i have been wanting to dive for a long time and never really started looking into places to get certified until now. what are your thoughts on getting certified? does it take a while to get certified? just a few weeks? how does the process work?
One weekend. Lowcountryscuba.com… Last time I checked it was a friday night class (6pm-10pm) and then all day saturday, and half day sunday which includes some diving in a pond on Sunday. You may have to read a little before the class.
skinnee are you certified? how is it?
“Good things come to those who bait”
Wow thats alot less time then it took me to get my PADI open water in 77. Diving is great alot of fun
Local Boy, Just having fun.
quote:Yes, PADI certified and a certified bad-ass :smiley:. It's awesome. Wish I would have gotten certified 15 years earlier. It's something that I am going to buy my neice and nephew as soon as they are mature enough (and of age for PADI).
Originally posted by phinfreak09skinnee are you certified? how is it?
“Good things come to those who bait”
quote:77? Old ass! I figured you a lot younger than that. When you got certified, I was still ****ting my diaper...
Originally posted by Local BoyWow thats alot less time then it took me to get my PADI open water in 77. Diving is great alot of fun
Local Boy, Just having fun.
Also, you do NOT need the “Advanced Open Water” unless you are planning on a lot of vacation diving in water > 60. It doesn’t really teach you anything new. Same concepts at 60’ and at 120’. I did the “Advanced Open Water” and thought it was a waste of money. Basic “Open Water” will teach you almost everything you need to know for diving in Charleston. But you should get NITROX. Everyone in SC dives NITROX because you can stay down longer and less time sitting out between dives. We don’t let air tanks on our boat, just nitrox. So to recap, get:
OPEN WATER
NITROX CERT
The Nitrox cert is the best investment you can make in diving.
what ab NAUI? is open water certification better with PADI or NAUI. im trying to figure it all out.
“Good things come to those who bait”
Phin, I think it’s all the same. Lowcountryscuba happens to be a PADI shop. You would probably be better off giving the dive shop a call to ask the difference. I don’t really know the benefits of being one versus the other. Most shops that I have seen personally are PADI and I have seen one NAUI. That could just be regional though.
Like Local Boy it took me a LOT longer (months!). Course mine was taught by the US Navy in Panama City in 1982. 
Great thing to do. Then you can get your hobby diver license and find cool stuff in the Cooper!
Tidewater 196DC
Yamaha F115
Pungo 120Absolutely the most fun you can have with your clothes on!
Just don’t take it lightly, a lot of “unanticapated scenarios” that on dry land are just a inconvience, can become a life threatining one under water.
One sees a lot more NAUI shops on the West coast vs PADI on East coast, definitly seems to be a regional thing like Skinnee said.
Oh, and you were definitly still poopin yer diapers when I got certified too SkinneeJ! Jus no poopin in da pool!
Russ B.
www.joinrfa.org
God is great, Beer is good, People are crazy
thanks fellas!
“Good things come to those who bait”
quote:
77? Old ass! I figured you a lot younger than that. When you got certified, I was still ****ting my diaper...
Dang bunch of younguns I got certified in 1970, NASDS. Anybody remember them?
I should probably get a refresher course
Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats
Got me beat there Larry! I think mine was like in 76, Dad lied about mine and my brothers ages so we could get certified early cause he was tired of havin to fill our tanks for us all the time!
Russ B.
www.joinrfa.org
God is great, Beer is good, People are crazy
not trying to top anyone, got mine in “69”. austin dive shop south miami, fla. when I was in HS! learned it again the hard way in panama city in “83” USN 2ndclass diver.I was 29 then, bunch of young bucks wore me out! worked at the shipyard as a hardhat diver till they closed the gates in 96. i was lucky to hook up with some great guys just a few yrs ago and with constant networking, I have a list of 20+, very dependable divers that will go at the phone call! im 59 now and wear them young bucks out today! had 60+ dives on my computer last year and hope to top that this yr. there just is not another sport with the adrenaline rush when you are one on one with a 50+lb fish, in his world ready to do battle once the trigger is pulled, not knowing whats lurking behind you!(we never dive alone and i know my partner has my back) some will tell you how dangerous it is, but with the proper training and a little exp. I would worry more about driving up I-26! skinneej is right, get nitrox at the same time or there won’t be many offers AS ALL THE GOOD DIVING is generally out past 60’ as a rule with 100’/110 holding the best targets!
i think skineej will also tell you how blessed we are to live in S.C. the fishing is off the chart compared to most of the east coast.
my kids have been diving all their lives and they are starting their kids out right!
it is another world down there and there is a very sobering report on spearboard.com of a diver that got bent last yr in ga. and may never walk again! pm me your phone# and i can give you some good intell on the local dive shops. I’m a meat hunter and don’t own a fly rod, not that there is anything wrong with that!
