Signing Up For Scuba Training

My girlfriend and I finally took the plunge today and signed up for scuba diving training. We're going for the full open water diver certification. The impetus? A trip to Belize near the end of the year. Can't go to Belize and not dive, right!?

The search for training started with a Google search for scuba diving new york. Not a whole lot of options, but the one closest to us seemed good so the lack of options didn't matter to much. We drove to the store / training center first thing Saturday morning and even got there before the place was even open. Yeah we're that kind of people.

Signing up for the course took very little time. A simple information form and a medical form saying we're all right is all it took. But we spent the next hour or so going looking at and buying gear. We tried on wet suits (3mm) and boots good for both the training and for our trip to Belize. We also looked at fins and opted for the traditional style i.e. not split fins. We already had masks and snorkels. Of course we needed a bag to carry all of this stuff so we bought one of those too.

In between gear talk, we asked questions about diving and our trip. Apparently as beginner divers we should stay away from the Blue Hole. Bummer.

At the end of the trip we were eager to work our way through the PADI DVD and manual which is what would occupy us on and off again for the several weeks leading up to the classroom and actual confined water dives.