Scuba Lessons Dublin Ireland

I think PADI is good to start off with. I started out with PADI then crossed
over to CMAS. However if you're smart about it I wouldn't necessarily get my
Open Water here in Ireland. With the average cost of a PADI Open Water
course being approx ?600 you can pay a similar amount of cash and get a nice
holiday in tropical clear warm water sunny Egypt/Red Sea. I did my O.W. in
Sharm El Sheik. This is the biggest scuba resort in Egypt. There are plenty
of British scuba operators that leave from England a few times a week. I
definitely recommend it. It was great fun doing it and the British people I
met were the nicest ever. Of course you have to get a connecting flight from
here but as you know these days they're as "cheap as chips".
I went in 2002 to Sharm with http://www.explorers.co.uk/
Also try http://www.divernet.com/index.shtml. This is the site for a British
Scuba Mag and there's plenty of adds for various Red Sea Operators.
Best of luck
Eugene


"tamlinek" <thomas.zoladek@mac.com> wrote in message
news:1142372019.859096.289820@p10g2000cwp.googlegr oups.com...
> seems like I'll start with PADI - FirstStage Diving - basically it is
> near my work :D. And after that...must just try, who knows. I like
> water, but I have never used any equipment. We will see :)
>

That wasn't the case here. After I got my O.W. in Oct 2002 in Sharm I didn't
dive again till Sept 2003 in Dubrovnik ,Croatia (water temp early 20'sC). I
didn't have to do a refresher course. For the first dive they just stayed
close to me to see if I was good, bad or indifferent. As it turned out I was
pretty comfortable. I had signed up for a lucrative dive package so I
suppose they didn't want to say no to money. After Croatia I didn't dive
till summer 2004 in Dublin Bay (water temp 14C-16C). Again I didn't have to
do a refresher course. I grabbed my gear and in I went. I seemed to be that
once you had your PADI card and or log book, not many questions were asked.
Probably one of the reasons why I went over to CMAS...... ;)
I was lucky with the instructor I had in Sharm, he was pretty good. Scottish
guy who was in the Military. Great discipline. I know that "All instructors
are equal, it's just that some a more equal than others" and it's the luck
of the draw but "most" of the ones in our scuba college in Sharm were pretty
decent.
I'm amazed from your post that ......... "One guy came to us for his rescue
course and kept hitting the surface his buoyancy was that bad, then packed
in after the first day because 'it was too cold'. If this guy was doing his
"rescue course" does this mean that he was qualified as Advanced Open Water?
If this is the case that's F**king Scary!!!!
To be fair also to you Sharky, from my experience and from others in my
club, being a regular Northern European diver diving in "colder" waters DOES
carry a bit more "clout" when you go abroad to operators diving in "warmer"
friendlier waters.
Euge.

> I'm amazed from your post that ......... "One guy came to us for his
> rescue
> course and kept hitting the surface his buoyancy was that bad, then packed
> in after the first day because 'it was too cold'. If this guy was doing
> his "rescue course" does this mean that he was qualified as Advanced Open
> Water? If this is the case that's F**king Scary!!!!

What's worse is if this guy was your buddy and he had spent the entire boat
trip telling
you how good he was. This happens honest. Have been through the BSAC bit I
think it
would be harder to get a C card without being able to dive a little.

tamlinek started this thread :-

Please advise me, where to go first? I want to start training, and I
just need a recommendation :D. I live on the north side, Dublin 9, also
NAC is good location for me. Just tell me, where is the best:D

I cant help you in Dublin but a Padi course will get you into the water
quicker
I would do that first it would help you work out if diving is for you.
with some of the other agencies you can get bogged down with politics.
go diving have some.

