Seattle Dive Schools recomendations

[Mattleycrue76]

My little brother wants to get certified. So I thought I'd get some ideas on good instructors in the Seattle area. He lives in the U district so Downtown to Shoreline would probably be best. Which agency is insignificant. Just looking for a reputable place with good instructors. Since he is a student cost is definitely a factor as well.

Thanks for your input

Matt

[John Rawlings]

A good place for him to take a look at would be Lighthouse Diving on Lake City Way, which is really close to where he lives. I used to know several of their Open Water instructors years ago, (in fact, my son took his OW and AOW from Lighthouse years ago), but I no longer have any knowledge of their instructors. As I understand it, they have both PADI and NAUI instructors on staff.

Here's a link to their Seattle/lake City store: http://www.lighthousediving.com/seattle01.htm

Like I said, I no longer have any personal knowledge of their instructor staff, but perhaps others can chime in that do.

- John

[LCF]

Well, I'd recommend Brian Wiederspan, if he has any interest in a UTD OW class; or failing that, I'll wave our own flag and recommend my husband, who is teaching out of Bubbles Below.

[Nwbrewer]

Brian will correct me if I'm wrong, but he is also still teaching NAUI Scuba diver I think.

EDIT - I know they team teach a lot, but I want to make sure Brian doesn't get all the credit. Should probably put in a recomendation for Jeanna too since she's doing some of the UTD R1.

http://www.frogkickdiving.com/

[Sounder]

Another HUGE echoing endorsement and recommendation of either Peter ("Peter Guy") or Brian ("BDub"). I know money may be an issue, but a quality foundation in diving can mean the difference between loving it and hating it... it can also mean the difference in safety too. Save money on beer, don't skimp on quality dive training. The cheap 2-weekend special will give you exactly what you pay for.

[Sockmonkey]

+1 for BDub if he's down with the OW these days.

Or Bob (gratefuldiver) Bailey unless he's still on a grumpy teaching sabbatical.

PeterGuy won't steer you wrong in any way.

By choosing an instructor not affiliated with a shop you may have a better chance of getting away from advice that leads directly to gear purchase... or more classes with that particular shop. Many instructors who do not teach scuba for a living... or for a shop are often more dedicated and committed to their student's education. Mostly I would avoid any shop where you're treated like a sheep being led from one class to another for the sake of generating revenue.

Lynne... your recommendation for Peter got a laugh out of me and wasn't all that convincing. Maybe because you chose to suggest Brian before your own husband.

-Eric

[LCF]

It's the agency, not the instructor . . . uhhh . . . or maybe not

[ljjames]

either of the guys mentioned already for sure!

also the team out at Silent World Diving in Bellevue. They may not be DIR-ified, but Craig et al teach a very thorough course and have been encouraging people to become DIVERS in the northwest for what must be 25 years now. PLUS, their checkout dives are done in drysuits Craig is a shop owners who truly believes that diver retention is key to successful business. They dive a lot themselves and get their divers out quite often through a combo of local shore dives and charters..

http://silent-world.com/local.aspx

[Pez7378]

My little brother wants to get certified...... He lives in the U district so Downtown to Shoreline would probably be best. Since he is a student cost is definitely a factor as well.

Thanks for your input

Matt

Just looking for a reputable place

UWS
Lighthouse
NWSD
Silent World
Smokey Point
TLC
A2Z
(There are also some farther South, East, North and West but a bit out of range for your brother)

Which agency is insignificant.

These are the insignificant agencies.......

Padi
Naui
SSI/TDI
GUE
UTD
(YMCA stopped scuba instruction as far as I know)

So I thought I'd get some ideas on good instructors in the Seattle area..

And finally some of the good Instructors:

Matt, Bob, Greg, Brian,Scott, Scott, Peter, Fred, James, Chris, Bill, George, Wally, Sandi, Susan, Valerie, John, Kelly, Pat, Greg, Craig, Steve, Don, Frank, Tim, Jeanna, Matt, Jerry, Lauri, Cindi, Fred, Dan, Joe, William, and Jack.

(This list may be incomplete)

I sure hope this helps!

[Dusty2]

And finally some of the good Instructors:

Matt, Bob, Greg, Brian,Scott, Scott, Peter, Fred, James, Chris, Bill, George, Wally, Sandi, Susan, Valerie, John, Kelly, Pat, Greg, Craig, Steve, Don, Frank, Tim, Jeanna, Matt, Jerry, Lauri, Cindi, Fred, Dan, Joe, William, and Jack.

