PADI certification

[ttown]

I'm wanting to get PADI certified this summer and am planning to do half the cert. training in Tacoma WA and finish the open-water dives in Oahu HI.

Is there anyone in WA here that has done the same? And can recommend (or warn against) any particular Scuba training outfit?

Are scuba shops partnered with other scuba shops to do this, or are PADI training shops interchangable in the sense that you can start training at any padi shop and finish at any other padi shop?

tia -
ttown

 

[BoomerD]

Pay And Dive In...

Take your basic training at any scuba training facility there, finish in Hawaii. People do it all the time. The training should be interchangable between shops.

 

[AndrewR]

Just stopped at a dive shop today. I am looking forward to getting in the water again. Need to buy a thicker wetsuit though.

 

[SearchMaster]

Originally posted by: BoomerD
Pay And Dive In...

Take your basic training at any scuba training facility there, finish in Hawaii. People do it all the time. The training should be interchangable between shops.

I thought it was Put Another Dollar In?

 

[911paramedic]

Speaking as an instructor, the courses are laid out exactly the same so you should be able to do it anywhere.

I would suggest getting the cert completed before the trip though, that way when you go on your trip you don't have to waste time getting certified, you can just dive.

Not only that, you should learn the openwater portion where you live, since that's where you'll most likely do most of your diving.

If you learn in WA you will be amazed at how easy it is in HI, considering wetsuits, weights, water temp, vis, etc.

 

[DrPizza]

I wouldn't want to waste half a day in Hawaii finishing my certification. I'd rather dive where I wanted to.

 

[TheSlamma]

911para and DrPizza are right, The Sound is cold but get the cert done there in WA. Hawaii is amazing, spend it doing regular dives.

 

[ttown]

Thanks for the responses so far....

I've been looking at dive shops in seattle and tacoma, and none of the listed classes fit well with my schedule to do the full training before I go to HI.

Other than private lessons (for 2), the best fitting situation is to split it.

The only shop I found (in seattle) that specifically states on their website that they do the bookwork + pool in preparation for a referral dive says the knowledge part is done at home; and then you go to the shop for the pool portion.

I'd prefer a shop with more of a class-room type environment -- so I'm going to call around to see if any others do the knowledge portion on-site. I'll be taking a teenager, so I think the classroom environment would be better than 'at home' (where there are distractions to putting a real concentrated effort into learning something).
It's much easier to have class-time from X to Y, vs. telling a teenager "let's study from X to Y"

I'm really hoping that a local shop is willing to do the split training and does the knowlege portion on-site. Worst case, i'll have to do home-study.

 

[olds]

Originally posted by: 911paramedic
Speaking as an instructor, the courses are laid out exactly the same so you should be able to do it anywhere.

I would suggest getting the cert completed before the trip though, that way when you go on your trip you don't have to waste time getting certified, you can just dive.

Not only that, you should learn the openwater portion where you live, since that's where you'll most likely do most of your diving.

If you learn in WA you will be amazed at how easy it is in HI, considering wetsuits, weights, water temp, vis, etc.

QFT

 

[TheSlamma]

All the PADI shops should do a referral for you, yellow card they give you and bring all your medical release forms.

And to be honest the E-learning blows the classroom away.

 

[ttown]

Originally posted by: TheSlamma
All the PADI shops should do a referral for you, yellow card they give you and bring all your medical release forms.

And to be honest the E-learning blows the classroom away.

What's a yellow card? (I'm presuming it says that I've done the knowledge + pool parts of the cert?)

And what medical release forms are you referring to?
I took a "discover scuba" class in a pool about a year ago -- and I remember filling out a form pretty much just checking that we didn't have any of a long list of conditions.
Do we need a doctor visit specifically for scuba?

And do you mean take medical forms to the pool dive? Or to HI, when I finish the cert?

Thanks for the input... it makes me feel a bit better about the e-learning stuff.
My only concern is getting my teenager motivated to go through it to the point of passing tests -- and to give me confidence to be my dive-buddy.

 

[TheSlamma]

Originally posted by: ttown

Originally posted by: TheSlamma
All the PADI shops should do a referral for you, yellow card they give you and bring all your medical release forms.

And to be honest the E-learning blows the classroom away.

What's a yellow card? (I'm presuming it says that I've done the knowledge + pool parts of the cert?)

And what medical release forms are you referring to?
I took a "discover scuba" class in a pool about a year ago -- and I remember filling out a form pretty much just checking that we didn't have any of a long list of conditions.
Do we need a doctor visit specifically for scuba?

And do you mean take medical forms to the pool dive? Or to HI, when I finish the cert?

Thanks for the input... it makes me feel a bit better about the e-learning stuff.
My only concern is getting my teenager motivated to go through it to the point of passing tests -- and to give me confidence to be my dive-buddy.

The yellow card is the PADI referral card they will give you where you take your class/pool session to take to the center you complete your 4 open water dives.

And yep that medical form you filled out where you checked No on everything, have a copy of it onhand when you go out there. Some dive shops get pickey about that form and make you fill one out again if they don't see a copy on hand, have it with you to save that time.

You can get that Medical Statement 1/2 way down this page

If your local shop has this still on file from your other class just get a copy to take, if not print it and have yours ready. Ofcourse they can have you do this there, I just like to save time and get to the water

 

[ttown]

Last bump for any other opinions

 

[BoomerD]

Do you ever plan on diving in Puget Sound or off the Washington coast? If so, do your dives locally so you have some comfort level in the murky cold water. IF NOT, then take your classes there, do your diving in nice warm CLEAR Hawaiian water.