Where's a good place to learn how to dive in CA?

[sharkbaitDAN]

Where are you a student? Many of the Universities and colleges have their own programs. You might want to check. They are nice because you will be diving with other students, and will often get in contacts with school dive clubs. If it needs to be done this summer, then find a good instructor, like everyone else has said. PM me if you would like to get some names, including a Sport Chalet Instructor.

 

[drbill]

Scubadude76013 gave a good suggestion re: Steve Madaras of SCUBA Luv on Catalina. However Steve and his wife Diana sold their interest in the shop a few years ago and moved to Hawaii. There are several good instructors here on the island from both shops and it is a good place to really learn to dive sionce more of the class is in the ocean.

Dr. Bill

 

[diverdann]

Arnaud,

I hope I didn't offend you by suggesting Sport Chalet and in no way am I just advertising.

It sounds like you had a bad experience with an instructor, and unfortunately there are bad instructors in just about every place you look, as well as many good instructors.

As for selling gear, every shop aims to sell, otherwise they would not exist. Afterall, we do live in a capitalist society.

Let me explain why I suggested Sport Chalet.

I took my open water class at a small mom and pop shop in Cypress called Scuba Toys and I was very dissapointed, I almost gave up on diving. The rental gear was terrible, leaking bcd's, torn wetsuits, and freeflowing regulators. Although the instructor was okay, everything else was not.

About a month after completing my open water course, a friend suggested that I take an AOW class through Sport Chalet with him, and I did, then my whole outlook on scuba changed. :07: I now love it and have logged over 300 dives.

I suggested Sport Chalet because I took several classes there and was very pleased with the service, professionalism, instructors, and the quality of their rental and sale gear. In addition, they provide DAN insurance for their students while they are students.

So of course every dive shop is trying to make money, and you will spend some if you are going into diving, but this is why you have to shop around and get the best you can for your buck.

 

[Arnaud]

I need a little more to be offended...

Even though I'm sure there are some quality instructors at SC, I'm just weary of "discounted" education. You usually get what you pay for...

Anyway, like I said, the focus should be on the actual instructor, not the shop.

 

[ChrisA]

I need a little more to be offended...

Anyway, like I said, the focus should be on the actual instructor, not the shop.

Let's agree that you are right. It's the instructor who teaches the
course not the shop. But in real life a student walks into one of the really big shops be it SC or another this time of year and tries to sign up for a class only to find they are filled up untill at least four to eight weeks. He askes who is teaching the class and is told "we don't know yet". So while the instructor matters it is darn hard to pick one.
Of course you could go with a very small outfit

One problem with asking "where to go?" is that most people are happy with the place they went to and will reconnd it. (OK there are exceptions) but as most will recommend "thier" shop then by some
rule of mathmatical logic you will hear the largest shop get the most recomendations simply because they have the most number of graduated students. They get the "vote" simply due to a law of
numbers

I will not recomend one but will list a few things that I think mater.
1) For practical reasons the place needs to be close by to your house.
You will be going there a zillion times for classes to pick up and drop off rental gear and so on
2) you should like the people there. See if they have time to talk about dive training, what to expect and the gear you will eventually need _before_ you deside to sign up. Good shops are filled with
people (emplyees and customers) you feel comfortable with
So go in there and test them out, see if they are helpfull and then
sign up.
3) An instructor that is "good" for one student may not be for you.
4) The subjects taught and the order and manner they are presented are fixed by the certification agency. Intructors are people andthey vary but they all will use the same list of checkboxes
5) OW cert. is really a "learner's permit" most of what you learn comes after.

 

[Reeveseye]

My wife and I certified (NAUI) through Westside Aquatics in Santa Monica. Their contact address/phone # is 10641 W. Pico Blvd. West Los Angeles, CA, 310-470-7004. Ask for Mark Artusio. My wife was never a big ocean swimmer, and the thought of her being deep underwater was iffy at best. Mark was incredibly patient and understanding about her nervousness, and always seemed to know the right thing to do when it came to calming her fears. Thanks to him, she now loves diving. Arnaud is right - the instructor is everything. Mark's instruction was worth far more than what he actually charged us. You won't go wrong if you certify through him.

 

[SoCalAJ]

The best place to learn is LA Scuba Diving. Ive worked and taught at many places. These guys are the safest and provide the most fun with a great cost..... you can check them out at WWW.Lascubadiving.com.

Good Luck on your class.

SocalAj