Scuba Diving Cert
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Scuba2000 in Richmond Hill is a great place. They have their own indoor pool for practice. It is my humble view that it makes you a more rounded diver if you obtain your basic cert in the cooler water of Ontario rather than the warm Carib. You get a better feel for the equipment and the systems involved when using thick freaken gloves and hoods at Tobermory in May. Fall classes here will be warmer weather but still more rigorous than at a southern resort.
Stay safe and have fun. It is an addictive hobby.
Agreed about taking your certification in the cold Ontario waters. Tobermory is the best place to do it, lots of wrecks to dive in varying depths of water. Diving in warm waters later is a snap.
Comfort
I'm sure that we will be told that wet suits are for REAL men.
FAST
If your going up north, a dry suit would be nice, I did a school in april in a quarry in a wet suit, yelling a lot of 4 letter words while walking in.
I'm sure that we will be told that wet suits are for REAL men.
FAST
I'm certified, did my open water in a quarry in PA - damn cold. I'd suggest doing the classroom and pool work in the GWN and then going down to FL to do your open water - you'll see something more interesting than brown water and not freeze your nadds off....
OTB
OTB
I did my certification in Hamilton back in the 90's and did my open water checkouts in Tobemory in May. We had a contest to see who could get the most articulate swear word through a snorkel when you first hit the water. 
My course was through ACUC and my instructor was certified in both that and NAUI he said he wouldn't touch PADI with a 10' pole as he didn't think they stressed safety enough. This may have changed since then of course.
I whole-heartedly echo the sentiment of get your cert up here. You'll be far more comfortable with the equipment and your abilities than if you took a resorts "poof you're a diver in a day" course.
My course was through ACUC and my instructor was certified in both that and NAUI he said he wouldn't touch PADI with a 10' pole as he didn't think they stressed safety enough. This may have changed since then of course.
I whole-heartedly echo the sentiment of get your cert up here. You'll be far more comfortable with the equipment and your abilities than if you took a resorts "poof you're a diver in a day" course.
I've been certified since about 1980 (yes, I'm an old fucker) and I'd agree with the others who have said that the experience in cold water makes you a better diver. That's why I had my youngest son do it here too a couple of years ago when he wanted to get certified. I'd also make one other comment and that is although there are many "intense" weekend courses, I believe the more prolonged 6 week courses are better because you really want the repetition of skills and time for the theory to sink in. Remember, this is a great sport but it's also one that can kill you.
As often as I can. Never felt the urge to do the instructor route so took the path to Master Diver then just rec only.
I agree with maxwellsmart that this is a sport that can most assuredly kill you. Thats why whereever you train pay ATTENTION to all the safety aspects. A good check of your calm and abilities is to be in a safe depth and then task load with all kinds of problems, they can compound quickly. The Carib. 'instant diver' courses tend to give a false sense of security and ability. Respect for the harshness of errors at depth should be with you at all times.
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I have been a professional diver since the 70's on and off. I currently work part time as an underwater photographer doing work for resorts, and oddly, the United Nations. I taught diving, and ran Instructor courses for 25 years...
All of the shops mentioned are decent operations. A number of them are owned by people I either taught or certified as Instructors! Some are much larger (Scuba 2000) than others so will likely have a more flexible schedule. The PADI vs NAUI thing is pretty much a dead dog. PADI rules the world now and as a business model, their system is fabulous in that it allows them to continue to retrain the same people over and over as you work through the various, and numerous levels of certification, and specialty. (Most PADI courses now are e-learning, with a written exam, a couple of hours in a pool and four dives in controlled open water, like a quarry. By comparison, my old-school NAUI course was 16 hours of classroom, 12 hours of pool time an evening quarry dive and two full weekends, usually 12 dives. It was time-consuming, and expensive, but you knew how to dive when you finished).
The PADI OW I course only "qualifies" you to dive to 60', although there is no Scuba Police to check. The PADI course needs to be treated for what it is... A brief introduction. By all means start there, but continue on in your training for at least OW II, Deep Diver and Rescue Diver. That will put you on a par with the old NAUI OW Course.
It's an awesome sport, but as others have said, the consequences of poor decisions can have pretty serious consequences. I have logged about 8000 dives, and had a few white-knuckle moments including being washed part way over a dam (my fault), nipped by a shark (my fault) and bent three times (only my fault once!) but I still love it!
