Scuba diving

Anyone ever done this? On my want-to-do-before-kick-the-bucket list, but wondering if it's worth the investment of my time and money for training and equipment.

Best part is, if I were to go forward with the idea, I wouldn't have to worry about the shark from Jaws munching on any of my limbs since I'd be heading to Lake Erie.

 

Diving in Lake Erie is braver than diving with sharks. Chemicals in that lake could cause you to have 3-eyed children.

My sister and her hubby got certified before their honeymoon, but I'm not sure that they actually bought equipment. I think they just rented when they got to whatever South American country they honeymooned in.

 

C'mon, Chick, Erie ain't so bad anymore, is it? Gotta be better than the Cuyalooga (Dennis Cook reference), right?

Plus, at 43 and single, I don't see fatherhood in my future, anyway.

 

Come on, the Cuyahoga hasn't burned in years, years I tell you

You never know. Maybe the chemicals in Erie will cause you to impregnate yourself

 

LOL I'm sure those who are awake during non-vampire hours will get a kick out of the way this thread has tipped off!

 

The new issue of Scuba Diving magazine at the newsstand (issue date June 2007) is packaged with a special one-shot mag called Dive Into Adventure (you can't miss it; Kelly Hu is on the cover of the special in her dive gear --- yum) and that one-shot should have most of the information you're looking for. The book Scuba Diving & Snorkeling For Dummies also has a lot of solid information and comes with a very good CD-ROM produced by the Professional Association of Dive Instructors.

Here's a few links that might help:

http://scuba.about.com/od/instructioncertification/tp/scubacertfaq.htm (definitely read that first)
http://www.scubadiving.com/find_a_dive_shop
http://www.naui.com/
http://www.ssiusa.com/
http://www.padi.com/padi/default.aspx

Also, Scuba Board is a good community site.

It probably doesn't matter which of the three organizations (PADI, NAUI or SSI) your instructor is affiliated with. Most YMCAs offer scuba courses in conjunction with PADI; Scuba Schools International instructors are all affiliated with dive shops, as are NAUI instructors, and (where I live in Florida) most of the better dive shops seem to be affiliated with SSI. That said, your key factor for picking a class should be how good the instructors are and your comfort level with them, not one bowl of alphabet soup over another.

I'll be honest here: I'm not at all fond of PADI; as a rule, it seems more interested in wringing money out of its members than the others (for examples, see any issue of Sport Diver magazine). As the old joke notes ...

 

Just to add some information on ...

PADI offers the classroom portion of its Open Water Diver certification course online.

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

The online portion of the class costs $120. An additional fee is charged for the required four open-water dives and five skills-development dives in a controlled environment like a swimming pool. You'll be required to swim 200 yards (four laps in a typical public pool; no time limit), float for 10 minutes and provide a medical statement certifying that you're healthy enough to dive (it's a questionnaire asking about medical conditions that could present a problem while diving; it's rare that anybody has to get a physician's certification).