Certification question

[Sue_OT]

Hello,

I have been PADI certified for about 1 1/2 years. I would like to enroll my husband in a class for Christmas so he can get certified too. The catch is, the place where I got certified is no longer in business, and the only two choices in town teach Naui & YMCA. Can anyone give me any info about them> How do they compare to PADI?

Thanks for your help,
Sue

[Carlos]

I was just certified and I got both PADI and YMCA certified. I was under the impression that PADI was the biggest of all and carried more weight but actually, as I was explained by my instructors, YMCA has more weight to it to some extent. They said that the reason why we hear of PADI so much is because they pump lots of money into advertisement while YMCA and others use that money for instructors and education.

YMCA is accepted all over the world just like PADI so if you give him YMCA classes, go for it.

My instructor said that LA county certification is by far the best of all. Their requirenments for certification are much higher than PADI or any other institution. Go figure!!!

HTH,

Carlos

[e12pilot]

Sue,
Excellent choice in getting your husband certified! He will be very happy I am sure. As a PADI Instructor I may be a little bit biased towards PADI and their educational materials. I personally feel that they are the best, as do many other independent organizations(i.e. ACE(American Council of Education)) which approved only one SCUBA certification agency for college credit, which was PADI.

Both NAUI and YMCA are reputible agencies that certify very capable divers. They are both world recognized, and have sufficent training materials to turn out excellent divers.

With that being said, I think the single most important thing that affects the outcome of a SCUBA certification is the instructor themself. I have seen NAUI Instructors 10-15x better than a PADI instructor, and I have seen the reverse as well. It really depends on how committed and experienced the individual instructor is that will be instructing your husband.

So, I would stop by each shop and talk to the instructors(if you can). Usually just talking about the class, etc with the instructor will give you a pretty good understanding of their general attitude. Also, talking with some people who have gotten certified by those instructors will also give you a very good idea of what kind of students these instructors turn out.

Feel free to PM me if you have any more questions.

Peter Maag
PADI MSDT-179147

[Mad Scientist]

Both NAUI and the YMCA are as good as PADI, as a whole they are all huge corporations just trying to churn out as many 'vacation" divers as they can, offering watered down training for the diver who wants to learn to survive underwater with as little class or pool time as possible.

That said, excellent instructors can be found within any of these organization despite the fact all these companies pay those who train their divers so poorly.

After your husband gets his OW C-card, you both should look into a DIR-f course taught by the agency GUE, it's geared toward rec divers and is steps above any other training out there.

www.gue.com


safe diving

[Brimarbio]

Hey Mad Sci.
I've been looking to take one of the DIR courses for some time now but the only ones I've found have been up in Ont. and I'm not too keen on burning a vacation to head up there. Know of any in our area?
Brian

[Mad Scientist]

Ya, it looks like there's going to be a course offered early this spring here in MA, althouhg I'm not sure which instructors GUE is sending (it will be the DIR-F class).

No real prereqs, an easy swim test, OW cert, and something like 15 dives. Oh, and a long primary hose and a bungied backup, other than taht you can use all your all own gear although if you show up with a jacket-type BCD expect to learn why they are so bad.

I'll be sure to post here (or in the reefers forum when details become available).

[billsreef]

MS,

When you post the details, remind me to make it a sticky ;)

[Mad Scientist]

No problem Bill.
A few of my buddies took the DIR-F class last summer in MA and loved it. Another guy I knew took the TECH/CAVE 1 up in VT (limestone cave) and said the training was really top notch.

I should mention, though, there is an apparent rift revolving around some prominant NY dive boats not accepting GUE cards (they are TDI guys) although I hear it is being work out.

I would suggust that all differnt types of diver pick up the DIR-F book at http://www.gue.com/classroom/manuals.shtml

I really enjoyed the book, almost as much as I like my new Halycon BCD! And I have to add, as much as my LDS made fun of me when I ordered a 7' hose, I had a buddy go OOA on me a month or so ago and it was alot nicer sharing air with the long hose.