this may sound stupid

[scubaJM]

but once you get your c-card can you dive anywhere you want in the united states or do you have to go to special places like dive sites to dive? thanx in advance

 

[SueMermaid]

You should be able to dive anywhere you want to in the world with a C-card.

 

[DivemasterSteve]

well, you can dive anywhere that is "legal" for the public to be in. one more thing, you only need to dive in a place that you are qualified to dive in... ex: an open water c card says you can only dive down to 60' so you shouldnt go deeper than that.

steve

 

[gfisher4792]

Yup, pretty much anywhere you want: lakes, rivers, ocean, toilet, garbage can filled with water, etc.

 

[Boogie711]

You have the right to dive wherever you want, within reason. Just like a fishing boat has no right to park itself in the middle of a harbour entrance or a shipping channel, a diver has no right to trespass or get 'in the way' either. There are some places like wildlife sanctuaries where diving is prohibited - chances are good if there's a sign saying "no swimming allowed" then the same goes for diving.

And of course, if something is private property, you're SOL unless you get permission from the land owner.

 

[Mo2vation]

but once you get your c-card can you dive anywhere you want in the united states or do you have to go to special places like dive sites to dive? thanx in advance

But you need to be smart about it. No trespassing, be sure you're not poking into overhead (caves, cool structure) etc. and dive withion your limits - no black diamond diving yet. Only bunny hill diving for a bit.

Be sure to practice, too. Check yourself: Am I holding depth properly, is my buoyancy OK or am I all over the place, am I kicking up a cloud or is my trim getting better, lemmie do a mask R&R while I'm doing my 15' safety stop, etc. Constantly strive to improve your skills.

The card only signifies you attended training - it doesn't signify experience. Now you gotta dive, dive, dive.

Congrats - go play safely.

K

 

[scubaJM]

:colgate: thanx you guys that was something that was on my mind

 

[simbrooks]

Keep getting more training as time goes on, expand your limits slowly and you will enjoy your diving and be safer to yourself, your buddy and others around you. No real limits to your diving except what was mentioned above about property, right of way and sensible/cautious/sane place to dive.

You might want to take more specialised courses to enable you to do more intense types of diving as your career goes along - dont do those types of dives before that kind of training

 

[Barracuda2]

some commercial dive areas require that you have a AOW cert. to dive deeper more challanging areas. ie. Gilboa Quarry in northwest Ohio has two dive areas: one shallow that contains many "artifacts" to dive on, and one deep with steep walls that drop to 130 ft. OW cert. ok for the shallow (50') dives, but you need AOW for the deep side.

Barracuda2

 

[DandyDon]

Really, your question is good; not so sure about some of the answers you got already...

You'll find that some operators will require more training or experience logged for some dives. For example, in Key Largo - many operators will not take you to dive on deep wrecks withouth AOW, even though some will.