You are Officially a SCUBA Diver: Now what?
SAGE SULARZ Aug 16, 2023
Congratulations you just got your open water SCUBA certification! The question many divers have after first learning to dive is where to go next, good news is there are many options and paths to take. The first step is continuing to go out on dives and get experience, after you feel confident you have caught the diving bug you can start buying more gear and building your own SCUBA set up. Continuing your dive education is also a great way to get time in the water and learn new skills that will allow you to explore new places and be safer in the water. Both will help you feel comfortable expanding your underwater playground soon you will be diving all over the world.
The best way to make it out on dives is to connect with your local community. Waterfront Diving Center offers charters twice a week to different locations at a variety of levels, not only is this a great way to explore the lake but also to meet new friends. The shop also has a “buddy board” this is a whiteboard where interested divers write their information down to be contacted by other people in the area, stop in to add yourself to the list and reach out to a few others.
After completing your open water there are a few paths you can take to continue learning to dive. The first is taking an advanced open water course where you will expand on your current knowledge, adding new skills such as night and deep diving. This class does take some preparation so make sure you are building your gear setup and filling up your logbook to get ready. While you are preparing for your advanced class consider other options such as rescue diver and nitrox as well as non-dive specific classes such as first aid and O2. Not only will continued education expand the limits of where you can dive, it also makes you safer to dive with. Most underwater accidents are preventable and knowing how to avoid and deal with situations in the moments leads to a long happy dive career.
The final way to spend time in the water is travel, the world is filled with incredible dive destinations each more entrancing than the last. You can book a dive focused trip with Waterfront Diving Center led by our experienced instructors or just add a day of diving into your next vacation by finding a shop and booking a guided dive or charter in a new area. Whatever you choose to do with your SCUBA career be prepared for a lifetime of adventure and fun!
