⌛ Can i take up diving now?

Hey jelly,
I think i am going to stick with Rhoody for now. i might be able to save some money (at least with the beer)

 

Thanks for the info Rhoody! DO you get a certificate with the Discover scuba program? I can't believe the OW class is so expensive. THe OW classes in America only cost $295 which includes the written materials, borrowed tanks, regulators, etc. plus the 6 OPEN water dives that are required to be fully certified. I would have thought the price would have been at least half in DUMA.

 

Cyndi, the Discover Scuba Programm is a programm with no dive-certification, the participant will be registered in the PADI database and you get a "Certification of Recognition". The OW dive can be credited towards the OW Diver certification. The requirement for the PADI OW are 4 OW dives, if a DS offers 6, that is great but has nothing to do with the certification requirements, or is another dive-association.
Now to the price. $295 is for the american market quite expensive, you can get OW for $99 dollar. In Sweden you can become a OW-Diver for 25 Euro (and that is the certification fee. In Germany (a non PADI country) you can become a certified CMAS/VDST diver as soon you join a dive-club (around 50 Euro a year). All classes and use of the facilities are for free. So how can they make money ??? I try to put it in a small hopefully understandable story where a student (S) and instructor (I) are in the first confined water session:

I and S are ready to make the first breath in the water. S is using a full set of rental equipment a 5 mm wetsuit all seems to be ok. Some of the required skills are Regulator recovery, mask clearing. after doing the skills they go to the surface:

I : wow, great job, I liked the way you cleared the regulator after you recovered it, but you had a few problems finding it.
S: Yes, I could not see it, even I turned my head, but the vision with a mask is so narrow...
I: ok, I have a Idea, try my mask and let's do it again...
after repeating the skills and back on the surface....

I: hey, now you got it, you see it is just practising and getting used to the right movement
S: yes, but I also could see more with your mask and the silicon is softer, it does not squeeze so much.
I: sure, but I was searching quite a long time for that, when I finally found it I was completely fascinated and now I am using it for almost 1000 dives and never had a problem I have to change the strap soon, but after 1000 dives that is normal. Ok, you can use it for this pool dive....

What mask do you think this student will buy?

In the US a OW student spent 2005 additional $937 to his coursefee before being certified. The focus in that countries mentioned above is on selling Equipment and trips:

lets continue our small class. The 2 just finished their first 2 OW-lake dives:

I: Hey great, your first dives under the belt, congratulation, come on lets rinse the gear and have a shower and write the logbook with a cold beer
S: Yes I liked, but was a bit nervous.Is the vis always like that? I think I better have a soup, I was a bit cold.
I: Why don't you join our ocean-trip next weekend to finish your course, In the evening we have a small celebration with the other guys to welcome the new member of the diver family. If we don't drink too much, we can go next morning on a real fun-dive to a nice wreck on 60 ft. No skills anymore, just watching corals and fish, I can be your buddy if you like....
99% sure, that student goes on the ocean-trip

In many places in Thailand the are focused on selling many courses. I was there a coulpe of times any in some, in Kho Tao it was hard to make a fun-dive, I had many offers to jump on a dive for the AOW coures and follow along, but do my own thing with my buddy. The general schaedule there is:
Monday-Thursday: OW-Class
Friday and Saturday: AOW-Class
Sunday:Off-day for instructors (needed after all the certification-celebration on Saturday evening:D )

I will not say it is good or bad, but at the end of the day (and this is statistically proofen) Students spend way more money on a OW-class in the western world and even in Japan and HK. I had students who showed up here with a full set of brandnew equipment for thousands of dollar, but no single dive...
Thailand is one of the cheapst places to get your certification done. Due to the tight schedule and bigger classes there might be occationally not enough time to work out problems with single students. And sad enough they still will receive the certification-card (no matter what dive-association PADI, SSI,CMAS and many more).

enough now, I have a student waiting for me....

Rhoody

 

Rhoody, I really appreciate the time involved to explain all of this since I had wanted to know the full details. I am thinking that I just should wait until I get to the PHL and this confirmed it. I do have a friend here that can take me on some practice dives when it becomes Spring. I had hoped to arrive maybe by next summer.

Yes, the BIGGEST thing that scares me is getting with someone that gives me a certificate WITHOUT teaching/training me properly. It is a dangerous sport from all that the others have discussed in the forum and should be taken seriously. I don't want to cut any corners for it.

