Scuba Diving

[amihan07]

Will take my scuba diving lessons these coming days at Scubaworld! Ang saya-saya!  I'm aiming for PADI Open Water Diver Certification by the end of the month. 

Nakikinita ko na na magiging hobby/passion ko ito. Tipong gusto ko rin i-try mag-scuba dive sa Apo Island, Malapascua, Tubbataha Liveaboard at kahit sa ibang bansa. Hayz... Ang sarap talagang mangarap, at mas masarap if nagkakatotoo na mga pangarap mo. Hehe.. 

Alam ko may scuba diving thread dito sa GT dati pero nawala na, so I'm bringing back this topic/thread. Sa mga sisses and bros dito na nagscu-scuba dive, share your experiences naman. Malay nyo in the future pwede tayo mag-organize ng eyeball/meet up for a scuba diving adventure for GT peeps! 

[beachgirl]

masayang sport yan sis, magastos nga lang

nami-miss ko na ang mag-dive! my last dive was waayyyy back in 2004, so if i ever dive again i'll need refresher courses.

[rheagirl]

gusto ko ang sport nato kaso di pa ako marunong lumangoy...have to learn to swim muna.

[simplysweet]

Wow! Good luck!

Got my certification from CMAS, and had my first open water dive at the director's resort at Anilao Batangas. He took his underwater dslr as well so we walked away with a dive log book, certification, and pictures.

Ang ganda sa Anilao. As in. Subsidized naman kasi kami since scuba diving is a PE class at our university. What normally costs P20,000 is immediately reduced to around P5000-P10000.

[diwata]

I have only tried scuba diving once in Twin Peaks Rock, Anilao, Batangas with Planet Dive. It was for free. And after that day, I vowed to myself that I'll dive at least once a year. And when I already have the luxury for a certification, I'll definitely enroll into one

I'm going to Boracay 2nd week of April. I'll definitely convince my friends to dive. I heard Crocodile Island is great! But I'm not sure if they'd allow that for beginners since sharks, tuna, mola mola, etc are sighted in the area.

[diwata]

amihan07 ~ Congrats sis! I envy you. I'm planning to be certified soon, too. Can you please give us a summary of your Scubaworld open water diver lessons? Like how much, how long, modules, location, etc. Thanks a lot!

[diwata]

Wow! Good luck!

Got my certification from CMAS, and had my first open water dive at the director's resort at Anilao Batangas. He took his underwater dslr as well so we walked away with a dive log book, certification, and pictures.

Ang ganda sa Anilao. As in. Subsidized naman kasi kami since scuba diving is a PE class at our university. What normally costs P20,000 is immediately reduced to around P5000-P10000.

Parang gusto ko rin diyan sa inyo maglessons, may photos eh. haha! Kuwento ka rin sis... name ng shop, etc

[Crissy]

Its also my dream to try Scuba kahit once lang, kaso I don't know how to swim :-(

[diwata]

^ You don't need to know how to swim because you're not suppose to float. May isinusuot ka pa ngang mga pampabigat e. Try it sis! Enjoy

[Crissy]

Nabuhayan naman ako nang loob nyan sis I inquired kasi before, they required ata that I could swim at least 20meters daw.

[sun_spiced]

i think you still need to know how to swim kahit the basics lang because when i took my scuba diving lessons yung last day namin tinuruan pa kame panu talaga yung legs when swimming para mas ok when diving. nagdive kame sa anilao and it was super fun, fascinating talaga underwater

[diwata]

^ Iyan ay kung magpapacertify ka sis kaya siya included sa lessons mo. Pero kung fun dive lang, not necessary. Hindi ako marunong lumangoy when I had my first dive. Kasi iyong dive instructor ang magdadala sayo. I remember I was not allowed to wear fins para superior iyong dive instructor mo. At noong asa ilalim na ako, ikinukumpas ko iying feet ko para makaabante, tinapik ako ng instructor ko at pinagalitan. Haha

[Megan1410]

I am advanced open water diver and been diving for 2 years and I dont know how to swim. Marunong ako sumisid so no issue sakin mag-fin but i cannot do threading or freestyle. This is also the reason I refuse to go to the next level which is rescue dive. Pero im an intellectual person so I can make do naman kahit di ako swimmer. Important din kasi sa diving that you understand what you need to do and what you should not do using the info you have like surface intervals, dive times, depth and psi. Kahit di ako swimmer I can take care of a newbie very well as I experienced na having my buddy lose air during a dive.

Pero enjoy ako and I can say Im an above average diver. I have been to Tubbataha na rin where nagsawa ako sa sharks. So far I dive at Anilao, Balicasag in Bohol, Mactan and Moalboal in Cebu and Subic.

I still wanna do dives in Apo island. Di lang ako nakasama this year sa dive buddies ko coz I was preggy. Now that I have given birth I cant wait to go diving again. Medyo tumigas narin ata mga gear ko due to non-use. Hehe

[Megan1410]

^ You don't need to know how to swim because you're not suppose to float. May isinusuot ka pa ngang mga pampabigat e. Try it sis! Enjoy

Diwata is correct. In my case since I dont swim mas madali ako natuto. Pag swimmer kasi tendency mo ikumpas kamay at paa mo while in water. That will make you go up instead of down. Kaya when I dive with my friends na newbie, lagi ko pinapalo kamay at paa nila para makababa sila agad. hehe.