If it got any better I couldn’t stand it.
quote:
Originally posted by skinneejAlso, you do NOT need the “Advanced Open Water” unless you are planning on a lot of vacation diving in water > 60. It doesn’t really teach you anything new. Same concepts at 60’ and at 120’. I did the “Advanced Open Water” and thought it was a waste of money. Basic “Open Water” will teach you almost everything you need to know for diving in Charleston. But you should get NITROX. Everyone in SC dives NITROX because you can stay down longer and less time sitting out between dives. We don’t let air tanks on our boat, just nitrox. So to recap, get:
OPEN WATER
NITROX CERTThe Nitrox cert is the best investment you can make in diving.
I am going to politely advocate getting an AOW cert. Especially for diving here in Charleston. There is a lot more Navigation and Drift diving taught in that course which IMHO is necessary with the large tidal currents you can experience offshore.
If you go anywhere on vacation and want to dive >60 feet. They will check for an AOW cert and some will even ask to see your log. Who want’s to get certified to only dive offshore Charleston? Lets admit it, unless you are shooting fish, diving here sucks. We have pretty crappy viz most of the year, with the exception of winter. Get an AOW so you can go anywhere you want and dive ALL of it.
Get a NITROX cert too. It’s a bit pointless until you get good at using your air. In other words, unless you have been diving a lot recently, you wont realize the true benefit of NITROX if you huff through your tank in 30 min which is what most beginner divers do, heck its been awhile since my last dive so my air usage is going to suck the next one I do.
On the point of having a shorter surface interval, well that is kind of mute also. Most people wait an hour between dives/div
Been thinking about skydiving also. When I go 8 feet deep without gear the water pressure makes my ears pop and it is very painful. Any advise or should I just stay in the boat or go snorkeling? Thank you.
quote:
Originally posted by Bug Catchernot trying to top anyone, got mine in “69”. austin dive shop south miami, fla. when I was in HS! learned it again the hard way in panama city in “83” USN 2ndclass diver.I was 29 then, bunch of young bucks wore me out!
</font id=“quote”></blockquote id=“quote”>I was a scuby doo in October 82. Just missed you. Arrived about a good bit early so ended up working out with the UDT class until my class started. They about killed me. 29 is definitely “old” for that crowd (I was 20). Wonderful to see you passed it down to your kids. My dad and I started dredging for gold when I was 14, so I learned to dive at a young age. Still some awesome memories of he and I diving dawn till dusk on the Mokelumne River, then panning out the gold late into the night.
Tidewater 196DC
Yamaha F115Pungo 120
have to politely disagree with dreamin-on about the viz, last 2 dives were 40+ft. awesome viz, although TD-1 may mess up the viz for the next 10 days. the viz can sometimes get bad but we usually have 20/30’ most dives, again we stay out past 85’most days. we have had 100+ viz at times! ( looking for Jordan to jump in here about the suckey diving, he takes pics yr round) AOW won’t hurt, you can’t get to much certification or experience. good point on everyone on board having same gas. you wont be able to do 3 dives on air @ the depths we dive with the time avl to us running out 35/40 miles! we can have everyone do 3 nitrox dives on the average (last dive is usually 60/70’ on way in) each trip depending on hook and line bite! get with a good crew and they will make sure you dive safe. we like to come home with everone! Its a reqirement!
JimIslander, SGT Tillet was my instructer and Mad Dog Redecki was our Master Diver.
If it got any better I couldn’t stand it.
I still have my Navy Dive chart and can dive a dive from the chart. I’ve even got a wheel in my log book somewhere. We got certified in 82…it took 4-5 weeks. Sadly, we haven’t blown any bubbles since the cherubs started wanting to go with us on vacations.
“I am constantly amazed at the stupidity of the general public.”
~my dad
Equipment:
190cc Sea Pro w/130 Johnson
1- 17 year old
1 - 13 year old
1 - wife (The Warden)
ECFC