Diving the GA aquarium worth it?

[swalke2]

+1 great cause, I have yet to dive Ga...yet being key word.

Did not take as a slam..

 

[scuba steve]

Personal cameras are not allowed, but a GAI underwater photgrapher accompanies each dive and photos/video are available.

 

[term_paint]

I will do the snorkeling in the next few weeks.

 

[purplegorilla]

Post pictures. I have been contemplating of diving at the GA aquarium one day.

 

[brynbyers]

http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/Swimordive/index.aspx">http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/Swimordive/index.aspx</a>

In order to do the dive, you have to be scuba certified. If you forget your card, I think they can look up most agencies. Like Todd, I'm a volunteer diver there and dive in he exhibit regularly. I also did the swim with my dad, niece and nephew. A great experience overall and a great staff that runs the program.

Some notes on each program:

Dive:
You will be along the bottom (no swimming in the middle of the water column) and when you swim in front of the big window, you will up close to your friends and family that came to watch, along with interacting with the other guests (rock, paper scissors is always fun). The mantas will play in your bubbles, a sand tiger or two will probably get close and you'll be looking up at the whale sharks.

Swim:
You swim along the surface with a small tank on you (you can use a snorkel if you really prefer). With this program you will have a very close encounter with the whale sharks as the prefer to swim near/at the surface. You will probably get bumped as well.

There aren't any photos other than what your friends and family take from the other side fo the glass, but you can purchase a DVD of your swim/dive. I highly recommend anyone to do it. If you are "friends" on Facebook with the aquarium, they sometimes offer discounts and I believe annual pass memebers get a discount too.

 

[tbettis]

yes

 

[ruadh]

I did the swim and it was totally worth it! I can't wait to go back! You never really know how big the whale sharks are until you get into the tank with them! They come out of nowhere....you get busy looking at all the other fish then....BAM....there they are! I almost panicked when it happened the first time, but, knew what to expect the next go-round. Definitely awesome!

 

[redpacus]

i cant wait until I get to do this dive

 

[tjyoung]

How much is it?

 

[psipro]

brynbyers;596366 wrote: http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/Swimordive/index.aspx"></a>
Like Todd, I'm a volunteer diver there and dive in he exhibit regularly.[/QUOTE]

Do you feel this is worth it? I am an experienced diver and already have many of the certs they offer with the program, I'm not to keen on their requirement that I pay them to volunteer.

 

[brynbyers]

psipro;620949 wrote: Do you feel this is worth it? I am an experienced diver and already have many of the certs they offer with the program, I'm not to keen on their requirement that I pay them to volunteer.

Hard to put a price on the experience...where else can you dive with whale sharks one day, belugas the next, followed by a coral reef...granted, I tell people I'm an "underwater janitor" but it is so much fun I wish I could do it more often.
If you are just beginning to volunteer, then yes you do pay ($60?), but that is for any volunteer position at the aquarium, not just to dive. And there is physical that you have to take once you start the dive program ($350-375?). I question the amounts as it was years ago when I paid these...as long as you volunteer a certain number of hours each year and make your commitment levels, then these fees are waved each year. Not to mention they offer classes for First Aid/O2/CPR for free, train you for surface supply and you can also help with the dive locker maintenance when you are trained.
Your call, but I think it is totally worth it.

 

[psipro]

brynbyers;620959 wrote: Hard to put a price on the experience...where else can you dive with whale sharks one day, belugas the next, followed by a coral reef...granted, I tell people I'm an "underwater janitor" but it is so much fun I wish I could do it more often.
If you are just beginning to volunteer, then yes you do pay ($60?), but that is for any volunteer position at the aquarium, not just to dive. And there is physical that you have to take once you start the dive program ($350-375?). I question the amounts as it was years ago when I paid these...as long as you volunteer a certain number of hours each year and make your commitment levels, then these fees are waved each year. Not to mention they offer classes for First Aid/O2/CPR for free, train you for surface supply and you can also help with the dive locker maintenance when you are trained.
Your call, but I think it is totally worth it.

I was using http://partners.georgiaaquarium.org/volunteer/diveoperations/Shared%20Documents/Volunteer%20Diver%20Levels.pdf">http://partners.georgiaaquarium.org/volunteer/diveoperations/Shared%20Documents/Volunteer%20Diver%20Levels.pdf</a> as my reference.

