Where to learn? OW training in warm water from a boat.

[scottishscuba]

I'm AOW certified (along with a few specialities) so this question isn't for me.

My dad has recently retired and is keen to start diving. We are looking for somewhere that he can learn in warm water. He has sore knees so shore diving is not ideal (we were going to go to Dahab) and boat diving is probably going to be a lot easier for him. I'll make sure he sees his GP before we book anything though!

Can any of you kind Scuba-peeps recommend locations with reputable dive outfits that are not too expensive? (America and Carribean out of the question) We are looking for boat diving (backwards roll entry preferably rather than giant stride due to his knees) in warm water not too far from the UK. Is the diving further south in the Red sea shore diving too (I've only been to Dahab in Egypt) or is it boat based? Where else could we go? What about the Mediterrenean?

I'm looking forward to sharing a hobby with my dad, but want to make sure that he gets the best start.

 

[rick00001967]

i cannot offer any advise on shops in the areas you are looking for but i think i would say i might disagree with your thoughts on shore vs. boat diving
i would tend to think that diving from shore might be easier on someone with a bit of a physical barrier like having bad knees. assuming of course you are not having to climb over a bunch of obstacles to reach the shore in the first place. but if you have access to "easy entry" shore sites, he can put gear on / off in the water and his buddy (unfortunately that would be you lol) can help move the gear.
my wife has had two knee surgeries and so we need to be careful with her diving on vacation as well. we find the toughest part on boat dives is her getting back on the boat on the ladder. it does make things easier if she takes off her gear before the climb. but that can be very difficult in rough seas
just a thought.......

 

[DivemasterDennis]

Most warm water dive destinations will have on site open water training for everything related to initial open water certification. That includes Dahab DIvers. check them out at booking.com/Dahab-Divers.
As an alternative you might consider Malta, or several locations in Spain, including the center you will find at divingspain.com, whihc looks excellent, though I have not been there.
DivemasterDennis

 

[scottishscuba]

Thanks for your thoughts, I had assumed that walking into the water carrying scuba gear then bending to put on fins would be more difficult. I hadn't considered climbing up a ladder!

I'm diving with Poseidon divers in 4 weeks time in Dahab, so I'll discuss it with them when I'm there. Food for thought!

 

[Diving Dubai]

I learnt in El Gouna with TGI. El Gouna is about 30min North of Hurghada by road, so you don't get very many of their boats on your sites. Very good outfit and nice diving. I'd go back except now living in Dubai the red sea is a pain to get to with flights so its easier to go to the Maldives, although a Southern Red Sea/Sudan Live a board is tempting

 

[Skittl1321]

I had assumed that walking into the water carrying scuba gear then bending to put on fins would be more difficult. I hadn't considered climbing up a ladder!

You actually don't need to bend to do this- you can just sit in the water, put a little air in your BC so you float and then put the fins on.

We recently dove in the Carribean with an operator who offered for those with bad knees that they could take their gear off in the water and hand it up before climbing up the ladder.

 

[Steve_C]

As Skittl1321 points out one can put gear on and off in water with some ops. Have dove in cancun on some small boats and that was standard practice. Back roll into the water. Take off BCD/Tanks before getting back into boat. You never walked with the equipment on. Note that taking off BCD/Tanks at the boat can be a bit safer and easier if you have integrated weights (at least in my opinion)

 

[uncfnp]

I might also add that you don't need to limit yourself to the back roll option only on the boat. When I have my camera I typically turn at the end of the dive platform and fall back into the water butt first to protect the camera during the entry. Another photographer showed this to me. No reason you couldn't do this even without a camera. Inelegant but effective.

 

[scottishscuba]

Thanks for all your input it really is appreciated. I was diving in the Philippines where we were on small boats and handed all our kit up before climbing into the boat which certainly makes climbing a ladder much easier. I've love to go bak and take Dad to the places I dived there but alas, funds wont allow that just yet!

Dads knees are not "that" bad (the NHS wont do anything about them yet...) but if we can do anything or go somewhere that is better, especially when doing OW training thats all for the good. I like Poseidon in Dahab, but you do often have a bit of a walk with your kit. Dad has had to give up skiing because his knees cant cope, it would be nice if he could take up some other "holiday" sport.

 

[00wabbit]

I don't know your dads age, but if he hasn't dove before and isn't a very active person it may be prudent to also have a good physical check up to make sure his heart etc is up to it.

It seems a lot of incidents involve cardiac issues in older divers.