Anyone Scuba Diving Certified???

starryeyedtiger

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I'm thinking about signing Colin and I up for some classes to get scuba certified for Christmas. We're planning on going on a cruise for our honeymoon after we're married in March - and we would both LOVE to go scuba diving. We're both avid swimmers- i swam competitively for several years when i was in high school and he was in the Navy for 8 yrs and swam competitively when he was younger too. (yea, our kids are SOOO gonna be water babies
) We both LOVE LOVE LOVE the water and i think it would be something we'd both really enjoy doing instead of a stupid tie he'd just stick in his closet and never use! I was thinking this might be the perfect "gift" for him since he's got everything else he needs and is soo hard to shop for! He already has some gear but has just never had the chance to take classes and get certified. I'd have to buy gear for me but that's ok as i'll save for it.

Is anyone else scuba certified? How long did it take for you to get your certification? What was the hardest part? Any idea how much it costs? Anything else i should expect? I found this link...is the info pretty accurate?

http://scuba.about.com/od/instructio...ubacertfaq.htm
 

theimp98

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hardest part was the final test. you had to sit at the bottom of the pool and share one tank. the whole buddy breathing thing, i had to redo my test cause the guy i was with freaked out,

as for time, i did mine as a college class, was twice a week for 12 weeks. I think you can really do it over a weekend. but that was years ago.. I have really thought about going back to get certs for teaching it.
 

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I don't remember if you said you have asthma. If so, make sure the doctor who does your physical knows that asthma is no longer considered an absolute contraindication to scuba diving. At any rate, if you have a history of asthma, you are in for some pulmonary tests before you are allowed to do anything.

If the diving experience is going to be a one-time thing, you'd probably be better off snorkeling instead. Diving takes quite a bit of time and expense. But if you can, I say go for it.
 
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starryeyedtiger

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Originally Posted by theimp98

hardest part was the final test. you had to sit at the bottom of the pool and share one tank. the whole buddy breathing thing, i had to redo my test cause the guy i was with freaked out,

as for time, i did mine as a college class, was twice a week for 12 weeks. I think you can really do it over a weekend. but that was years ago.. I have really thought about going back to get certs for teaching it.
Wow, that sounds a little hard- sharing one tank and all- but i'm sure it's managable?? I do have asthma- i wounder if that would affect it at all?
It's usually fine though! Anything else you had to do during the course of the classes? I heard you have to tread water for a min of 10 minutes (sooo not a problem for us! but i imagine the gear will add a little extra weight!) what about the swimming requirements? Anything else i should know? This is kind of exciting!!
 
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starryeyedtiger

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Originally Posted by SwampWitch

I don't remember if you said you have asthma. If so, make sure the doctor who does your physical knows that asthma is no longer considered an absolute contraindication to scuba diving. At any rate, if you have a history of asthma, you are in for some pulmonary tests before you are allowed to do anything.

If the diving experience is going to be a one-time thing, you'd probably be better off snorkeling instead. Diving takes quite a bit of time and expense. But if you can, I say go for it.
Yup, i do have asthma. It is controlled now for the most part- but every once in a while i do need my rescue inhaler. I'm glad you brought that up! I will definitely talk to my pulmonologist before i sign up- i'd hate to pay all that money only to find out i'm not physically able to do it because the whole asthma thing.

If we do get certified- this will become something i would hope we're able to do several times a year- so definitely not a one time thing, so i at least know we wouldn't be tossing our money away for a one time thing ya know! Otherwise i would just go snorkeling.
 

theimp98

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keep in mind, this was back in the 80s hehe. BUt i seem to remember the water treading thing, was 10 min, like you said, i also seem to remember we had to prove we could swim 200 yards before we where allowed to join the class
 
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starryeyedtiger

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Originally Posted by theimp98

keep in mind, this was back in the 80s hehe. BUt i seem to remember the water treading thing, was 10 min, like you said, i also seem to remember we had to prove we could swim 200 yards before we where allowed to join the class
Both of those requirements shouldn't be a problem for eithor of us so that makes me happy!
Are the swimming requirements timed?

