What do you need for referral?

[midwayman]

My GF is taking a dive course and half way through it she asked about the refferal to do the open water in coz. They were "ooooo that's going to cost more" Which is wierd since I thought you only really needed to have the confined water and book portions signed off in your dive logbook. Is there anything else you need signed for a referral, and anything that would justify additional fees over the normal open water training?

 

[Scubagolf]

Nope, that's all she needs. Both my wife and I went the referral route, four years apart, doing the class and pool work in Sacramento, CA, and then finishing with the 4 open water dives on Maui. It's certainly more expensive, in addition to the time and travel expenses. We got a small discount off of the OW class fee at our LDS, but it wasn't much, and there was the two day instructor fee for the OW dives. In both our cases, it was well worth it. I suggest that you use ScubaBoard to locate the "right" instructor for your GF on Coz. (If you decide to go to Maui, I highly recommend Doug Corbin of Shaka Divers. There are numerous posts by and about him in the Hawai'i O'Hana travel section on SB. http://www.shakadivers.com/welcome.htm)

 

[justleesa]

Did they mean it will cost you more with them? or because you will have to pay the referral dive cost in coz?

Correct me if it is actually done differently, but from what I have seen when you pay for an OW class on the mainland you pay for the full class including checkout dives - if you complete the dives with them or not. So if you do the referral you are paying someone for your checkout dives again.

 

[Scubagolf]

Correct me if it is actually done differently, but from what I have seen when you pay for an OW class on the mainland you pay for the full class including checkout dives - if you complete the dives with them or not. So if you do the referral you are paying someone for your checkout dives again.

This is right, unless your LDS gives you a discount because you are not participating in the checkout dives. When I did this four years ago, there was no discount: I paid the full amount to my LDS and then I paid the instructor on Maui for the 4 checkout dives. My wife received something like a $25 discount from the LDS -- not a big deal, but it did fund a few post-dive Mai Tais.

 

[TheRedHead]

My GF is taking a dive course and half way through it she asked about the refferal to do the open water in coz. They were "ooooo that's going to cost more" Which is wierd since I thought you only really needed to have the confined water and book portions signed off in your dive logbook. Is there anything else you need signed for a referral, and anything that would justify additional fees over the normal open water training?

You'll need paperwork from your current instructor to return to him upon completion of the checkout dives in order for your GF to get her permanent card. She'll get a temporary card in Cozumel and will be able to dive with it. The additional cost is the cost the Cozumel instructor will charge.

What are fabulous diving conditions and almost unlimited visibility worth to you? I would expect your GF to enjoy her checkouts in Cozumel much more than your local conditions. It's her class and her decision, and if she doesn't feel comfortable with the local conditions, she should go with her desire to do her checkouts in Cozumel.

 

[midwayman]

The shop she is going to (And most shops in chicago) Charge for the class portion/confined water and the open water dives seperately.

Just to make sure,
They need to sign her dive book, she goes to coz, they sign the OW checkout and then she needs to go back to the original shop to get the permanent card?

 

[justleesa]

Depends on the agency and the shop.

When we do a 5 star referral we have to sign the paperwork and they take it back to the shop and they finish it up. If it is a padi student we process the card. I'd double check with the shop she is with now and the shop that she is doing the referral dives with, just what their policies are.

 

[TheRedHead]

You need may need a "referral," a seperate piece of paper signed by her instructor. I'm not sure which agency she's under, but mine was SSI and I had a referral which I had to return to my instructor, in addition to getting my logbook signed.

 

[midwayman]

Well the PADI log book she has says "PADI open water diver course record and referral Form" at the top of the section where the instructor should be signing off. Says she needs photos and a medical form. Would she need an additional form?

 

[justleesa]

We have referral students fill out a PADI file folder which has a medical release. If your GF should have any issues i.e. Asthma, the shop would require an additional release from her doctor allowing her to dive.

Other than that, the signed off log book and maybe the picture (we usually take the pictures with a nice tropical background) I can't think of anything else you would need. Although some also bring along a copy of their test and anything else the instructor might have in his folder.