Hey guys, I'm joining a dive club on Monday. The agency is British Sub-Aqua Club. Can anyone tell me how this differs to the Professional Association of Diving Instructors? And as I'll be doing my qualifications under BS-AC will this affect me diving anywhere in the world? Is BS-AC as recognisable as PADI? Any advice or guidance would be highly appreciated. Muchas Grasias, Dan.
Yeah, Cheers for stating the obvious pal. Advice on whether or not to go ahead with BS-AC, or find a club that's PADI because I'm unsure how the agencies differ from one another. Or if it would affect me, diving globally. I want to see what the divers on here recommend, comparing and contrasting. So I can work out what's best for me.
They are fairly different. BSAC is club based, pay membership and those in the club will teach you, when they have time, to give you a certificate of similar level to padi open water. On the face of it BSAC is a bit cheaper but could take ages to get finished. Padi is about the largest international training organisation. They have a set course which you pay a fairly standard price for. You will/ should be qualified quicker with padi but once done you are not in a club who goes diving. Depends if you want to get qualified to dive on holiday or want to be a full time uk diver. This is a subject that could be discussed at length but padi will get you diving to a basic level quicker with well published learning material. If is also world wide known. However you may need to then see where you want your sport to progress and look at further training with other agencies. DO look at IANTD, SSI as well as others. For example IANTD do an openwater course but are well known for their technical/advanced diving. So as an option start with them and already be on the bottom rung of a long and exciting ladder. There is a big caveat that most will say, chose your instructor not the agency/ shop or the cheapest. Some will take your money and teach the bare minimum, others will go the extra mile. Hope this helps. Although long it is a Fraction of what could be said! Que a big argument......,,,,, (btw I think padi is ok but would agree they are not the only choice) C Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner
Most clubs should offer a try dive first before you join - why not try all clubs local to you to see what you like best? Ask them about things important to you, such as how quickly you want to get trained up and into open water, what's is the social part of the club like, check that the PADI place actually has a club part as some don't, will you be expected to buy all your own kit before being able to dive, etc It is also worth searching for SAA clubs near you and they are affiliated to CMAS. You may not know, but you can normally crossover between agencies with some additional training if need be. I am a PADI Advanced OW diver but I am just about to crossover to an SAA club as it is local to me. There I can continue training at my own pace and work towards instructor levels which I can use at the club on a voluntary basis.
I've never heard anyone being knocked back with their BSAC card, I have heard people being knocked back (or at least having to hire a DM/guide) in some francophone countries with only a AOW card where a BSAC Sports Diver would have been fine (because BSAC SD is CMAS 2 star). It dosn't really matter which agency does your OW/OD most divers end up picking up cards for a variety of different agencies. Elvis PADI: OW, AOW, Nitrox and Drysuit, TDI: Advanced Nitrox and Helitrox, NAS: Intro to Foreshore and Underwater Archaeology
I would say avoid the club enviroment although there are some very good clubs around that are worth joining but not in my area so thats my opinion, I would say get diving with people off this forum if you ask nicely in the looking for buddies section im sure someone will answer, the reason I say this is there is some much better training agencies or should I say Instructor out there that dont teach for Padi or Bsac. My opinions on Padi is its very easy to get certificated but the instruction isnt always the most informative due to some instructors lacking experience and being of a very low standard, and from what I have a small amount of experience with bsac, is its a club that like the pub to much As I hate the dive industry but love diving this is an honest answer I can give
Ooh like the sound of the UW Acheology. Do some more research before starting if you are not in a particular hurry. As stated above call peeps up and ask, put them on the spot it's your money and a competitive market, ask what they will offer not how cheap they will do. Also as Elvis said you are not locked in so can switch later. C Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner
There is good and bad in the majority of agencies. Are you already a trained diver or looking to start as your avatar is that of a 'diver'.
GEU Rec One for the most comprehensive open water course with the opportunity to train with one of the most highly respected instructors in the UK. Soeone had to say it...
Oooouu now I didnt want to mention that as I didnt want to look as if I was favouring a certain agency
I think that everyone has their own unique requirements....hence you will get a lot of different possibilites put forward by the forum members. They are all very good and very valid points. Personally I just wanted to get diving ASAP and was limited in how much time I could give due to flexible work shifts and locations...for me it meant that PADI was the easiest and fastest route to achieving this. I did O/W so that I could dive and then joined a BSAC club because I wanted to get more training and have a base for travelling to sites within a group (they do like to drink lol...so true Si). My route was the best one for me personally, I did research for a bit first and then went head first into it like a missile. All I can add is...after thinking about what you want and what may work best for you with your lifestyle/work/family/study committments then re-think from other practical issues such as funding and location of the club - you may even join more than one if the pool sessions are on different days and you can't guarantee making them.
EsEnd of the day the initial course is pretty much the same across all the agencies, and most dive centres (but not all) know that there are cert cards being pushed out by agencies other than padi, so your diving shouldn't be restricted... Although you may have to fight your corner a bit with some of the lesser known ones (that doesn't include bsac). How well you're trained comes down to the instructor, so make your selection based on them. Sad as it is, some of them shouldn't have the cert. The club based training system that Bsac offer can provide you with very comprehensive instruction, however as has been said, it will be completed within the club time lines, so may be lengthy. You'll also need to subscribe to the club, along with all its foibles and politics. Make sure you go to a few meetings before handing over your cash.
Maybe I was a bit flippant, Rec 1 does pretty much cover OW + Nitrox + Drysuit + Rescue + intro to tech +SMB, when you add the cost of all of those PADI courses together it doesn't look that bad.
If I was starting out diving I wouldnt hesitate about doing GUE training, Its expencive but when you look at what you get it not bad at all plus you are garenteed to get a very skilled instructor that will teach you tricks and tip some instructors from other agencies wont know, If you can see through the smoke and polotics of GUE you will end up a better diver by training with them.
Just to be clear, as it's not quite obvious from the other posts. The answer to the question is No. You don't have to already be certified. The GUE Rec1 class is for non-divers who wish to learn to dive. HTH John
