Master Diver Certification Complete!

[jimmyjam]

You've got quite a few options everman. Their is a resort course which PADI calls Discover Scuba Diving. They cover a few basic skills in the pool and a few concepts. You then do two open water dives under the direct supervision of your instructor. There is a 4 to 1 student ratio and you receive no certification out of it.

If you want a certification ahead of time you have two basic choices. The first is the Open Water course which consists of all 5 chapters of the Open Water manual, 4 quizzes, a final exam, 5 pool dives, and 4 open water dives. You can also choose to do all of the bookwork, quizzes, and test online through PADI e-learning. Then you do the pool and open water dives with an instructor. Also, you can do the pool dives with an instructor where you live, and wait to do the open water dives on vacation. You'll just need your instructor from your pool dives to fill out a referral card and bring it with you.

The other certification you can get is called PADI Scuba Diver. It consists of chapters 1-3 in the OW manual, 3 pool dives, and 2 open water dives. You get a certification out of it, but it only allows you to dive with a guide who is a Divemaster or higher, which is what most people do on vacation anyway.

Whichever you choose, good luck!

Narse: definitely look me up if you're in Key Largo, I'll be happy to show you around the reefs and wrecks.

 

[jimmyjam]

Originally posted by: spidey07
Screw coral, I want to hang out with some whitetips.

Sharks don't really bother me, it's when they show feeding behavior that I go - GTFO!

A friend and I were spearfishing a couple of weeks ago and got a little visit from a bull shark looking for dinner. When he got within about 20 feet of us we headed to our safety stop ready to sacrifice the fish on our stringers. He left us alone, but it felt like the longest 3 minutes ever while we watched for him.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: jimmyjam

Originally posted by: spidey07
Screw coral, I want to hang out with some whitetips.

Sharks don't really bother me, it's when they show feeding behavior that I go - GTFO!

A friend and I were spearfishing a couple of weeks ago and got a little visit from a bull shark looking for dinner. When he got within about 20 feet of us we headed to our safety stop ready to sacrifice the fish on our stringers. He left us alone, but it felt like the longest 3 minutes ever while we watched for him.

yeah, you can see that look in their eyes.

I recall a 6 foot barracuda just hovering. He was really cool, just sitting there - all by himself, out in the open. There was a reason he was by himself (they normally school). I checked him out for a few minutes at maybe 6 feet away, didn't really care about me. Then I moved in a little closer. He moved his head towards me, his eyes looking dead at me and he just opened his mouth, grinned and showed his teeth.

Alright dude, I got ya. I'm outta here. You're in their world, but the signs are still very clear.