The CPR, First aid, and O2 are not provided at first either, plus I am a technical diver and never bothered with the recreational tree so I don't have Rescue. That adds another $1000 potentially.

 

[brynbyers]

psipro;620962 wrote: I was using http://partners.georgiaaquarium.org/volunteer/diveoperations/Shared%20Documents/Volunteer%20Diver%20Levels.pdf">http://partners.georgiaaquarium.org/volunteer/diveoperations/Shared%20Documents/Volunteer%20Diver%20Levels.pdf</a> as my reference.[/QUOTE]
Which tier are you looking at?

[QUOTE=][B]psipro;620962 wrote:[/B] The CPR, First aid, and O2 are not provided at first either, plus I am a technical diver and never bothered with the recreational tree so I don't have Rescue. That adds another $1000 potentially.[/QUOTE]
If spaces are available after staff has signed up, I know some of the dive ops have conducted training (at least for rescue and dry suit). If you are that interested, I would talk to the people down there before ruling anything out. I did have to pay for CPR/First Aid/O2 when I first started but there was a group of us that went to a local dive shop that gave us a group discount. My certification now is through a DAN course that was thought by one of the volunteers who is certified to teach the course. It is valid for 2 years, as long as I continue to volunteer at the aquarium. It came in handy last summer when our neighborhood pool opened and a 4 year old girl almost drowned...again, cannot put a price on it.

 

[psipro]

brynbyers;620968 wrote:
Which tier are you looking at?

I may be misreading it but T2 to syas your eleigible for "Scuba/SS Tender Training and/or Signoff (must already be SS and Rescue trained)". The first time I read over it I thought it said you had to do that for T3.

brynbyers;620968 wrote:
If spaces are available after staff has signed up, I know some of the dive ops have conducted training (at least for rescue and dry suit). If you are that interested, I would talk to the people down there before ruling anything out. I did have to pay for CPR/First Aid/O2 when I first started but there was a group of us that went to a local dive shop that gave us a group discount. My certification now is through a DAN course that was thought by one of the volunteers who is certified to teach the course. It is valid for 2 years, as long as I continue to volunteer at the aquarium. It came in handy last summer when our neighborhood pool opened and a 4 year old girl almost drowned...again, cannot put a price on it.

I agree, my roommate in college was certified to train all of those courses. As president of the SCUBA club at FSU I learned it all and bought the O2 bottle for the club. I also had to use it when a student rocketed his instructor, himself, and myself to the surface from 70ft (at which point I decided I was not genetically disposed to getting bent, a good thing on deco dives).

 

[brynbyers]

psipro;620975 wrote: I may be misreading it but T2 to syas your eleigible for "Scuba/SS Tender Training and/or Signoff (must already be SS and Rescue trained)". The first time I read over it I thought it said you had to do that for T3.



I agree, my roommate in college was certified to train all of those courses. As president of the SCUBA club at FSU I learned it all and bought the O2 bottle for the club. I also had to use it when a student rocketed his instructor, himself, and myself to the surface from 70ft (at which point I decided I was not genetically disposed to getting bent, a good thing on deco dives).

Sounds like you may be more than qualified.:thumbs:
Again, I'd talk to the team down there. I'm not rescue trained by any agency, and I just received my study materials to be a tender, so rescue training might be in my future, maybe even through the aquarium.
Good luck to you!

 

[redstang]

Worth someone with just basic open water cert to get involved? Would love to start volunteering once I'm done with school.

 

[brynbyers]

RedStang;621015 wrote: Worth someone with just basic open water cert to get involved? Would love to start volunteering once I'm done with school.

There is a range of experience with the volunteer divers. You do have to complete a certain number of "dry" hours before starting in the program (ex. volunteering in the galleries as a docent), but another requirement is the number of dives completed within a recent amount of time (a year?)

 

[brynbyers]

This is a video compilation that I made after a few dives at the aquarium...

<div class="gc_ifarem_title">YouTube - Shark Week 2010</div>[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3Bup8MhrH4]

 

[brian carter]

sounds like a fun dive

 

[dr_ fish]

Would be pretty cool to dive in a giant tank.