I've finally made the plunge and decided to get SCUBA certified. It has been a long time in the making since I got in the reef hobby, and followed that with the photography hobby. I've waited and waited, trying to save up money and this year, I asked for it for my birthday present from all my family. I called around every local dive shop here in San Diego and got their fees and class schedule. Most of them are PADI certified instructors. The general schpeel was an incoming student would have to purchase classes, certification documents, books, mask, fins, snorkel, booties, and rent the rest of the gear. This together, by my estimate, would average about $450. There were options for weekend classes (most expensive), or two to three weeks of classes a few nights a week. I was disappointed because I only had $250 saved and had no other way of coming up with the rest.
I am a part of a local forum and I found a few people that had done NAUI certification instead of PADI. National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI) is an alternate certification to PADI that is still accepted worldwide. Here is a brief intro from the NAUI website to give a little background on the organization.
The National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI Worldwide) has been teaching the world to dive safely since 1959. As the largest non-profit and most respected dive training and certifying organization in the world, NAUI offers a full range of training programs from Skin Diver through Instructor Course Director, with dozens of specialty courses including Nitrox and Technical diving.
NAUI’s global reputation for the best in training and educational products reflects its core values of quality dive training through education. Many organizations specifically choose NAUI for their diver education programs including Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, United States Navy SEAL Teams and NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory in Houston, Texas (USA) where astronauts train for their space walks.
While NAUI has long been respected for having the highest training standards in the recreational diving industry, we are also highly regarded for our Technical Diver Training. Many of our technical developments have been adopted by other agencies; our Technical Diving Division continues to produce new theories and research that keep NAUI on the cutting edge of technical diving.
NAUI’s global reputation for the best in training and educational products reflects its core values of quality dive training through education. Many organizations specifically choose NAUI for their diver education programs including Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, United States Navy SEAL Teams and NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory in Houston, Texas (USA) where astronauts train for their space walks.
While NAUI has long been respected for having the highest training standards in the recreational diving industry, we are also highly regarded for our Technical Diver Training. Many of our technical developments have been adopted by other agencies; our Technical Diving Division continues to produce new theories and research that keep NAUI on the cutting edge of technical diving.
My class started tonight and after the initial anxiety attack of being one of 2 girls, clad in a bathing suit in front a class of ten strapping male HOTTIES, I was suited up with a mask, snorkel, and fins. We got to choose from a whole array of gear they had available to us.
We first had to take a swim test without our gear, which consisted of 10 laps across the width of the pool, floating for 5 minutes, and treading water for 5 minutes. This was relatively easy, except for the cold air from outside entering my lungs and being...well cold air from outside. I would encourage anyone wanting to dive but hasn't got out there for fear of physical limitations, to get out and just do it. I'm an active person, but by no means physically fit
![Smiling](images/smilies/emoti-smile.gif)
After a very warm shower in the locker rooms and my t-shirt and jeans, I had a bit of the feeling in my fingers and my self-esteem back.
![Wink!](images/smilies/emoti-wink.gif)
I'm looking forward to the rest of the week. Just not to the part where I have to try on wetsuits in front of those hotties. I came home feeling a little sore between the shoulder blades, but nothing major. Only thing is...I've got to find a way to get water out of my ears...
On to Day Two... LINK
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