What to do after Open Water PADI

[bj139]

I want to get my wetsuit certification next and then my drysuit certification

I just did my first drysuit dive on new years eve. To prepare, I watched the PADI drysuit DVD (from IVS dive shop library) and read a few articles about inverted drysuit recovery. During the dive I dove down vertically and felt air go to my feet but was able to recover easily. I think the inversion problems people have are due to vastly oversized suits, especially the feet. If you attached airbags to my feet I would not be able right myself either. I bought a Whites Fusion because of the stretch skin which limits the bubble in the suit. Wetsuit booties with ankle straps limited the bubble in my feet. It was a great dive at Dutch Springs at 58 ffw and 41F. I was NOT cold with the medium weight MK2 undergarment.

 

[DevonDiver]

Diving in the UK is not something that appeals to my as much as diving in warmer waters with more diverse sea life. It is definitely something I will do, as people have said, it's good to get experience in different conditions. Maybe I'll end up loving it and become a regular UK diver, who knows?

Oh....summer in Plymouth... the James Egan Layne and HMS Scylla. Peeling off my drysuit and heading for fish n' chips and an ice cool pint of Cider...

Makes me want to return from the tropics....

 

[Dirk P.]

Maybe do a dive with a local shop to see if you like it in the UK waters. I started out in the Dutch Antilles and then dove on my holidays in similar circumstances. Then a few years later I decided to do my AOW in the Netherlands (similar circumstances as the UK). My thought was that I would try it and if I didn't like it I would have had the experience and then leave it at that. But now I still diving in the Netherlands...

Regarding specialties, I would say only do those that may be of use. If you're not diving in the UK but only Maledives then forget about Drysuit etc. Although PPB and Nitrox may have benifts...

 

[Hickdive]

String,

Wouldn't it be better and would make better sense that the entry level diver who is about to get into a totally new and challenging environment that is radically different from the one he was trained in to get proper orientation/training from a local and experienced professional instructor who would help him avoid the pitfalls of trying to doing it on his own or under unqualified instructor wanna be?

In the UK there are literally thousands of instructors who are not 'professional' i.e. not paid, but are every bit as good and, in many cases, better.

It's important not to confuse the situation in much of the world where PADI rules and they like to give the impression that only pro = competent with that in the UK where there are at least three major amateur training agencies.

If the OP joined a BSAC club, for example, then they would do their initial dives/orientation with a qualified instructor or an experienced Dive Leader (roughly a DM).

 

[BoltSnap]

Hickdive,

Thank you for the information. Please note that I didn't mean by saying a "professional" instructor to be a paid instructor. I meant a qualified and certified instructor who has instructor credentials sanctioned by a recognized instructor certification agency.

One question, is the BSAC still a strong and viable option for diver and instructor training and certification in the UK?

 

[Hickdive]

Diving in the UK is not something that appeals to my as much as diving in warmer waters with more diverse sea life. It is definitely something I will do, as people have said, it's good to get experience in different conditions. Maybe I'll end up loving it and become a regular UK diver, who knows?

It's a common misconception that UK waters have less marine life than warm water destinations. There might be fewer big critters* but the seabed and water round our coast is literally teeming with life and we have thousands of wrecks.

Cold water is just a matter of proper thermal protection.

*Mind you, in the UK I've dived with dolphins putting on an underwater show just for me and my buddy and had seals literally fondling my bum.

 

[Hickdive]

Hickdive,

Thank you for the information. Please note that I didn't mean by saying a "professional" instructor to be a paid instructor. I meant a qualified and certified instructor who has instructor credentials sanctioned by a recognized instructor certification agency.

One question, is the BSAC still a strong and viable option for diver and instructor training and certification in the UK?

In the UK 'professional' scuba instructor means exclusively someone who is paid to teach diving. However, in the UK, there are far more qualified and certified (by major training agencies such as BSAC, SAA or SSAC) instructors who are not paid but teach purely for the love of the sport.

There are over a thousand BSAC branches in the UK and abroad with over 40,000 members worldwide - although I have issues with them over the HL debacle I am still a member and an instructor (although I've long since retired from Instructor Training). BSAC is still a very strong force in UK diving.

 

[rk288]

My son and I both have 2 sets of certifications warm water and cold water. There are big differences. We are fast approaching 50 dives each and of those dives only 2 have been solo just my son and I and those were in the cold water quarry where we did all of our OW training. All other dives have been in the close company of very good instructors.

In February we will attend a 3 hour Rescue Diver clinic conducted by the same cold water instructors we have now known for almost 3 years.

With this background we feel comfortable about taking our first liveaboard vacation back in warm water in April. We will be sure to be in the company of skilled professionals familiar with the dive sites for this experience also. We like being safe and diving well planned dives. My son is 16 and I am 60...

 

[Jim Lapenta]

And what happens when you get on a liveaboard where they tell you that you need to plan your own dives and not rely on a professional? I would never put my life in someone else's hands when it comes to dive planning. They do not know me, my training level, my abilities, or my comfort level. I;d suggest you read this post carefully :

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ne...ering-diving/283566-who-responsible-what.html

Trusting so called "professionals" to do all the planning and keeping them safe has gotten people killed.

 

[RJP]

My son and I both have 2 sets of certifications warm water and cold water. There are big differences. We are fast approaching 50 dives each and of those dives only 2 have been solo just my son and I and those were in the cold water quarry where we did all of our OW training. All other dives have been in the close company of very good instructors.

In February we will attend a 3 hour Rescue Diver clinic conducted by the same cold water instructors we have now known for almost 3 years.

With this background we feel comfortable about taking our first liveaboard vacation back in warm water in April. We will be sure to be in the company of skilled professionals familiar with the dive sites for this experience also. We like being safe and diving well planned dives. My son is 16 and I am 60...

Sounds like you and your son have been doing a 3-year "Discover Scuba Diving" program.



Have you avoided diving without a professional by your side because you are not comfortable doing so? If that is the case, I think you need to understand why that is and what can be done to overcome this deficiency (it is a deficiency) before you go on a liveaboard trip.