Started my PADI Open Water Certification today!!

[Adam Grose]

Hey Everyone,

Today officially started my Scuba journey. I had my first day of class towards getting my PADI OW certification. We had a 4 hour class today and I will have another class on Thursday. I am doing my certification with Scuba Magic in Tempe, AZ. The course layout is:

Monday September 3rd - Class Day 1
Wednesday September 5th - Class Day 2 (I rescheduled to Thursday the 6th with the second group that is doing Tuesday and Thursday)

Saturday September 8th - Confined Water Dive Day 1 (Pool for 4hrs)
Sunday September 9th - Confined Water Dive Day 2 (I had to reschedule this to Friday the 14th as I am leaving for a business trip to Orlando on the 9th and won't be back until the 13th. I had to pay an extra $100 to move it to the 14th, but it will be a private session so I feel it will be worth the extra cost)

Saturday September 15th - Open Water Day 1 (Lake Pleasant)
Sunday September 16th - Open Water Day 2 (Lake Pleasant)

If all goes as planned on the 16th, I will be a PADI Open Water Diver!!!

First day of class went very well. Including myself there were 9 students total. We went over the first three chapters of the PADI Open Water Manual. We took a short quiz after each section (Scored 90%-100%-100%). Got one question wrong on the first section because I marked the wrong box on my answer sheet when I knew the correct answer. The class was supposed to be from 6pm-10pm, but we ended up getting out at 9:30pm.

Our instructor (Gary - Owner of Scuba Magic) was great. Very knowledgeable, and very friendly. Made sure everything was stated so we can interpret the "to-do's" without actually being in the water yet. Had a couple laughs in class, and made sure we were focused on what were discussing. Make me feel a little more comfortable about the lake dives.

At the end of our review of Chapter 3, Gary brought out some gear and demonstrated a proper install of a first stage on to a tank, and how to attach the BCD (Just so we can visually see it).

I hope day 2 goes this smooth!!!



-Mike

Hi, Mike!

Glad it went well for you. I did my pool training and OW dives at Lake Pleasant with Gary and Scuba Magic. He seems to be VERY thorough. Hope to see you in the water sometime!!

Adam

 

[mfox007]

Hey Adam,

So how does it feel to be OW certified???? Everything is going good so far. I thought the "classroom" setup was a little interesting, but it did the job. We'll have to get a Scuba Magic graduates dive up at the lake soon!!

 

[Rogersea]

Hi Mike,

Good luck with the rest of your course. I hope you love it.

I also think you will get a great deal out of the private session, advice: dont be shy and take the opportunity to ask all of those questions you might have hesitated asking in a larger group....


Cheers,
Roger

 

[Agility]

So how does it feel to be OW certified?

To me it felt like getting my driving licence
It was quite a shock when I found out that reading a map while driving in a foreign city was too much task load for me as a beginner.

It is nice to have the c-card because you can just go and rent gear and go diving!

 

[stairman]

Theres alot to learn in the next few weeks and once certified , youll still be figuring things out for a while. Task loading, trying to remember things can be a bit stressful in class but if you relax and think, you should be fine. Once you hold a c card, you can enjoy yourself a bit more and work on skills perfecting your trim and buancy. Avoid arm waving to swim and turn and kicking up the bottom, and remember that bolting to the surface is not an option in an emergency and problems are to be solved with your buddy right where your at. Some emergencies to ask your instructor about are...a 2nd stage freeflow, a mask lost, a BC inflator stuck on, a BC bladder failure, buddy separation, out of air, there are a few more but watch your SPG and stay aware at all times and keep a log book from the start, even a small spiral notebook which is what I prefer. Good luck and have fun!

 

[Adam Grose]

To me it felt like getting my driving licence
It was quite a shock when I found out that reading a map while driving in a foreign city was too much task load for me as a beginner.

It is nice to have the c-card because you can just go and rent gear and go diving!

Actually, more like having my learner's permit!!!

Adam

 

[Paulmal]

Congratulations. Have fun and safe diving.

 

[mfox007]

Thanks for the comments everyone!! Class day 2 is tomorrow, and then we are in the pool on Saturday!! Can't wait!!

I'm probably going to pick-up a shorty rash guard for the pool portion. So the BCD doesn't rub.

 

[fnfalman]

IMHO, a diver with a handful of dives under his or her belt shouldn't be going to 100-ft, AOW or not. If you have four checkout dives then take the AOW class, that'd still gives you nine total dives in your entirely life. One hundred feet is a long way to the surface if you screw up.

 

[Vicksburg Diver]

Congrats and welcome!!