What does it take to learn scuba?

[irwinsailor]

I would like to learn. Would it be better to learn up here in the freezing north or wait untill we go south?

[Gisle]

Just do it, irwinsailor. You need someone to dive with AFTER the course.

My feancee had 2 hours in the pool with me before we went on our liveaboard dive holiday to Burma in January/February.



On the boat they had 5 instructors and she was taken very good care of (I checked by regularly). After the trip she had TWO certificates:

Padi Open Water
&
Padi Advanced Open Water

...and a lot of great experiences with sharks, manta, cuttlefish, ...

Well, she's not an experienced diver yet. That takes a lot of training. I'll make sure she'll get it.



So just do it - Take a course.

[Gisle]

I had my first course in Norway during winter. It was freezing cold and I didn't enjoy too much.

Taking the course in warm, clear water is much easier - but don't think you know everything about diving in cold water after a course in warm water.

[SailorBoy]

Here in Canada most places offer a course where you do the theory, some pool dives, and then you can either do your open water dives in the summer up here, or they give you a letter of introduction that you take to any dive school down south and do your open water dives in the warm waters down there, to complete your certification.

Colin.

[s/v 'Faith']

Just got my PADI Open water cert on Saturday......

....it was easy.

The 'course work' is about as tough as 6th grade science class, if you can watch the videos, the test is a breeze.

Then a couple of sessions in the pool, which were pretty cool.

I was blown away by how nice/natural it felt to breath under water.

From there you go on '4' open water dives (usually done in a couple days) and practice the skills you leearned in the pool. Pretty easy stuff, just taking the gear on and off, sharing air etc...

Having just been through the class, I recommend it highly.

PADI may well stand for 'Pay Another Dollar In' but it is a good course, I recommend it.

[Jentine]

to SCUBA dive is money and desire. Take the course up north and do your open water dives when the ice is gone or down south. Either is a memorable experience.

[db8us]

I think one should learn to dive scuba where he/she most likely will do the dives afterwards.
If in doubt, it is SAFER to do it the hard way, means, low viz and cold in the course and then be surprised how easy things are afterwards.

Michael
(Former Open-Water-Scuba-Instructor)
www.ekpp.org

[2divers]

IMO that you should take the chance to learn where you are for several reasons and one reservation.

First, make sure that before you go diving locally you are well suited up for the cold water, and do your class in August when the water and air temp will be warmest.

The first reason is that there are some really good dives in the great lakes. Boats are preserved on the bottom due to being in fresh (vs salt) cold water. So well that in many cases they still have the original paint or so I'm told.

The second reason is that when you finally head tropical you will have a greater apprication of the environment, not just because it's warm.

[Fishspearit]

Padi also has a referral program where you can complete your academic and pool sessions at home up north, and then (within 6 months) complete your 4 openwater dives somewhere else, preferably warmer. While cruising through the Caribbean on our boat, my wife and I used to stop and teach for shops in the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, Puerto Rico, etc. and we did lots of these referral dives with people vacationing from the frozen north. The benefit is that when you learn in warm,clear, beautifull water you are more likely to keep diving than if you have a cold, suffering, unhappy first experience. The drawback is that it will cost a few dollars more, and you will have 2 instructors rather than staying with one through the whole course.

[jimini]

I did my classes and pool sessions in my hometown and than flew to Puerto Vallarta and did my referral with Chico's Dive Shop...

Good experience , I had my own divegear and used it in the pool sessions so I was used to my setup before going to a second instructor in PTO. It made things easiler for me to have my own gear...

I have done all my courses in warm water diving. Taken the classes and pools sessions in my hometown and did the dives in warm water... There's enough to worry about besides my hands getting cold.......

jimini®

[Talbot]

A lot of the accidents in UK can be traced back to people who did their learning somewhere warm and clear, and came back thinking they knew it all.

Their first immersion in cold water with zero vis and a strong tide was a terrible shock, and the disorientation causes the accident.