My Open Water Scuba Diving Certification Experience

I recently passed my scuba diving certification in San Diego, CA. What a an amazing expirience. I am excited to say I am now a diver for life.

After making the decision to learn to scuba dive, I suggest researching classes and dive shops in your area. You can find local SCUBAPRO shops here. There are a variety of certification classes available, pick one that works best for you. I chose an expedited program; the entire course consisted of  2 weeks from start to finish. My course involved independent homework followed by classroom time, 2 full days in the pool, and 2 days in the ocean with multiple dives each day.

Partway through the coursework, when we could successfully differentiate fins from flippers, masks from goggles, and understood the components of both a BCD and a regulator and knew conceptually how things went together, we took on the pool. I was excited to gear up and take my first breath underwater.

Let me start by saying that I was very fortunate to enter this certification owning several key pieces of dive gear. I have had some of the most knowledgeable people in the industry helping me select these items and I understand how impossibly rare this sounds.I decided against showing up looking decked out like Jeff Gordon on day 1 of pool diving and thought it best to get my baring’s with the equipment that was provided. We learned how your dive gear goes together and why it follows a certain assembly order. We then got in the pool as a group and the I took my first breath through a regulator, and I was hooked!

On the second day, I was ready to learn how to use all my newly purchased gear. With the help of two instructors, I wedged myself into my toasty 7mm Sport Steamer wetsuit and it was game on. We practiced assembling our regulators to tanks to BCDs, disassembling, reassembling… repeat roughly x1000 throughout the day. Each time my peers practiced on rental gear, however I was getting more and more familiar with my own. I learned the minor tweaks I needed to make to find proper buoyancy in my back inflatable HYDROS PRO BCD as opposed to the front adjustable BCDs the rest of the group was learning in. I harnessed the power of my flutter kick in my Seawing Novas and then learned the importance of maintaining the same pace as your buddy – their air is your air after all - and those fins will make you so fast.

When it was time to rinse and pack our gear I took extra care and learned the best ways to store items in my dry bag and how my HYDROS PRO BCD, Seawing Novas, Scout Dive mask, and Escape Semi- Dry snorkel all fit in a single backpack. 5 days later we were on to the culmination of our training, open water ocean dives. We suited up, helped our buddies check their gear, then trekked the 50 yards to the ocean at La Jolla Shores. After battling the shore break, I strapped on my Seawing Nova Fins, and swam another 150 yards backwards into all that is mother nature’s arms at sunrise. Moments like these you know you are truly alive. 

Buddy teams united at the surface, we reviewed our upcoming drills, and slowly descended to 20’ and prepared to knock all of our skills out of the water. Because I’d previously spent a full 8-hour day getting to know all of my gear, especially my mask, regulator, and BCD, I felt like I had a trusted companion with me on the ocean floor. The Pacific Ocean in February in San Diego is a chilly beast, paired with strong current and limited visibility I am thankful I was already comfortable with my equipment at this time.

I can’t say the experience was without it’s character building moments. I learned how to flood my mask, orally inflate my BCD at 20’ deep in a Southbound current, how much I dislike the bubbles in my face.  But with my senses heightened I learned how soothing the sight of my dive buddy next to me and the sound of my breathing becomes underwater. That's when the real fun of exploring the underwater world set in.

When looking back at my class, I realize I didn’t know what I didn’t know, and now that I have a better understanding of what I didn’t know at the time, my hat is off to every member of the diving community. It’s hard work and beautiful and one of the most rewarding and accomplished moments of my life. There’s a certain level of grit that is mandatory to take interest in and pass a dive certification course. I keep my regulator octopus displayed in my living room, properly stored of course, but it makes me feel accomplished every time I see it. 

To anyone considering getting certified to scuba dive or pursuing an advanced certification, I applaud you. If you plan to dive even somewhat regularly, I recommend investing into some key pieces of gear – wetsuit, mask, fins, snorkel, regulator and or computer to start. As you get more familiar with the dive experience and how the gear works to support you, you can begin selecting pieces tailored to your preferences. If you’re new to the dive community and not sure where to start, contact a nearby dive shop or SCUBAPRO Customer Service for assistance into this outstanding experience. 

Go forth and scuba. 

-Samantha Kearns