Dive Lessons

[Renegade]

I'm looking for a good place to get my dive ticket, I'd like to take up diving as a hobby and i wanted to know if anyone has had experience with any of the dive shops in Surrey or Vancouver area.

Kyle

[spoot]

Hey,
There is a great place in Vancouver call IDC. It's at broadway and arbutus. I only have my last 2 ocean dives left before I get my open water cert. The staff there are very nice and knowledgeble. Here is the link to their site. http://www.diveidc.com/

[Jason McK]

There are quite a few places that I have found to have really good people with good credentials. Your in Burnaby right?
Ocean Quest http://www.diveoceanquest.com/
The Edge http://www.edgediving.com/index.aspx
In White Rock
Ocean Pro Divers http://www.oceanprodivers.com/

those are the shops I recommend there are others but I have not had any experience with them.

J

[trilinearmipmap]

Can anyone post a link regarding the process of dive certification:

1. Are there different levels of certification?

2. How long does it take to get certified?

3. Does certification expire and do you need to get re-certified?

Also if you could go anywhere in the world to learn to dive, where would it be? I was told the Caymans or Cozumel, I was thinking of an island in Thailand.

[Jason McK]

Originally Posted by trilinearmipmap

Can anyone post a link regarding the process of dive certification:

1. Are there different levels of certification?

Yes there are many certifications you can get.
It begins with and continues as follows
1) Open Water Cert
2) Advanced Open water
3) Rescue Diver
4) Master diver
5) Dive Master
6) Instructor
There are also many speciality dives courses that are requirements for some of the certs.

Originally Posted by trilinearmipmap

2. How long does it take to get certified?

To get your open water it can take as little as a week
Typically you take 4 -6 class/pool sessions then a week-end in the ocean (4 dives)

Originally Posted by trilinearmipmap

3. Does certification expire and do you need to get re-certified?

It is always recommended that you do not spend a lot of time between dives. There are courses offered to people that have not dived in awhile to brush up on techniques. But the Cert does not expire

Originally Posted by trilinearmipmap

Also if you could go anywhere in the world to learn to dive, where would it be? I was told the Caymans or Cozumel, I was thinking of an island in Thailand.

not sure about this one. I got certified in the cold waters of BC

Jason

[wetcoast]

Great Pacific Diving Co on 152 and 100th is right down the street from me, nice guys as well. I have not done any certs with them, but going to be going through my Masters course in the next couple weeks once I get some of my other priorities sorted. Prices are right.

[ron101]

Originally Posted by trilinearmipmap

Also if you could go anywhere in the world to learn to dive, where would it be? I was told the Caymans or Cozumel, I was thinking of an island in Thailand.

IMO Learn to dive at home. Unless you are going to be on an extended holiday, don't waste your holiday time learning to dive. Trust me, you would rather be out on the reef instead of in a pool or 10 ft off the beach learning your skills.

Certification courses in the GVRD are competitively priced with those offered by shops at tourist destinations and arguably offer a higher standard of training considering the cold water environment.

[trilinearmipmap]

OK.

I am so busy I won't have time to learn to dive until I get a holiday anyway.

I was always scared of diving until I met a father/son pair on my last vacation who do scuba together, they made it sound pretty easy, now I am keen on doing it.

I'm surprised at how many people on these boards dive.

As far as diving in a tropical location, do you need to own any of your own equipment to start with if you are going for a lesson package. Obviously people who dive a lot will have most or all of their own equipment, what about a beginner?

My other question was about wet suits in tropical destinations. Obviously at the surface the water is warm but deeper down do you need to wear anything to stay warm or is the temperature still comfortable?

[ron101]

Pretty much any shop that runs cert courses will have equipment for rent. Quality will of course vary.

In the tropics, most people will at least wear a shorty wetsuit. Those are about the best that you will find at a tropical dive shop since they are the least expensive. Even in the tropics however, it is not unusual to get cold in a shorty. You will often see instructors and experienced divers wearing full 3, 4, or 5mm wetsuits.