David

Euge wrote:
> That wasn't the case here. After I got my O.W. in Oct 2002 in Sharm I didn't
> dive again till Sept 2003 in Dubrovnik ,Croatia (water temp early 20'sC). I
> didn't have to do a refresher course. For the first dive they just stayed
> close to me to see if I was good, bad or indifferent. As it turned out I was
> pretty comfortable. I had signed up for a lucrative dive package so I
> suppose they didn't want to say no to money. After Croatia I didn't dive
> till summer 2004 in Dublin Bay (water temp 14C-16C). Again I didn't have to
> do a refresher course. I grabbed my gear and in I went. I seemed to be that
> once you had your PADI card and or log book, not many questions were asked.
> Probably one of the reasons why I went over to CMAS...... ;)
> I was lucky with the instructor I had in Sharm, he was pretty good. Scottish
> guy who was in the Military. Great discipline. I know that "All instructors
> are equal, it's just that some a more equal than others" and it's the luck
> of the draw but "most" of the ones in our scuba college in Sharm were pretty
> decent.
> I'm amazed from your post that ......... "One guy came to us for his rescue
> course and kept hitting the surface his buoyancy was that bad, then packed
> in after the first day because 'it was too cold'. If this guy was doing his
> "rescue course" does this mean that he was qualified as Advanced Open Water?
> If this is the case that's F**king Scary!!!!

He did his OW and AOW in five days in the Red Sea!
It gets worse, he came to us for some courses then went back to the Red
Sea for another holiday and was going to do his Wreck spec and something
else with the same centre that did his OW/AOW, but they were washed out
because of the weather and he didn't even do ANY of the dives.
They then supposedly offered to pass him off on the specs if he gave
them 70% of the course fees! Oh, and pass him off on his rescue if he
did one unconcious body lift! Thankfully he had the sense to decline.
If it wasn't just third hand sayso I would report the centre involved,
disgraceful behaviour if true.

> To be fair also to you Sharky, from my experience and from others in my
> club, being a regular Northern European diver diving in "colder" waters DOES
> carry a bit more "clout" when you go abroad to operators diving in "warmer"
> friendlier waters.
> Euge.
>
Yes very true, and I make sure I only hand over my lowest spec card,
last thing you need on holiday is someone saying "oh, your an
instructor, can you look after this bloke for me"!

Sharky <spam@hotmail.com> wrote:

> Yes very true, and I make sure I only hand over my lowest spec card,
> last thing you need on holiday is someone saying "oh, your an
> instructor, can you look after this bloke for me"!

I use my highest spec card so they say
"You're a nutter. Stay away from my paying customers".

nigelH


*** Free account sponsored by SecureIX.com ***
*** Encrypt your Internet usage with a free VPN account from http://www.SecureIX.com ***

I agree. PADI will get you in the water quicker. At the end of the day it's
all about diving/flying in water and having a look at all the "Beasties" and
underwater scenery. It's a great privilege to be able to see all the beauty
of "The Octopus's Garden". Get your fins wet, have fun doing it. After, you
can ask questions and weigh up the pros and cons of what YOU want to do as a
diver. As I said before, if you just want to do occasional diving and no
more then you might be best to stick with PADI. On the other hand if you
feel that diving is your thing and you really want to get involved and dive
most weekends then go the CMAS/CFT route. I logged over 50 dives last year
in Irish waters diving most weekends, long weekends etc. If I had to dive
that many with a PADI centre, with the average dive trip between ?40-?50, It
would've cost between ?2000-?2500!! As it is, it just cost me ?400 (club fee
and CFT fee). Of course you DO have to buy your own gear but once you have
it, it's yours for keeps to use season after season.
PADI is a professional association where the PADI Centre (not club) offer
their services for a fee and commercial profit. All services (gear hire,
bottle fills etc) and courses are charged at a commercial rate. CMAS/CFT is
a non profit club system where you join a dive club where the costs are
spread across the club and tuition is "handed down" for the benefit of
yourself AND the club.
Enjoy the water and get your fins wet!!
Eugene


> I cant help you in Dublin but a Padi course will get you into the water
> quicker
> I would do that first it would help you work out if diving is for you.
> with some of the other agencies you can get bogged down with politics.
> go diving have some.
>
> David
>
>
>
>

tamlinek wrote:
> ha ha ha :D seems you are a little crazy :) I think I'll like it
>
Can you send payment for my advice to ......
Yes, you'll love diving, there's no middle road - love it or hate it.

you know what I think will be the main problem for me? Being afraid of
cold and darkness. That is why I want to do this. In normal "on the
surface" life I do not have this fears, but when I think about cold
water or darkness below me.... I like to scare myself :P