(This list may be incomplete)

I sure hope this helps!

An impressive list for sure but not very helpful unless you know the last names.

Seriously though. Agency? not really a factor unless you are looking for specialized classes like UTD or DIR for the basic learner permit (OW)they are all pretty similar as far as what they teach. If cash is the issue you can always do one of the local area's shop's cattle calls. It will get you the card but no personal 1 on 1 training and allot can slip through the cracks.

IMHO go with one of the freelance instructors mentioned above. There is no substitute for individual instruction. They have the time and incentive to assure that he is a safe informed diver and can address any weaknesses they might encounter. He will learn allot more, get all of his questions answered and be a safer, better informed diver. AND not be pushed to buy, buy, buy from what ever shop they are working out of.

[spatman]

Matt, Bob, Greg, Brian,Scott, Scott, Peter, Fred, James, Chris, Bill, George, Wally, Sandi, Susan, Valerie, John, Kelly, Pat, Greg, Craig, Steve, Don, Frank, Tim, Jeanna, Matt, Jerry, Lauri, Cindi, Fred, Dan, Joe, William, and Jack.

(This list may be incomplete)

might want to add sandra to that list, too.

[Grateful Diver]

Matt, Bob, Greg, Brian,Scott, Scott, Peter, Fred, James, Chris, Bill, George, Wally, Sandi, Susan, Valerie, John, Kelly, Pat, Greg, Craig, Steve, Don, Frank, Tim, Jeanna, Matt, Jerry, Lauri, Cindi, Fred, Dan, Joe, William, and Jack.

(This list may be incomplete)

might want to add sandra to that list, too.

Definitely want to add her ... I made it a point to get to know her BECAUSE I happened to share a dive site with her one day while she was teaching an OW class. To say it was impressive would be an understatement.

We are blessed with an abundance of good instructors in our area ... and yes, THIS instructor is still on that grumpy old sabbatical ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[airsix]

Jeanna Edgerton's name is buried too deep in this thread. She needs a prominent listing.

Here, let me try again.



Jeanna Edgerton


There. That's better. I am training under both Brian and Jeanna and from my perspective they are on even ground, so equal press is only fair. If a member of my family were looking for an instructor today I would want them to go to Brian, Jeanna, or Bob Bailey (if he weren't on sabbatical). Though I have had less exposure to them and their students I'd also be considering Peter and Scott (if he teaches OW). I'm sure there are many other great instructors, but these are the ones I've been exposed to enough to form an opinion about.

-Ben

[Nwbrewer]

Jeanna Edgerton's name is buried too deep in this thread. She needs a prominent listing.

Here, let me try again.



Jeanna Edgerton


There. That's better. I am training under both Brian and Jeanna and from my perspective they are on even ground, so equal press is only fair. If a member of my family were looking for an instructor today I would want them to go to Brian, Jeanna, or Bob Bailey (if he weren't on sabbatical). Though I have had less exposure to them and their students I'd also be considering Peter and Scott (if he teaches OW). I'm sure there are many other great instructors, but these are the ones I've been exposed to enough to form an opinion about.

-Ben

Seriously, you'd think Brian would get tired of hogging the spotlight once in while.

[LCF]

Sandra is not currently teaching OW. It's too bad, because she has a ton to offer. But Bob isn't teaching at all, which is too bad as well.

[BDub]

Jeanna Edgerton's name is buried too deep in this thread. She needs a prominent listing.

Here, let me try again.



Jeanna Edgerton


There. That's better. I am training under both Brian and Jeanna and from my perspective they are on even ground, so equal press is only fair. If a member of my family were looking for an instructor today I would want them to go to Brian, Jeanna, or Bob Bailey (if he weren't on sabbatical). Though I have had less exposure to them and their students I'd also be considering Peter and Scott (if he teaches OW). I'm sure there are many other great instructors, but these are the ones I've been exposed to enough to form an opinion about.

-Ben

Seriously, you'd think Brian would get tired of hogging the spotlight once in while.

That's the problem with fortune and fame (now, if I could just have either)

Seriously, I showed Jeanna this thread (most of you know that she doesn't have access at work, and rarely has time in the evenings), and she got a big grin. Thanks Ben and Jake.

[dsteding]

Jeanna Edgerton's name is buried too deep in this thread. She needs a prominent listing.

Here, let me try again.



