1. What is personal gear? Personal gear is your mask, snorkel, booties, gloves and fins. Dive shops make you pay for these items, costing upwards to $300, in order to take a scuba class. At Scuba San Jose you do not need to buy personal gear, it is supplied for you. 2. Where are the classroom and pool sessions held? Class and pool sessions are held on location. We are near De Anza College 3. I have contacted a few shops that do a weekend (2 days) of class and pool followed by a weekend in Monterey for the dives. Can I get that type of course from you? Many shops will advertise that you can get a Scuba certification in only one weekend; this is not true, and in many cases one weekend may not be enough time for class and pool sessions. My organization, NAUI, limits the hours for a Scuba Course to a maximum of 8 training hours per day. My classes usually are constructed with a 4 hour registration, swimming, and snorkelling session. I then have two days of pool and class on the weekend, followed by a weekend in Monterey. Class size is kept small, and I have found this to be a very effective format. 4. Is all equipment included, or must I rent or purchase some equipment? All of the equipment is provided for you. We supply all of your "personal gear" at no additional cost. 5. What is the difference between NAUI and PADI? The honest answer is that it all depends on the instructor. The courses are constructed quite differently and that can have an impact on some students who may have some minor difficulties during the course. NAUI is the oldest international scuba certification agency in existence. It is a non-profit educational organization. I have heard some dive shop owners make the claim that NAUI is simply an offshoot of PADI; that is simply a false statement with no basis in truth. If you love numbers and statistics, PADI is the biggest (I didn't say best) with approximately 50% of the market share. NAUI is the second largest (I think the best) with approximately 35% of the market share. SSI has about 14%, and all the rest (over 40 agencies) comprise the remaining 1%. These statistics are not mine, and were done by an independent company over 3 years ago. 6. Is the NAUI course more difficult than other Scuba courses from other agencies, such as PADI? I have heard some dive shop owners claim that NAUI courses are like going to boot camp, too strict and regimented; nothing could be further from the truth. NAUI instructors are trained to be flexible in their approach while adhering to NAUI standards which are the highest in the recreational diving community. I have a very high success rate with my students and almost all are able to easily meet NAUI standards after receiving the proper instruction. Our motto at Scuba San Jose is "Learn it right the first time". 7. What is included in my student kit? Our NAUI "award winning" student kit includes everything you will require for the classroom portion of your Scuba diver course: textbook, workbook, VHS tape, audio CD, dive tables, and log book. The all inclusive cost of $299.00 includes this award winning NAUI Scuba Diver Student Kit which is yours to keep. Some facilities will simply loan you the text and video, and then re-use them for the next student. 8. What is the Instructor to Student Ratio? Our normal class size is 4 students. 9. How many dives are required for certification? We do a minimum of 5 dives. The first dive is a fun-filled skin dive and introduction to the ocean environment, followed by four scuba dives which usually last 40 minutes or more each. 10. Are the times of my ocean Scuba dives limited? Your dive times are only limited by your air consumption and the NAUI dive tables. It is not unusual for our students to average 40 minutes or more per Scuba dive, with a total ocean dive time of 3 hours or more by the end of the course. This is usually double the ocean dive time given by other shops. 11. Is it required that I pick up my gear at your facility before the ocean check-out dives? We transport all of the equipment to the dive site for you. This saves you a lot of time and insures that all of the equipment has arrived safely at the dive site. 12. Are there any additional costs that you have not told me about? Other than meals, lodging, and transportation/parking costs, there are no other costs. 13. As our instructor (Loren Kolnes) will you accompany us on our certification dives? I have always accompanied my classes for their ocean dives as their instructor. It would take an extreme emergency for me not be present at these very important dives, and in that event all would be notified prior to the dives. It is not unusual for other dive businesses to "farm you out" to another "very competent and skilled" instructor - BE CAREFUL!!! 14. When we get to Monterey, will you help us with motel reservations, restaurant information, etc.? Of course. I always make recommendations at the first night of class as to Motel accommodations, and during the course the question of "where to eat" always comes up, and I have a long list of very good places to go! 15. I want to be a safe diver. Are there other Scuba courses which I can take that will help me to dive safely? It is apparent that the more training you receive, the more you dive, and the more skills you learn will all make you a better and a safer diver. It is not required that you take a Rescue or an Advanced Diver course, but these will certainly make your training more complete. After the completion of your Scuba Diver course you will have the skills necessary to allow you to dive safely with a buddy. The initial Scuba Diver certification really means you are now at a point that you are "ready to learn" more about Scuba Diving, and can do it in a safe manner. 16. I have asthma, but it is controlled with medication and inhalers. Is there any reason I can't dive? There are a number of "absolute contraindications" to diving, and asthma is one of them. Some others are: insulin dependent diabetes, epileptic seizures, disorders which can cause blackouts or weakness, acute heart dysrhythemia, limited ability to cope with stress, history of pneumothorax, ruptured eardrums, and last but not least - a fear of diving. You may very well find a dive instructor willing to overlook any of the above contraindications for strictly business and monetary reasons. You must ask yourself the question "are the rewards of diving worth the gamble"? 17. I have been told by some dive shops in the San Francisco Bay Area that some Scuba certifications may not be accepted worldwide by resorts, dive boats, etc. Is this true? There are over 40 Scuba certification agencies that are accepted worldwide. NAUI is the oldest international Scuba certification agency in the world, and is accepted and respected on a worldwide basis. There are some dive shops, and certain websites that do make this false claim. Any Scuba shop or Scuba website that claims their certification is the only one that is accepted worldwide is being less than honest.