#21019 - 03/22/05 09:01 AM
Scuba HELP!
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bridetobe
Member
Registered: 03/11/05
Posts: 21
Loc: Law
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Please help scuba experts! My fiance and I are planning on taking an open water scuba diving course but are confused with the distinctions - PADI, NAUI, and SDI. Does it make a difference as to which one we get certified for? The course that I found that is the least expensive would certify us is an SDI course. I have no idea what any of this stuff means so any input would be great appreciated. It appears to me that it's a distinction that is based on the organization as each course has the same outline and requires the 4 checkout dives but I am not sure of this. Thanks so much for any info!
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#21020 - 03/22/05 10:13 AM
Re: Scuba HELP!
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Arienne
Junior Member
Registered: 03/07/05
Posts: 15
Loc: Mountain View, California
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I'm PADI certified and my fiance is NAUI certified. We learned exactly the same things. I don't know anything about SDI but if they follow the same outline then I am sure it is fine. When you actually go to dive, it doesn't matter which one you were certified with as long as you were properly certified.
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#21021 - 03/22/05 11:09 AM
Re: Scuba HELP!
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shan97
Member
Registered: 03/15/05
Posts: 55
Loc: Houston, TX
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SDI? Are you sure you don't mean SSI?
The 3 major certification agencies to my knowledge are PADI, NAUI, and SSI. I have both PADI and NAUI certifications, although mostly PADI. PADI is the most popular one in the US. Any of them will be accepted as verification of scuba certification for diving trips internationally. The differences in them are primarily amount of class/water skills time and who gets to teach them (i.e. independent versus affiliated instructors).
Another difference is the way they teach the dive tables and the dive tables they use. The PADI dive tables are pretty popular, and NAUI used to use it's own version known as "the wheel". I'm not sure about SSI. But keep in mind that if you are diving with a computer, the tables are more for theory only.
Find one that is convenient for your schedule and with an instructor that you feel comfortable with and you can't go wrong with any of the 3.
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#21022 - 03/22/05 01:01 PM
Re: Scuba HELP!
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bridetobe
Member
Registered: 03/11/05
Posts: 21
Loc: Law
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Can someone also advise me how the "check out dive" process works? Also, should I inform the resort ahead of time that I plan on doing my check out dives in Tahiti?
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#21023 - 03/22/05 02:19 PM
Re: Scuba HELP!
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shan97
Member
Registered: 03/15/05
Posts: 55
Loc: Houston, TX
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For the PADI Open Water Certification, you have class time for lectures and also some pool work to practice some skills. Then at the end of the course, you have 4 (maybe 5, but I think 4) "check-out" dives that you must perform in the "open water" (a lake, river, or ocean) and demonstrate these same skills you've practiced in the pool in addition to enjoying your first real scuba dives. These check-out dives can be done separately from your class/pool work if you are planning an upcoming trip (i.e. do the class/pool work in the US and your checkout dives in Tahiti). Talk to your instructor at the beginning of the class and let them know your circumstances and they can best advise you what to do. I would not think that you would have to advise the dive shop in Tahiti ahead of time as they have instructors on hand and teach courses/certifications on a regular basis. You would, I imagine, have to have the same organization doing your class/pool work as your check-out dives. In that regards, PADI might be the best as most of the international dive shops have PADI instructors available.
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#21024 - 03/23/05 10:49 AM
Re: Scuba HELP!
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chrisk
Member
Registered: 03/18/04
Posts: 75
Loc: Newport Beach, CA
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I strongly recommend that you complete your certification here in the states. You really do not want to waste Tahiti time in a pool.
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#21025 - 03/23/05 11:34 AM
Re: Scuba HELP!
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Doug
Member
Registered: 02/14/05
Posts: 48
Loc: South Carolina
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I have my Advanced Open Water certification with PADI. So, I can't speak to the pros and cons of SSI and NAUI. But I want to echo what chrisk said. If you have time to get certified before you go to Tahiti it will allow you to spend more time actually diving the various sites in FP.
Also, you may find that the dive instructors will be more reluctant to allow you dive the more advanced sites if you do your check out dives while in FP. As a case in point, the dive center I dove with in Bora Bora had some hesitation about taking two newly certified divers to some of the shark feeding sites outside the Bora Bora lagoon because the current was strong and the divers had no u/w experience.
I've seen dive centers express this same hesitation to take newly certified divers to the more advanced sites in other places I have been scuba diving in like the Maldives, Papua New Guinea, the Red Sea and Grand Cayman.
If you are interested in some of the more "exciting dives" that are billed as "advanced dive sites" you may want to think about getting certified in the states and getting some dives logged prior to your visit to FP.
Where are you planning on diving in FP? I loved all the dives I went on in Bora Bora and at Tahaa. I had two wonderful shark feeding dives and one amazing mantra ray dive in BB and I had some wild but fun dives in Tahaa.
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#21026 - 03/24/05 09:40 AM
Re: Scuba HELP!
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bridetobe
Member
Registered: 03/11/05
Posts: 21
Loc: Law
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Thanks so much for the advice guys! We're planning on diving in Moorea and Bora Bora. We have signed up to take an SDI course (part of TDI - stands for Scuba Diving Int'l), which means we'll do our classwork portion in the States and and will do our check out dives in Tahiti. Anything else I should know? You guys are so helpful!
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#21027 - 03/24/05 09:41 AM
Re: Scuba HELP!
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bridetobe
Member
Registered: 03/11/05
Posts: 21
Loc: Law
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By the way Doug, you've dived in some pretty amazing locations!
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#21028 - 03/24/05 02:29 PM
Re: Scuba HELP!
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lizardlady
Member
Registered: 06/05/04
Posts: 257
Loc: Iowa
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Doug, the Maldives, I am so jealous. I've been wanting to visit there but my husband is afraid he would be bored there. Plus the devastating tsunami did not help my case either.
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