Jeanna Edgerton


There. That's better. I am training under both Brian and Jeanna and from my perspective they are on even ground, so equal press is only fair. If a member of my family were looking for an instructor today I would want them to go to Brian, Jeanna, or Bob Bailey (if he weren't on sabbatical). Though I have had less exposure to them and their students I'd also be considering Peter and Scott (if he teaches OW). I'm sure there are many other great instructors, but these are the ones I've been exposed to enough to form an opinion about.

-Ben

Good thing about training with Jeanna is that you won't end up like Chris and Joe . . .

[Nwbrewer]

Good thing about training with Jeanna is that you won't end up like Chris and Joe . . .

You mean like this? Or like this?

[BDub]

Jeanna Edgerton's name is buried too deep in this thread. She needs a prominent listing.

Here, let me try again.



Jeanna Edgerton


There. That's better. I am training under both Brian and Jeanna and from my perspective they are on even ground, so equal press is only fair. If a member of my family were looking for an instructor today I would want them to go to Brian, Jeanna, or Bob Bailey (if he weren't on sabbatical). Though I have had less exposure to them and their students I'd also be considering Peter and Scott (if he teaches OW). I'm sure there are many other great instructors, but these are the ones I've been exposed to enough to form an opinion about.

-Ben

Good thing about training with Jeanna is that you won't end up like Chris and Joe . . .

I'm only mortal. There's only so much one man can achieve

[John Rawlings]

I'm only mortal. There's only so much one man can achieve.

Yeah, they've been kind of incorrigible ever since they appeared "above the fold"!

On the other hand, Brian, if you were to straighten up Chris and Joe you might even be recognized as a miracle worker! We could possibly even arrange for you to have tax exempt status! HA!

- John

[Tom Nic]

A Slightly Different take - I have no quarrel with any of the recommendations so far (except that you left Mike off the list of instructors), but just want to throw in my .02 PSI.

For some folks (like me) $$ are truly an issue. (I know, I know, it's your life, etc etc etc, points made, and points taken, but you sometimes really CAN'T get blood out of a turnip!) I would not be diving if not for the $95.00 special that Underwater Sports runs with their annual Divers Fair / Sale / whatever they're calling it. You get what you pay for, but trust me, I got WAY more than I paid for! (of course I dropped some coin on dive gear eventually, which no doubt was the idea all along, but that's a conversation for another thread)

You can still interview instructors, still do due diligence, and even though you will be in a larger class, if YOU PUT THE EFFORT INTO IT YOURSELF you will still come out with reasonable dive skills and be a safe diver.

But AFTER class, here is where the amazing resources we have available in the PNW come in. I learned WAY MORE by diving with willing buddies and mentors AFTER I was certified than in any class that I've ever had - and there ARE A TON OF WILLING BUDDIES / MENTORS on this board. We have a wealth of dive knowledge in the close knit dive community in this area - and if you don't take advantage of it.... well, I'll stop right there.

So..... perhaps you do the "cattle class", but then you get out, meet new folks, and dive your brains out with some amazing folks here that are more than willing to dive with you. (The only thing I'll echo / emphasize is to wait as long as you possibly can and talk to as many people as you possibly can and dive as much as you possibly can BEFORE you buy your gear!! Buyers remorse is alive and well and it sucks when he lives in your gear bag.)

In a perfect world we all have unlimited funds to do things the right and the "best" way, but if you can't afford the "best" way, there are other options that will not compromise your safety, and will get you safely into the amazing underwater world that we all love so much.

Just my .02 psi.

[BDub]

A Slightly Different take - I have no quarrel with any of the recommendations so far (except that you left Mike off the list of instructors), but just want to throw in my .02 PSI.

For some folks (like me) $$ are truly an issue. (I know, I know, it's your life, etc etc etc, points made, and points taken, but you sometimes really CAN'T get blood out of a turnip!) I would not be diving if not for the $95.00 special that Underwater Sports runs with their annual Divers Fair / Sale / whatever they're calling it. You get what you pay for, but trust me, I got WAY more than I paid for! (of course I dropped some coin on dive gear eventually, which no doubt was the idea all along, but that's a conversation for another thread)

You can still interview instructors, still do due diligence, and even though you will be in a larger class, if YOU PUT THE EFFORT INTO IT YOURSELF you will still come out with reasonable dive skills and be a safe diver.

But AFTER class, here is where the amazing resources we have available in the PNW come in. I learned WAY MORE by diving with willing buddies and mentors AFTER I was certified than in any class that I've ever had - and there ARE A TON OF WILLING BUDDIES / MENTORS on this board. We have a wealth of dive knowledge in the close knit dive community in this area - and if you don't take advantage of it.... well, I'll stop right there.