All of the shops mentioned are decent operations. A number of them are owned by people I either taught or certified as Instructors! Some are much larger (Scuba 2000) than others so will likely have a more flexible schedule. The PADI vs NAUI thing is pretty much a dead dog. PADI rules the world now and as a business model, their system is fabulous in that it allows them to continue to retrain the same people over and over as you work through the various, and numerous levels of certification, and specialty. (Most PADI courses now are e-learning, with a written exam, a couple of hours in a pool and four dives in controlled open water, like a quarry. By comparison, my old-school NAUI course was 16 hours of classroom, 12 hours of pool time an evening quarry dive and two full weekends, usually 12 dives. It was time-consuming, and expensive, but you knew how to dive when you finished).
The PADI OW I course only "qualifies" you to dive to 60', although there is no Scuba Police to check. The PADI course needs to be treated for what it is... A brief introduction. By all means start there, but continue on in your training for at least OW II, Deep Diver and Rescue Diver. That will put you on a par with the old NAUI OW Course.
It's an awesome sport, but as others have said, the consequences of poor decisions can have pretty serious consequences. I have logged about 8000 dives, and had a few white-knuckle moments including being washed part way over a dam (my fault), nipped by a shark (my fault) and bent three times (only my fault once!) but I still love it!
If you do start diving you will soon learn that PADI really stands for: Put Another Dollar In.
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Thanks for all the suggestions but I have a newbie question.. Why would it be more beneficial for me to take my cert in cold, brown Canadian waters and not warm/clear/comfortable waters like FL?
Wouldn't being comfortable be better?
I hate cold water for swimming.
Wouldn't being comfortable be better?
I hate cold water for swimming.
If you are going to be in FL long enough to take the longer course by all means do that, but if you are only going to be there long enough to take a weekend course then I would not go that route. One of my instructors related a tale to us of going on a group dive comprised of such "divers". (his vacation partner being one of them and he only agreed to it as long as she only dove with him as her partner). The resort's divemaster got narc'd on the dive and kept going deeper and deeper and the students just kept going down with him because they didn't know better. He managed to get a few of them to head to the surface before they got too deep but over half the dive drowned and a bunch of the survivors had to be treated for the bends.
Also want to add that you'll still need a wetsuit to dive down south to any depth worth speaking of. Gets chilly once you get below the sun-warmed layer.
Sorry, I didnt ask the right question... I meant to ask "Why would it be more beneficial for me to take my final open water test in cold, brown Canadian waters and not warm/clear/comfortable waters like FL"
The schools that I was looking at have a classroom/pool section then another section where you do the open dive tests.. My question was referring to doing all the classroom/pool dives here in T.O then going to FL or Cuba to complete my test.
I won't be doing a weekend course.
Multiple aspects to your question.
To begin, not all Canadian waters are 'brown'. the water at Tobermorey is crystal clear. Even Centennial park on kempenfeldt is okay unless you stir up the bottom. I love to dive in the Muskokas, for the variety it offers in contrast to the Carib.
I support doing all the first level here as i feel ( again just my opinion) that learning to dive in harsher conditions with more equipment and corresponding level of difficulty makes you a more 'rounded' diver. the super nice Carib resort rush courses can build a false sense of security. Diving is great fun , but it carries great risks if you make an error compunded by another when at depth. Doing a course under harsher conditions just helps to focus you more. that is not to say the all courses down south are bad and all courses up here are good. I'm just saying that if you are starting out you should be aware of the potential danger that is there with the fun.
I know many people who have done the two day in class/pool course here at Scuba 2000 then taken their referral and done the basic open water down south. They are fine with that as am I. I equate it to doing range target shooting vs. shooting under fire training. If you are going to start, its best to see how you handle stress conditions while with qualified professionals as support rather than only encountering harsh conditions when on a pleasure dive with an equally new inexperienced diver.
Just like anything else, there are as many opinions as there are assholes so bottom line is only do what you are comfortable with and remember that ANYONE can call the dive. Bravado kills at depth.
Have fun whichever route you take.
Ok, that makes sense... The course im thinking of is 16hrs class/pool then the 4 dives in 2 days final. I will do all the 1st level here. I am aware that scuba can be dangerous so I will get the proper training from the start. Thanks
Dutch Springs is the name of the in-closed Rock Quarry in PA where divers go for their Open Water Dive certification.
I would not suggest going to Mexico to get Certified. I've had problems with their equipment. Diving in Mexico was actually the reason why I purchased and dive with my own equipment only.
What you can do is just go to http://padi.com and enter your location where it will bring up a bunch of Padi star rated dive and teaching centers. Try sticking with the ones with 5 star ratings.
- CWipes
I would not suggest going to Mexico to get Certified. I've had problems with their equipment. Diving in Mexico was actually the reason why I purchased and dive with my own equipment only.
What you can do is just go to http://padi.com and enter your location where it will bring up a bunch of Padi star rated dive and teaching centers. Try sticking with the ones with 5 star ratings.
- CWipes
