Posted by kelphead on July 08, 2001 at 23:17:25:
In Reply to: are 2beach&2boat dives better than 4 boat dives when getting certified? posted by moonpieboy on July 08, 2001 at 19:39:52:
when i got certified, our open water certification
beach dive was supposed to be @ veteran's park, redondo beach.
well, the wave crashed over my head and slapped
me silly. that decided it for me: i was done
for the day, while my 2 classmates continued on.
the instructor(s) suggested that i just do all
of my cert dives off the boat. so, i did.
boat diving is generally much easier than beach
diving, but i regret not having that experience
w/my class and instructor. it's true that it
takes a little while to master beach diving and
that there is more knowledge involved/needed--there are very
experienced divers here who don't ever ever beach dive,
and instead do ALL of their diving off boats.
however, i think that limits me (and my buddy) when
$$ is an issue: beach diving is free, while boat
diving prices have gone up(!)
so, although there is more work (and more hazard)
involved w/beach diving, i would personally
recommend (based on my own experiences) that
you include the beach dives w/your course--unless
you know for sure that you will never beach
dive off cal, and instead will be exclusively
boat diving (and perhaps doing warm water, flat
sea beach diving).
best wishes!!!
kelphead.