#65614 - 07/31/07 04:51 PM
Not certified
|
karina
Member
Registered: 05/18/07
Posts: 75
Loc: nyc
|
I've dived a few times (twice...once in Hawaii, and once in Costa Rica), but it was only to 40 feet, since I'm not certified. Unfortuantely, I won't get a chance to get certified before my trip. Can I still do some basic intro dives? If so, which island would you recommend? I'm going to Bora, Moorea, and Huahine.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#65619 - 07/31/07 08:36 PM
Re: Not certified
[Re: karina]
|
briggscass
Junior Member
Registered: 04/16/06
Posts: 26
Loc: California
|
Hi Karina,
The French diving certification system actually starts with you getting in the water immediately -- they call it a "baptism". This system is prevalent throughout French Polynesia. The instructor stays right with you the entire time and controls your BC, etc. You probably can do this sort of dive on all the islands you visit, whether or not you will continue with the certification.
I'm not sure if they also offer resort dives -- if they do, they are probably slightly less. I would contact the dive operations directly for price lists and your personal needs. You should have no problem going diving.
I have not been to Moorea or Huahine. My favorite dive on Bora Bora is the one with the manta rays -- there's a place they hang out and I've never not seen them when diving that location. It's pretty cool. Have fun!
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#65626 - 08/01/07 07:53 AM
Re: Not certified
[Re: briggscass]
|
karina
Member
Registered: 05/18/07
Posts: 75
Loc: nyc
|
hi Briggscass
So if I wanted to do that Manta Ray dive, would I need to be certified, or can do it as my "baptism"? I know in Hawaii and Costa Rica, I wasn't allowed to go beyond a depth of 40 feet. So, I was just wondering if I can do some of those dives without a PADI or similar cert.
thanks so much for the advice!
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#65633 - 08/01/07 12:08 PM
Re: Not certified
[Re: karina]
|
sst
Member
Registered: 12/07/05
Posts: 483
Loc: Texas
|
While in BB I saw people with no certification and no equipment doing dives with the dive master. He had a person under his arm, holding onto them, while they breathed off his octopus. I thought that was kind of unsafe, but nobody was hurt and I'm sure the DM was used to doing it.. So if they can do that, I'm sure you can do the Ray dive.. and if its the dive I'm thinkng of, I don't think that's deeper than 40 feet.. I think you'll be alright and be able to somehow dive on your trip - just discuss it with the Dive Master and let him know you've dove before..
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#65634 - 08/01/07 12:56 PM
Re: Not certified
[Re: sst]
|
FlirtNZ
Junior Member
Registered: 05/08/07
Posts: 32
Loc: NZ
|
WOW that is crazy. What if the person freaked out and swam to the surface!
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#65635 - 08/01/07 01:16 PM
Re: Not certified
[Re: FlirtNZ]
|
karina
Member
Registered: 05/18/07
Posts: 75
Loc: nyc
|
SST:
Wow...that sounds unsafe. That joined octopus breathing sounds somewhat risky. I wanna see the fish, not be on their menu as fish food... ;-)
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#65636 - 08/01/07 02:27 PM
Re: Not certified
[Re: karina]
|
FlirtNZ
Junior Member
Registered: 05/08/07
Posts: 32
Loc: NZ
|
Works well when you run out of air but stupid to do it on purpose.
You should do you course real quick before you go.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#65638 - 08/01/07 03:05 PM
Re: Not certified
[Re: karina]
|
briggscass
Junior Member
Registered: 04/16/06
Posts: 26
Loc: California
|
Hey Karina,
I have never seen a "baptism" dive where someone was breathing from the DM's octopus. That strikes me as a very very bad idea. Maybe what you saw was people practicing emergency techniques? On one dive where the group varied widely in experience, one guy was kicking really hard and got low on air early in the game, so the DM shared his back-up second stage at that point so that the more experienced divers could get another five minutes under water, but it was just for a brief period of time, not the whole dive. I would think that starting off a dive, on purpose, with two people breathing from the same tank would be...not ideal.
What I usually see in FP is someone with full dive gear on, their own regulator and tank, etc.. The DM explains how all the equipment works, but then for your first dive, you swim right next to the DM, and s/he fills up and deflates your BC for you, so you can get a feel for how it all works without accidentally filling your vest up too much and shooting to the surface. You might even hold onto the DM depending on your level of comfort, but in any case you are no more than an arm's length from the instructor at any time. The DM controls your depth (because you are instructed to stay at the same level). It works well.
