Open Water Dive Certificates...

[TexasCowboy]

El Presidental is right on the beach in Cozumel, Mexico, there is a resturant outside where you can see all of the sea life at your feet while eating. At night there are dives at the beach in front of the hotel where you can see the eels and other creatures if you are not scared of diving at night, you have a flashlight with you.....get a room over-looking the ocean..

Great way to spend a vacation...

TexasCowboy

[Bestman200600]

Most of the best dives in Cozumel are on the South end of the Island. It takes an hour by boat to get there from the North end and the North end has an 8 knot current heading toward Cuba if you screw up.

[AT6Texan]

Originally Posted by Bestman200600

Most of the best dives in Cozumel are on the South end of the Island. It takes an hour by boat to get there from the North end and the North end has an 8 knot current heading toward Cuba if you screw up.

Yeah but San Juan and Barracuda can be a hell of a ride. ~Ze~ both of these dives are out of the national park, and you can spear fish them, lots of lobster but it is for advanced strong divers. Certain times of the year you can see very cool schooling large sea life here, Lots of crazy currents and like bestman said if your boat loses you, you have to kick like hell for the shore or you may be on your way to Cuba.

The rest of the diving on Cozumel is relatively tame, Maracaibo has large animals and Punta Sur has Devil's Throat, both are deep and not beginner's dives, but something to work up to. Great dives for a newly certified divers are all sections of Palancar reef, Columbia reef, and Santa Rosa wall among others.

Divers can go down longer!

[Grunt1969]

Have you been able to get your certificate and do the dives with the whale sharks?
I got certified in Australia at Ningaloo Reef. Took 2 days of classroom and afternoon dives and 1 night dive to get the open water cert. Then I did the extra day to get the PADI advanced open water cert.
On my fourth day I dove with the whale sharks. Have done it several times after as well.
Would love to know how your experience was.

[guest043013-2]

Originally Posted by sexonfire

Have you been able to get your certificate and do the dives with the whale sharks?
I got certified in Australia at Ningaloo Reef. Took 2 days of classroom and afternoon dives and 1 night dive to get the open water cert. Then I did the extra day to get the PADI advanced open water cert.
On my fourth day I dove with the whale sharks. Have done it several times after as well.
Would love to know how your experience was.

Dang you guys are making me jealous. I need to get wet in my other hobby.

Night dive was typically an advanced open water dive for PADI. Of course, when I got certified, they did not differentiate between basic open water and advanced. (And the gear was a whole lot less sophiticated. No octopus rigs back then. Buddy breathing was a required skillset. And no computers for diving, you learned and dived the tables.)

[~Ze~]

And to think I spent most of middle school bitching about multiplication tables! Dive tables kicked my ass til I "got" it. Whew.

I have a list of places I would love to go ... but one name keeps popping up- Cozumel !!! Me thinks I should start there.

This has been an amazing experience for me, the discovery dive, now the certification course. I am fucking excited!

As soon as I get my cert I am buying a ticket to Atlanta. Or hell... I might just save that for another trip and head straight south to someplace warm! Too many options!

Wondering a lot about gear. I am a bit spoiled, but I am not opposed to buying used. Any chance one of you fellas are thinking about upgrading? *wink*

[guest043013-2]

Originally Posted by ~Ze~

And to think I spent most of middle school bitching about multiplication tables! Dive tables kicked my ass til I "got" it. Whew...

Dive tables are a bitch, and if I had to actually dive them at this point, I would probably get bent. The way to go is a dive computer. Lot of technology out there in this regard, I would suggest renting a few different ones and finding one you liked. It will take the stress of dive tables off the table, so to speak, will get you more bottom time, and in the end, likely be safer. With the dive computer handling the toughest part of the dive, you are free to enjoy the ride.

Used equipment, especially for wetsuits & fins is probably fine, snorkels & mask are not high dollar items new. If you do the dive computer & regulators used, make sure they get checked out by a reputable dive shop. BC jacket is an area that I probably tend to prefer new.

The BC & your regs/dive computer are critical items when diving. Your life will depend on them. The rest of the gear is important for comfort and successful diving, but not near as critical as the aforementioned items.

Colzumel is a great place to test and build your dive skills.

[Bestman200600]

Just don't let your air go to zero on a hundred foot dive in the Caymans.

[guest043013-2]

Originally Posted by Bestman200600

Just don't let your air go to zero on a hundred foot dive in the Caymans.

Sounds like a voice of experience. Hope you were well trained on emergency ascent procedures or had a buddy close by.

I have been down to 200 psi on an open water Carribean dive, but dive master was just a few feet away. Was down below 100 on a training dive once. (For you non-divers, the 'book' typically wants you on the surface with 500 psi. Zero is bad, tank will now require a visual inspection before refill.)

[~Ze~]

It is official! I am a certified gold fish!

What a learning experience! I am so excited! Now... back to this trip planning.

[Spikebaby]

<------LOOOOVES scuba diving!!!!!!

You are going to absolutely Love it....It is like going to another planet!

Spikebaby

[AT6Texan]

Congratulations ~Ze~!!!!


Divers can do it longer and go deeper.

Keep a log book, it is amazing how much this helps as you dive and go back to places.