So..... perhaps you do the "cattle class", but then you get out, meet new folks, and dive your brains out with some amazing folks here that are more than willing to dive with you. (The only thing I'll echo / emphasize is to wait as long as you possibly can and talk to as many people as you possibly can and dive as much as you possibly can BEFORE you buy your gear!! Buyers remorse is alive and well and it sucks when he lives in your gear bag.)

In a perfect world we all have unlimited funds to do things the right and the "best" way, but if you can't afford the "best" way, there are other options that will not compromise your safety, and will get you safely into the amazing underwater world that we all love so much.

Just my .02 psi.

Tom, that's an interesting perspective, and a valid option, with one caveat....if the student has a natural comfort in the water, I think that's a valid option.

I'll offer a different perspective. My DM training was done in that exact environment. I think the first class that I worked as a DM in training had ~14 or 16 students, with 2 instructors and 1 or 2 certified DM's. It was chaos. The instructors we simply going thru the motions while we watched the students to make sure we didn't lose any.

I worked 1 full summer doing those types of classes before I had enough. Though that was the only kind of training and environment I had been exposed to, it just wasn't for me.

Were there any injuries? No.

However, even though there were no injuries, and even though many of the students walked out of the class with a cert card and marginal skills, at best, what made me really sad is the number of students who didn't continue diving.

I saw so many students who simply didn't enjoy the class. They spent most of their dives kneeling on the bottom, waiting for their turn to do their skills while the instructor went down the long line of students. They'd sit, and wait, getting colder and colder because they weren't doing anything. That was their first, and in many instances their only, exposure to diving. Who would enjoy that? That's not diving.

There were also so many students who didn't have a natural comfort in the water who, had they had a little extra attention (ANY attention, for that matter) would've finished the class, felt a sense of accomplishment, and continued diving. Instead, they were sent home with their tail between their legs because they decided diving wasn't for them.

I'm not trying to discount your experience, or that kind of training. It obviously worked for you, and it works for others. However, having seen that on the other end, first hand, its a shame to see some people quit diving because that was their first experience with it.

It wasn't the instructors' fault. They were teaching the class they were assigned. It was stressful for them. On several occasions, they'd even ask the students after the class "Had you know your class would be this large, and this quick, would you still do it?". While many answered "Sure", there were an equal number of "No way".

[Tom Nic]

I don't disagree with anything you are saying Brian - nor am I saying that the large class chain dive shop training is close to ideal. I'm 90% in your corner and others on the excellent points that have been made.

But the OP said that finances were an issue. They were for me as well, and not everyone that wants to dive is a lawyer, doctor, mba, or IT specialist.

If someone is not already somewhat comfortable in the water (to your point, I always have been, although quite frankly I don't know how anyone can be "comfortable" in 45 to 55 degree water) then individualized or smaller class instruction is the ONLY way to go.

Who wouldn't have wanted to have a Pschyology 101 class with 3 other students and your professor? But who could have paid for such a class? If you went to university you were in a class of 100 or more students for that Psych 101. Ideal? Of course not! A waste of time? For some. But not for others. And to carry the University analogy a little further, if you go on to graduate studies now you are investing in your future, in smaller classes with greater attention from the profs (hopefully), and MUCH more clear on what you want to learn. As a freshman.... well, you don't know what you don't know.

For clarity - If there is ANY way you can pay for smaller classes better training individualized instruction - go for it! It is more than worth it. But if that is simply not an option you don't have to stay dry, and can do so safely.

Not ideal, but with eyes open, a legitimate option IMHO.

[BDub]

You're right, Tom. I missed this line in your first post.

You can still interview instructors, still do due diligence, and even though you will be in a larger class, if YOU PUT THE EFFORT INTO IT YOURSELF you will still come out with reasonable dive skills and be a safe diver.

And, I do agree with you on this point.

Not ideal, but with eyes open, a legitimate option IMHO.

Do your research. If you are on a limited budget, and are ok with this teaching environment, then I agree, it's a legitimate option.

[Sockmonkey]

The point I took away from Tom's post was not to disregard diving (often) with the above mentioned "amazing folks" as part of your OW education.

Heck until this spring I hadn't taken a scuba class since OW 1993 (silly drysuit class doesn't count). Much of what I learned I picked up from diving with lots of different people, most with more experience. Of course there are only few places in the world where one could take a crappy OW class and then go dive with enough people willing to help you enough to become a more betterer diver. Seattle is one of those places.

-Eric