I think my main concern now is finding out of i can praticipate with the whole asthma thing and all. I hope i'll get the "ok" otherwise i'm going to have to think up a better Christmas idea
 

theimp98

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i really dont remember it being timed, but i would assume so, We also had to have paper signed from a doc, saying it was ok, But that was for the college, so you could not sue them later.
 

conbrio

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My dad got certified when he was in Tampa on business years ago. He did it over a couple of weekends. By the time he left Tampa, he was there for 3 months, he was certified as a dive master. A friend of mine growing up parents were certified in Memphis at some dive club. Have fun with this and hopefully it works out for you.

Oh yeah, there is a place in Arkansas that my dad and a buddy used to go diving at least one a month or every other month. It was Heber Springs, Arkansas a man made lake. I think it is about 2 hours from Memphis if I recall correctly.
 
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starryeyedtiger

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Originally Posted by theimp98

i really dont remember it being timed, but i would assume so, We also had to have paper signed from a doc, saying it was ok, But that was for the college, so you could not sue them later.
Thanks bruce!

Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

If you have asthma (I think I remember seeing that you do) you probably wouldn't be able to qualify for safety reasons.
Not necessarily- it depends on what your doctor says from what i understand (i read up a little more today) since mine is not a problem anymore for the most part- it might be ok- i'll still have to get my doctor's ok though but that shouldn't be a problem.

Originally Posted by conbrio

My dad got certified when he was in Tampa on business years ago. He did it over a couple of weekends. By the time he left Tampa, he was there for 3 months, he was certified as a dive master. A friend of mine growing up parents were certified in Memphis at some dive club. Have fun with this and hopefully it works out for you.

Oh yeah, there is a place in Arkansas that my dad and a buddy used to go diving at least one a month or every other month. It was Heber Springs, Arkansas a man made lake. I think it is about 2 hours from Memphis if I recall correctly.
Was it "The Dive Shop" by chance? (It's on Poplar Ave) That's who i'm planning on going through to get my gear and possibly to get certified- but i'd rather go through the Bartlett Rec Center as we both get a discount since we're city employees (they have a good scuba teacher there supposedly- i'm going to look into it!)
 

calico2222

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I'm PADI certified and dove for 4 years on Guam. It is an awesome experience. My boyfried was also a dive instructor (yeah, free classes!) and I helped with quite a few, so here is the basic break down from what I can remember.

Normally the classes there were done over 2 weekends. First weekend was confined water (in a pool, or shallow water). Here you would get familiar with the equipment, and learn your skills. The hardest one for me was removing my mask underwater, putting it back on and clearing it, mainly because I wear contacts and had to keep my eyes closed when I did it. Some other skills I can remember are emergency accending and buddy breathing. You also work on your bouyancy ALOT (as in, getting the right amount of weight and the right amount of air in your BC so you can float at a certain depth.

The last weekend are open water dives which are normally done in the ocean or a deeper lake. Basically, there you learn how to really dive. You still practice your skills, but it's more fun related. Of course there is also classroom time where you learn the manual, learn the dive tables and all that fun stuff.

Cost: In Guam, the classes were around $125 and included rental gear so you didn't have to buy your equipment up-front, but from what I understand that is cheaper than here in the states. I think they run anywhere from $200-$400 depending on the area. I would recommend getting your own mask, snorkel, fins and wetsuit (you can rent the scuba gear until you know what you want).

If you have any questions, feel free to pm me. I haven't dove in a few years (I'm now land-locked
) but I also spent those 4 years working for the dive shop so I also know a lot about the equipment.

Good luck! It is a blast!! (I'll try to find some of my underwater pictures and post them to give you an idea of what you have to look forward to!)
 
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starryeyedtiger

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Originally Posted by calico2222

I'm PADI certified and dove for 4 years on Guam. It is an awesome experience. My boyfried was also a dive instructor (yeah, free classes!) and I helped with quite a few, so here is the basic break down from what I can remember.

