Total newbie in Seattle - cert here or Maui?

[greasergrrl]

I totally fell in love with snorkeling when I went a few years ago in Maui. I mostly like hanging out with the fish and turtles and taking photos (I know, that's another forum ) and I'm not too keen on running into big scary things down there so I didn't really want to scuba. My dad was just telling me about how nice it is to not have to keep going up to breathe and just being able to follow what you want to follow so i'm reconsidering. I'm a good swimmer and know that I would take to it quite naturally.

I live in Seattle and am going to Maui again for two weeks in March. Should I get certified before I go? Would that mean I would have to dive out here in the cold waters in Seattle? Shouldn't I just wait until I get to Maui or would I be wasting valuable vacation time? Can I split it up - like take classes here and dive indoors in a pool or something (that's how my dad did it) and then do one open water dive when I get there and be done? Where should I do all this?

TIA

 

[Diver Lori]

You've basically laid out your options....it's really your decision.

Option #1. Do it all in Maui. Use large portion of precious vacation time.

Option #2. Do classroom/pool in Seattle and save half of precious vacation time.

Option #3. Do it all in Seattle and save all of precious vacation time.

Now to make a final decision, ask yourself.....do you plan on diving in the PNW after Maui? Or do you only plan to dive in tropical locales? If YES, I plan to dive in the PNW.....you may want to consider Option #3 and prepare yourself from the start for the conditions in your home state. If NO, do option #1 or #2.

Find a reputable dive shop in your area.....maybe the one your dad used? Another forum member from Seattle may be able to recommend a dive shop for you.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[clearwtr]

If you certify in the PNW just think how good that first dive in HI will feel.

 

[Uncle Pug]

HERE

My Advice: take the class here and enjoy you time there diving.

 

[Charlie99]

Do you intend to do a lot of diving in the Seattle area? If so, then get certified locally, in the local conditions. (colder; lower visibility; and a thicker wetsuit or a drysuit that makes buoyancy control more challenging.)

If you intend to mostly dive on warm water vacations, then definitely get certified in Maui.

I did all of my OW cert in Maui, after purchasing the books and reading them ahead of time. Reading and preparing ahead of time, combined with doing a private course means that the OW course can be both short and very thorough.

If you do either the whole course or just the OW part in Maui, and then later decide to start diving locally, you should consider doing the "advanced open water" course in Seattle (AOW is really more like open water part II than a truly advance course).

Charlie

 

[GratefulDiver]

Like many other divers you are going to find yourself in the following situation:

Do I wait for the few times a year I can travel to warm water?

Or

Do I dive the cold water where I live?

I can't wait for those warm water trips, I need to dive so I do so in the cool waters of Northern California. I say get certified locally, you'll be a better diver for it. The conditions you will learn in will be more challenging than much if not all of what you'll encounter in warm water. You'll have better skills and be more confident.

 

[paulwlee]

In my opinion, the only reason not to do the whole certification locally, is if it is logistically difficult/challenging/costly to do the open water dives in the area, say if you need to drive 5 hours to get to the ocean/lake/quarry. You need 4~5 open water (ocean/lake/quarry) dives spread between two days to get certified, in addition to the classroom and pool work.

Since you live in Seattle, the ocean is right at your doorsteps, so you should do it there. It will save you money (referrals cost more money) and will enable you to much more fully enjoy your vacation, since you won't be wasting time on doing skills, and you will be more comfortable in the water.

Sure, the certification dives will be a little more challenging in the Pacific NW, but people do it all the time, and it's only for a weekend, if you find that you hate cold water. Then again, you might also find it very nice, and decide to dive there, too!

 

[GERRY2153]

I had the same question, should i do my open water here ( actually hoodsport) or should i wait till I get to Florida on vacation.

I opted to do it before i went so that i would have a nice appreciation for the nice warm clear water. Which was a good choice, when we got to Fl conditions were such that we could not even get out the first 4 days... so i was really glad that i did it before.

Not sure how much conditions can change in paradise, but i would have been really P.O. ed if I had waited and not been able to finish the certification.

gerry

 

[colonelchuck]

yourself in the head with a hammer! It feels so good when you stop.

Diving in the PNW is OK and has its great moments, but diving in paradise with good vis and a light or no wetsuit is pretty super...especially if you did all the hard work here.

PNW divers earn a high level of credibility by qualifying in conditions less than perfect. I have found that dive operators in places like Cancun and Key West assume that you are competent if you did it here. The same is true as you advance in your training. If you do a skill here, you know your stuff. Besides, PNW divers are a pretty neat group of people.

Do all your qualification here, enjoy Maui in the role of a diver rather than a student.

have fun.

 

[ColdH20diving]

Get certified here, you'd be wasting a lot of your vacation time taking classes when you could be diving.... I don't get to tropical locations too often so when there we like full advantage and dive as often as we can.