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Originally Posted by Myka
I think for most people, the Open Water is sufficient as most people don't dive without dive masters. I think furthering certification is a good idea for people who go on dive trips where they may be going in a group without any dive masters. There really isn't a lot of extra knowledge in the Advanced course. I think for many people though, taking the Deep Diver course is probably a good idea because many dive masters will take Open Water divers beyond the 60 ft limitation of the Open Water. I'm a big ole chicken, so there's no way in hell I would go beyond 60 ft without the extra training.  |
Yeah, I figured the advanced doesn't teach much. I think it's designed to take divers to new limits under supervision and maybe expand on a couple skills. But it's really about comfort level. I was very comfortable diving from the start. I don't think you need a dive master necessarily. It's a matter of staying within your comfort limits and diving with people that you trust and following the rules. Stay with your buddy. Monitor your air. Don't ascend too quickly. Do your safety stops. I was diving to 70 feet pretty much right away because we would be at 60 and I would see something cool a little lower so we would go down and check it out, then come up again. And then it just slowly progressed from there. There's some cool stuff down around 80 feet in some areas that you won't see if you stick to 60. I've slowly worked my way down to 87. But really it's a matter of staying within your comfort zone and remaining calm. I find it easy because I love being underwater and feel pretty comfortable and relaxed.
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I did mine at ocean pro divers for $280 with a Groupon. I paid an additional $380 for the dry suit certification and a 6 month rental package. Totally worth it.
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That's basically what I did too. The 6 month rental package is an awesome deal if you use it. I've been making the most of it and diving one or two days every other week. It's been awesome seeing big wolf eels, shaking hands with octopus, getting face to face with big ling cod, swimming through big schools of perch and minnows, gliding over gardens of anemones...