done! I even selected the avatar of my adopted "country".

 

[CaptSaaz]

Thanks for posting your thoughts... I thought it was a quite informative read.. and not long at all. I'm presently looking at getting my Rescue Diver cert next summer and looking forward to the challenge.

I wonder why PADI hasn't offered the Rescue Diver refresher course? <G>

 

[Ice9]

Done! I even selected the avatar of my adopted "country".

Ahh Texas. The greatest country on earth!

 

[ams511]

You said you do not have an active dive buddy. Seeing you are in Austin, I assume you are at U of T. Don't they have a dive club? At Penn State you could just send out a message to all the divers in the club to see if one wants to go. Also you did not meet anyone in your classes who is as excited about diving as you?

 

[terrasmak]

Was it the course design, the instructor, the teaching style, the dives required or something else?

THANKS!

Course design , and required dives. In my cross over to Naui some of my dives for Master diver were with OW classes , and i got to see the difference in what was taught.

 

[JessH]

Theatis,
I actually took the intermediate class for the exact same reason that you did, I had no one to dive with and wanted to do more diving. With the program at UT you get a lot more in water time than most OW classes, so it isn't as big of a jump as it would be for someone who takes a resort course. That being said I think that anyone who wants to take the next class should. I personally feel that the content of OW, AOW and Nitrox should all be included in a basic scuba class to begin with.

If you want those DAN certs mentioned here just take the advanced class. I did it this semester and I will say that helping with the beginner class was a great experience, even if you don't have any desire to become a dive master.

Send me a PM if you want to go diving sometime. I am always up for it, even with the dropping lake temps. I also see from your other posts that you seem to have been somewhat atracted to the dark side. I don't drink the koolaid but I do look the part (bp/w, jet fins, etc..), that is atleast until I get my sidemount solo rig going.... The point is that I am always in search of like minded buddies, so give me a ring so we can go diving sometime.