Checked off a box on the ol bucket list! PADI open water certified!

[Yooper906]

So my wife and I have always wanted to get our open water certs and we finally made it happen. Just got back from a 6 night cruise and was able to get certified during it. Prior to the cruise, we had to complete the online training. During the cruise, we completed our 4 open water dives and our confined dives.

Our first two open water dives were in Honduras and the remaining two were in Cozumel. Honduras was 100x better than Cozumel!

We are now certified to dive by ourselves up to 60ft and we can’t wait for the summer to come around up here! We plan on diving some of the shipwrecks in the Great Lakes!

 

[A207X2]

Congrats. Wife and I are both certified and often used to run down to the Keys for a weekend of diving. You’ll love it.

 

[Yooper906]

Congrats. Wife and I are both certified and often used to run down to the Keys for a weekend of diving. You’ll love it.

We want to dive the Keys! We will definitely be planning vacations around diving

 

[JLDemo]

Congrats! Wife and I share this hobby and our vacations revolve around the diving. Get nitrox as soon as you can, your bottom time will be extended, more bang for your buck.

We were in Cozumel a few years ago purely diving and fishing. The drift dives were new to me, not exactly a fan but Cozumel had some absolutely huge Giant Grouper I haven't seen elsewhere.

It's a fun hobby, you can extend your hunting season through diving too. About once a year, usually in spring, Grand Cayman has a diving trip specific to lion fish hunting. Now that's fun!

 

[Farmerj]

I was PADI and NAUI, open, dry suit, deep and stress certified.

If you’re going to dive northern waters, get dry suit certified. Night and day difference and you won’t get hypothermic which will happen even with a semi-dry wet suit.

Get stress certified too so you are prepared for when you have air issues.

If you’re around Minnesota, consider the iron mines around Crosby MN. Some of those pits are 250+ deep and are as clear as the gulf waters. I know when I went, there was 100’ visibility in a state where 2’ is considered good.

Deep water let’s you go to 150’. The iron mines benefited from that.

 

[drexal]

NICE! Diving is addictive. I got certified when I was stationed in Guam. I was diving 3 to 4 times a week. Boat dives were cheap, and the schedule ran 7 days a week. Sometimes, I would just pick up a couple of tanks after work and find a place to walk in. My big regret was not taking up spearfishing while I was there.

 

[Farmerj]

My cardiologist has totally prohibited me from diving anymore.

It will be missed

 

[1100RemingtonMan]

My favorite diving was the kelp beds around Catalina Islands CA.

 

[A207X2]

We want to dive the Keys! We will definitely be planning vacations around diving

Two places that are good first dives in the Keys are:

1. Key Largo: John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. Go with Quiesence Dive Services. They go out in "six packs" meaning maximum of only six divers so you're not on a cattle boat. Shallow dives (35-50') and a lot to see.
2. Islamorada: Sea Monkeys Dive Shop. Another six-pack shop. You can stay right next door to them at our favorite motel "The Breezy Palms". We've dove with Sea Monkeys at least a half-dozen times and never had a bad dive. We love Breezy Palms so much we actually got married there - and they doesn't even allow weddings, but they made an exception for us.

Marathon and Looe Key are two other good dive spots, but the above two would be my first choices for you.

 

[Yooper906]

My favorite diving was the kelp beds around Catalina Islands CA.

Buddy of mine spoke highly of the kelp beds! Might have to give it a try! He also told me about some caves over in Hawaii? Sounded interesting

 

[A207X2]

Buddy of mine spoke highly of the kelp beds! Might have to give it a try! He also told me about some caves over in Hawaii? Sounded interesting

My wife got her PADI certification in Monterrey Bay in the kelp fields. Water temp was 56º. She said it was like joining the Navy Seals there.

 

[Yooper906]

Two places that are good first dives in the Keys are:

1. Key Largo: John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. Go with Quiesence Dive Services. They go out in "six packs" meaning maximum of only six divers so you're not on a cattle boat. Shallow dives (35-50') and a lot to see.
2. Islamorada: Sea Monkeys Dive Shop. Another six-pack shop. You can stay right next door to them at our favorite motel "The Breezy Palms". We've dove with Sea Monkeys at least a half-dozen times and never had a bad dive. We love Breezy Palms so much we actually got married there - and they doesn't even allow weddings, but they made an exception for us.

Marathon and Looe Key are two other good dive spots, but the above two would be my first choices for you.

Appreciate the recommendations! Would love to try these dives!

 

[KoolBreeze]

Buddy of mine spoke highly of the kelp beds! Might have to give it a try! He also told me about some caves over in Hawaii? Sounded interesting

I dove off the North Shore of Oahu 15 years ago or so in/through some lava tubes. It was like a cave dive but dumped us out over a deep drop off. I went with a couple military guys that were stationed there at the time. It was neat but the diving in Maui and Kona was much better back then, probably still is.

A lot of Live-A-Boards are very good too if your main interest is dive, dive, dive, then dive some more. A nitrox certification would be huge advantage on this type trip.

Since you're new to diving though, my advice would be to find some place local with fairly controlled conditions, like a rock quarry, and practice your skills. Master your buoyancy, mask don/doff, underwater navigation, etc. In other words, get comfortable and confident in your abilities until they are second nature. Maybe even sign up for some advanced classes, if you have a good local shop.

 

[Farmerj]

Since you're new to diving though, my advice would be to find some place local with fairly controlled conditions, like a rock quarry, and practice your skills. Master your buoyancy, mask don/doff, underwater navigation, etc. In other words, get comfortable and confident in your abilities until they are second nature. Maybe even sign up for some advanced classes, if you have a good local shop.

Getting stress dive rated was an eye opener for us.

Until I did deep dive rating and I free flowed a regulator. You can really empty a tank fast when that happens.

It’s like learning yoga…on steroids… because the only air you have is what’s on your back.

 

[NoWiser]

Congrats! I got certified in college for a phy-ed credit. My buddies promptly convinced me to go ice diving and all we had were wetsuits, mine a size too big. I would not recommend that.

My wife is a horrible swimmer. Diving is out of the question for her. So, unfortunately, I haven’t done it for years. I did do two dives in Belize on our honeymoon and it was great.

Congrats again on the certification. You two will have a ton of great adventures to share in the future.