Interest in Scuba Diving?

[Reefd Up]

Just a thought here.  I know we have some scuba-divers in the club...and I know we have some people wanting to try scuba diving. 

We haven't looked into this at all...but is there any interest in like a group-discount on scuba diving or whatever any local scuba places can offer us? 

If we can't get any discounts...but you're still interested, my husband and I are both certified open water and can recommend a good place for instruction (and I'm sure other people on here can as well.)  We need to stay current as well, so maybe we could set up an unofficial scuba trip to a local lake or something.

[cyberwollf]

Just to get an idea, What did it cost yall without a discount?

[Rayman]

This is something i have wanted to do for a long time.

[Reefd Up]

Hm...for both of us it was about $1000 for the two of us total ($500 each or so)...but, that included...

Really nice snorkel, mask, and fins for me (I had to get the good stuff to keep up with Will...he's fast)
Nice snorkel, mask, and fins for Will
In-pool classes for both of us (two full days)
Open water classes (5 dives) in Curacao on the reefs
BCD, regulator, wet suits, etc equipment rental
Online classes (book training)
Two eRDPml (Multilevel Recreational Dive Planners...little computer calculators)

There are less expensive ways to do it depending on where you do your open water certification...what snorkel/mask/fins you get, etc. 

The place where we went (Aquatic Realm in Centerville) gives you a $50 discount if you are referred by someone and then the person that referred you gets a $50 gift certificate too.  We are PADI open water certified.  And...let me tell ya, the place where we went REALLY trained us well.  We were much better trained than the other people in Curacao finishing their open water certificate. 

I guess expect to spend about $200 to $400 depending on where you go, what you buy, etc.  We went a bit on the more expensive side since we wanted really nice equipment.

 

[Reefd Up]

Oh, and most places have "Discover Scuba" where the instructor just takes you on a dive...and there aren't any classes just so you can see if you like it or not.  Those are usually about $60

[HUNGER]

ya that would be cool   i would love to be certified  and go any where and dive

[ohioreef]

I would LOVE to learn how to SCUBA dive.

[Reefd Up]

Wow, turnout is really looking great so far!  Much better than I expected, especially with the economy.  So what certifications are you all interested in?  Just a "Discover Scuba" to see if you like it, just scuba certified so you can scuba with an instructor, open water certified so you can go alone within reason, advanced open water, wreck diving, deep sea diving, nitrox diving, night diving, underwater photography classes, etc, etc etc??  Just trying to get an idea of our experience levels and how to approach the subject with the businesses.

Anyone have any other scuba places they liked and would like for us to see if we can get a discount at?

[Rayman]

discover scuba would be a waste for me i know i will like it, but i would like to get certified for all of the above.

[ohioreef]

My goal would be to be certified to be able to dive in the gravel pits, lakes, rivers, etc that we have around here. I'm hoping then I'd be able to do it for work.

[Reefd Up]

Oh, and I should add...

To get scuba certified, you'll need to be able to swim 200m continuously (about 12 laps in the pool) and float for 10 minutes.  I had a really really hard time swimming the 200m since I'm a terrible swimmer, but you can swim 300m (about 18 laps) with a snorkel, mask, and fins (that's what I did, and I had no problem). 

[xXTheWendigoXx]

I'm certified and desperate to go out again! My dive buddies all moved out of state 

There's a great old quarry in New Paris near Richmond IN. If you pay the park fee to get into the quarry, you get a free Tank Refill from Southern Ohio Diving Association. There's a couple of cars at the bottom, and some platforms that SODA sank to the bottom for lesson purposes. You can average about 25ft, it gets deeper but there's a REALLY cold current down there, makes it hard to dive.

[Rbunk13]

I used to dive when i was on the west milton fire dept. Sadly I donated my equipment to the dept. when I left. I do however still have a copy of the the Open Water Diver P.A.D.I version 2.0 program if anyone is interested in copying it.

[Reefd Up]

I have sent a request for a group discount to Aquatic Realm (that's where Will and I were trained) since we had such a great experience with them.  I'll put a request out to a few other companies as well. 

[HUNGER]

thats cool

[woltersb]

I dive for both work and fun... get with me if you guys do go diving... winter or summer I dont care!

[HUNGER]

im sure we will

[Russ]

Hm...for both of us it was about $1000 for the two of us total ($500 each or so)...but, that included...

If you live in the Midwest and like the idea of diving in warm, gin-clear water, the real expense for SCUBA begins after you're certified...

Russ