Cyndi

 

It is not a dangerous sport, but certainly it's a sport not to be practized without a solid training.
I'm much more scared to drive from Zamboanguita to Dumaguete each day then I during any of my dives here.
It's not as save as playing pool billiard, but certainly not comparable with sports like e.g. car- or motor racing.
If you follow the rules you have learned, not a lot of problems are to be encountered. But never feel too lighthearted.. coz then you will tend to forget the standard rules.
You will see the truth of this after you have followed Rhoody's lessons (but....lesson one: don't give him the beer before , he !) :D

 

Scuba Diving Lesson

Hey Mr. Diver,
How much will I pay if i'll study scuba diving? =)

Thanks

 

Cyndi, Boyette.
A good idea if you are from the states and have a dive shop around your area is also the Referral program.
Ask your dive-center there for it, there are different options, for example yo can do all academics and/or the confined (pool) water dives there. When you come to the Philippines they give you a referral - card. Here yo make a skill-review and the 4 OW dives.
Or you make the academics and the final exam there and all water work here. That is a good idea for Beginners who dont wanna study too much in their Vacation. The manual and Video is also as a CD Version available if you don't like "real" books. each student must have his own Manual, Recreational Dive Planer (RDP) Logbook and PIC. All that stuff is included in the Openwater Crewpack.
Gwapa, for you I need to make a special calculation, anyway, as you can provide the boats for our trainingsdives. Also you are a Philippina and the manual is not available in your mother-language. You can borrow one. I can give you one in English for studying in advanced if you like. You will shock all the local-divemasters when they see you underwater. If you can study up there in the big city, we can do the exams and waterwork in 3 days. Then the certification - party and your birthday party could be held together... I hope I receive a personal invitation for that anyway...

Rhoody

 

Water too cold for lessons

With the weather already very cold as it is now, the only option left may be the confined water dives. I don't know anything about diving but i think the thrill of OW dives is part of the learning process, which would perhaps be missing in pool water dives. But thanks so much for the additional info. Will find out if a dive center here offers the referral option and will seriously give it due consideration.

 

Hi Rhoody

My girlfriend is hoping to do her open water cerification when we arrive in Dumaguete in April. We are staying at the El Dorado resort but have yet to book any lessons or courses with them. Our vacation is restricted to seven nights and of course we want to do some sightseeing, including a trip to Apo Island, Dolphin watching etc etc.

I have made enquiries from some other dive schools about whether it would be benificial, and save us time, if she completed the PADI e-learning program before she arrived so as her course would be shorter than the normal 4-5 days. None of the operators gave me a satisfactory answer and I am a bit reluctant to pay for the e-learning course and then still have to pay the full amount when she does the course.

https://www.padi.com/padi/elearning/default.aspx

I would love to dive with her when she is doing the course just to take some videos (I am already qualified but still relatively in-experienced) and then when she hopefuly passes her course we can have at least 1 dive together.

I read on another thread that you know some good dive shops in Cebu, can you tell me where they are. Donesa needs a new mask, one that actually fits her face and not the standard mask that she purchased for snorkeling which continually falls off her face. Where would you recommend

Thank you for any assistance you can give us

Martin

 

As for my knowledge El Dorado does not offer e-learning, but i am not 100%sure about that. A "real" book has also the advantage that you just can have a quick look in it if you forget something (not like the e-learning online-book)
the e-learning is also a bit more expensive, as you have to purchase some stuff when you start the water-work, like logbook and RDP
In the e-learning program you also have to choose the dive-center and get assigned to an instructor in advanced.

To safe some time you can do the following:
get a OW-crewpak (incl. Manual, Logbook, RDP AND Pic, all 4 Items are requirement, don't purchaes a crewpack without PIC), either Paper or CD-Rom-version
watch the video
Study all in advanced, fill in the knowledge reviews, come 110% knowledge prepared to the dive-center
you can almost start right away with the exams if prepared.
and start the waterwork asap.

My expierience with certified divers following along or filming during a course is very bad, it drags the concentration of the student away, makes them nervous and slows everything down.

If the student is very comfortable in the water, it's ok to follow along on the 4the OW dive, or make some shots at the end of the confined-water dives when all skills are mastered and it's the time for some fun.

When you are in Cebu there are some good shops with good mask (Asia Divers, Aquaventure, Scubaworld) take the time to have avery good look around. Buy a good brand whithout fancy clips and buckles, where a normal maskstrap fits.

Maybe I overread it, but when are you coming here? Maybe we can go for a dive together (or I teach the OW class) or just have a cold one...

cheers

Rhoody