Normally the classes there were done over 2 weekends. First weekend was confined water (in a pool, or shallow water). Here you would get familiar with the equipment, and learn your skills. The hardest one for me was removing my mask underwater, putting it back on and clearing it, mainly because I wear contacts and had to keep my eyes closed when I did it. Some other skills I can remember are emergency accending and buddy breathing. You also work on your bouyancy ALOT (as in, getting the right amount of weight and the right amount of air in your BC so you can float at a certain depth.

The last weekend are open water dives which are normally done in the ocean or a deeper lake. Basically, there you learn how to really dive. You still practice your skills, but it's more fun related. Of course there is also classroom time where you learn the manual, learn the dive tables and all that fun stuff.

Cost: In Guam, the classes were around $125 and included rental gear so you didn't have to buy your equipment up-front, but from what I understand that is cheaper than here in the states. I think they run anywhere from $200-$400 depending on the area. I would recommend getting your own mask, snorkel, fins and wetsuit (you can rent the scuba gear until you know what you want).

If you have any questions, feel free to pm me. I haven't dove in a few years (I'm now land-locked
) but I also spent those 4 years working for the dive shop so I also know a lot about the equipment.

Good luck! It is a blast!! (I'll try to find some of my underwater pictures and post them to give you an idea of what you have to look forward to!)
That is great advice!!!
Thanks soo much!
I'm off work tomorrow so i'm gonig to call around and see if i can find a good,reputable class in my price range for us to do. (if i can't afford it for christmas- maybe i'll do it for our birthdays this summer and save up!) I think it's something both of us would really love- we've talked about it before so i know we're both interested in it!

One question for you- since Memphis is "land locked" so to speak (we do have some rivers/lakes near us -but they're all kinda gross) - would they teach the entire class in the pool? Any ideas?

Thanks for all the good info! I will definitely pm you if i think of any questions!
 

sarahp

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I'm certified as well, and haven't done any diving in a while but I love it.

If you have asthma they won't let you do it. They may make you do a saline breathing test. My husband had to do one (and he hasn't any asthma problems since he was a kid) and failed and so isn't allowed to get certified. We're thinking of not telling them though and just getting him certified anyway. He's fine snorkelling and swimming in the ocean and we figure if I'm always with him and stay close by I can help if he has any issues.

I think my course was a full weekend, then a practical weekend in the ocean. The hardest part was sitting on the bottom of the ocean and having your mouthpiece removed and having to retrieve it and put it back in your mouth. It was kinda freaky. I'm guessing different courses will have different things, but they will most probably do something that may freak you out a bit just to make sure you can handle yourself in that sort of situation.

Definitely talk to your doctor first though. Here's a couple of pics to make you jealous...






 

rosiemac

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We had a 30 minute lesson when we were in Greece but there were two instructors who came with us. We didn't go really deep, but it was deep enough, but the experience was brilliant!.

I'll try and get a copy of my picture that they took of us, because my ex had to hold me down by my tank on the sea bed to get our pictures taken because i kept floating back up!
 

calico2222

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Originally Posted by StarryEyedTiGeR

That is great advice!!!
Thanks soo much!
I'm off work tomorrow so i'm gonig to call around and see if i can find a good,reputable class in my price range for us to do. (if i can't afford it for christmas- maybe i'll do it for our birthdays this summer and save up!) I think it's something both of us would really love- we've talked about it before so i know we're both interested in it!

One question for you- since Memphis is "land locked" so to speak (we do have some rivers/lakes near us -but they're all kinda gross) - would they teach the entire class in the pool? Any ideas?

Thanks for all the good info! I will definitely pm you if i think of any questions!
For PADI, I don't think you can teach the entire class in a pool because the open water dives have to be between 30-60 ft. I'm not sure about the other agencies though, but they all pretty much follow the same guide lines. We do have a small dive community here thru YMCA, and they do their open water dives in a local quarry or take a weekend trip to the ocean, which is only 6 hours away.
 
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