Basta dapat pay attention ka lang sa dami ng air mo so you know if it will last you throughout the dive and how much air you need to get back to the surface. Medyo complicated at hirap explain possibilities dito but when you take the lessons Im sure you will be aware. Just pay attention. Yung iba kasi they take those information for granted when actually it affects your dive and marami na rin nadisgrasya sa dive due to ignorance.

Also when you choose a dive instructor make sure he/she really cares about your well being, Meron kasi pera lang habol lalo na yung mura lang sumingil. Minsan ipapasa ka nila kahit di ka pa ganun ka ready which is dangerous coz when you dive out of town lalo na pag foreigners dive master mo, they will not really pay attention to you so long as they know you have a license. Para sa kanila magaling ka na at alam mo na dapat mo gawin. So make sure when you dive outside, you tell them na baguhan ka lang and you need a good DM or buddy. A good instructor would actually encourage you to still do fun dives with him/her even after getting the license para mabantayan at maimprove pa nya skills mo.

[Crissy]

Talaga sis Megan, Galing mo naman. Any suggetsion saan maganda paturo scuba? whos better na instructor Foreigner or Pinoy? kelangan ba may buddy mag scuba?

[diwata]

^Cool! Saan ka nag-aral magscuba dive sis Megan1410?

[Megan1410]

Para sakin better ang pinoy coz even if they teach in english may option to teach in tagalog if needed. At least siguradong naintindihan nyo sila. My instructor was a technical diver under PDIC/SSI based in Laguna. He can conduct classes in Manila or Makati. Yung classroom session namin sa coffee shop ginawa and the pool sessions in Makati. My advance is under Padi in Cebu coz I was in Cebu that time for several months. Some of my friends went to Naui where they say is stricter at pahihirapan ka talaga. Pero at least nireready katalaga nila. PM me if you want me to refer you to them.

Crissy: laging may assigned buddy ka dapat when u dive, Requirement yun. During training yung instructor and dive master (DM) ang tutok sa inyong lahat. Pero once you do fun dives kahit saan dapat may buddy ka. You and your buddy can be separated from the group but you two should always stay together coz you two watch out for each other. So usually when I dive I want a buddy whom I trust coz you are talking about your life here. Hehe. Pede naman na yung DM mismo ang buddy mo kung kulang. Better pa nga yun kasi the DM should be more watchful. I cannot say that all DMs are like that but you can observe naman. If di ka pa sure if you really wanna make this a hobby then I advise you do an intro dive. It costs about 2500 or 3000 pesos. Eto yung wala kang fin at hihilahin ka lang ng instructor as what Diwata mentioned. This will allow you to ascertain if you will be comfy under water and if diving is for you. As for me desidido na ako so I took certification agad. May konting lessons and pool session din naman ito to teach you how to go down and clear your mask.

Usually when you dive outside, a good DM shows you sightings you wouldnt normally see by yourself. Especially yung mga maliliit na sea creatures. Meron naman who just go through the motion and fin lang ng fin and doesnt even stop to appreciate the surroundings.

[Crissy]

^This is really a big help. Sis megan, since you tried na in cebu, any suggestion where to try intro to scuba there? I'm staying Bacolod kasi, so its nearer to me.  Or also in mla, I might go there on vacation next month.

[Megan1410]

^This is really a big help. Sis megan, since you tried na in cebu, any suggestion where to try intro to scuba there? I'm staying Bacolod kasi, so its nearer to me.  Or also in mla, I might go there on vacation next month.

Oh my mom is also from bacolod so im also ilonggo.

In cebu you can contact Scuba World. Their location is right beside Hilton Resort in Mactan. The branch manager there is John Melendres and he was my instructor. Super bait nun. I will PM you their contact numbers. When I was there theyw ould text me if there was a group dive. Coz I dive alone so pag may group mas mura coz you share the boat. But since you are doing intro kahit ikaw lang ok na. Minsan sasabay ka nila sa iba. When I brought a friend there for an intro dive pinasuot sya ng fin kaya maganda experience nya kasi parang nag fun dive talaga sya. I guess they will assess if kaya mo or hindi. Depende siguro kung marunong ka mag-fin. I can say that after diving in Cebu parang nawalan ako ng gana sa Anilao kasi clear water sa Cebu at maputi sand so ganda visibility. There is also a dive site (Tinggo) in Cebu where there is a thresher shark. I saw it at 130 feet and it was about 3-5 meters away from me. Kasing laki ko sya so na excite ako. hehe. Sa tapat palang ng Scuba world may makikita ka na na frogfish kasi Mactan is a marine sanctuary so dami fish dun kahit sa tapat lang.

Although in Anilao may mga piling nice sites rin. I particularly like Sombrero Island, Mainit and Beatrice. Ok din Verde Island near Puerto Galera but current can be tough like in mainit so dapat medyo marunong ka na talaga.

[samsung]

Nice. Pwedeng pa-post ng mga alam nyong may mga murang fun dives. Nung nag search kasi ako, it will cost you around 4K. E parang hello, 4K isang araw? Parang ang mahal nun para sakin. Baka may contact kayo sa Anilao na mas mura?