I can't recall the max depth for the manta ray dive, but I know that it is pretty shallow. If I am not mistaken, I have seen people doing "resort" (uncertified) dives at this site several times before. A resort dive is similar to a baptism -- very well monitored.
Of course, it would be more ideal to get certified before you go to Tahiti. You could do your course work state-side, and do your check-out dives in Tahiti. Just make sure that the shop you are going to offers the certification you started in the US. Being certified simplifies things -- it's easier to schedule dives when you have your c-card, because you can go in a big group. Doing a resort or baptism, you need a very small group or one-on-one with the instructor, and they may not have the manpower/time. If you check with them ahead of time (before you arrive), though, you should be able to schedule something in.
I took my mom to Tahiti a while ago, and she did a resort/baptism dive that went very well. She is very hesitant under the water but really wanted to try, and the instructor was a champ. He held her hand the entire time, which made her feel safe. He pointed out all kinds of things to her underwater so she would forget to be nervous, and really start to enjoy the dive -- which she did! He controlled her BC for her, but she had all her own equipment. Like I said, I've seen this other places in FP, too -- but I saw it up close with my mother because I was right by her the whole time.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#65645 - 08/02/07 06:07 AM
Re: Not certified
[Re: briggscass]
|
sst
Member
Registered: 12/07/05
Posts: 483
Loc: Texas
|
Yeah I was kind of shocked myself to see the DM diving in that fashion, and no, they weren't practicing emergency ascents. To be specific, the "diver" had no equipment on at all other than a mask. No BC, no regs, etc.. can't remember if she even had fins on.. Anyways, we were done with the dive (which the DM originally wanted to do in the more shallow "ray" dive, but we requested a different dive and were granted our request) and waiting in the boat with our DM - two DM's went on the dive, one with us, the other with the 3 other women on board - although we never saw them on our dive.. Done with our dive and back in the boat, two of the other 3 divers were in the boat, but the DM and one diver were still gone..
After about 5 minutes of waiting, I jumped in the water with my mask and snorkel, so I could look around while waiting for the other DM and his diver to come back. While snorkeling around, I saw them coming up from the depths and thought they were buddy breathing.. The DM was holding the girl under his arm and she was breathing off his octopus, but had no other gear on. Once out of the water she was laughing and giggling, as if she'd had a great time, but was Japanese and didn't speak English, so I couldn't ask her about what they were doing.. With no other equipment on, and being held by the DM, I could only figure that he was taking an inexperienced person for a short dive. I found out later he had done the same thing with two other people in the boat.. so, all in all he was only down about 10 minutes or so with each diver..
Its kind of cool that he would give the people that experience, but at the same time, I thought it was kind of a crazy idea and somewhat dangerous - mostly because of wondering what would have happened had he accidentally let go of one of the divers who had no equipment on. They were all small adult Japanese women, by the way..
Anyways, I would never suggest doing a dive like that.. just bringing it up tho to make a point that more than likely you'll be able to dive somehow in BB.. We also saw a small sub on one dive as well, so that might be another option...
Edited by sst (08/02/07 06:12 AM)
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#65646 - 08/02/07 09:59 AM
Re: Not certified
[Re: sst]
|
newdiver92506
Junior Member
Registered: 08/02/07
Posts: 3
Loc: Southern California
|
I just finished getting my PADI certification in Moorea. It was so much fun! I had been taking lessons in in my hometown before I left, but I didn't finish in time for my trip. I had to watch 5 videos (short) while I was there, take some quizzes and a final exam, but you can do that ahead of time before your trip and do your four ocean dives with one of their instructors. I stayed at the Intercontinental for 7 days. It took me 5 afternoons to complete my certification. The dive shop at the resort is called Bathy's. They made my experience so wonderful and I am so excited to dive in other places now!
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
Moderator: BarbiJKM, hamara, DenverJoe, Poehere
|
6653 Members
15 Forums
10176 Topics
90579 Posts
Max Online: 98 @ 03/09/11 04:15 PM
|
|
1 registered
(Patti.)
and 14 anonymous users online.
|
|
|
