
Please help a beginner SCUBA diver?
Hi! I did my PADI Open Water about fours years ago and haven't dived since. I really want to get back in to it as a serious hobby, what's my best course of action? A refresher dive and then more dives at Open Water level or push on to Advanced level as quickly as possible?
I'd like to climb up the ranks as far as I can but I know sensible experience is the way to go. Out of interest, how much could I expect to pay, roughly, to get up a rank or two above Advanced? I did my Open Water in Dahab so I know it'll be a lot more expensive back home in the UK!
Thanks.
I'm with the others - a refresher course is a good idea.
And, yes, get in with a club or dive shop that will get you diving regularly. Personally, I wouldn't get in too big a hurry to advance. Practice the skills as often as you can. I can tell the once-a-year vacation divers when we're on a boat - they fumble around with their equipment and are looking for everything. Get your own equipment and learn to put it together reliably. Attach stuff in sensible places and learn where everything is.
With PADI, you've got two general 'prongs' of advancement: personal excellence, or professional/trainer.
Me, I'm going the personal excellence route and working on Master Diver. You can look up the requirements, so no need to copy them here.
Like "martdfrogman" (27 years! wow!) I don't like the cold either and the cold water diving I've done has gone poorly. I'm not in a hurry to apply for Master - I want be proficient and dive well even when it's stressful.
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