Learn To Scuba Dive

• "The classroom courses were a nice way to feel prepared before a pool class. It was nice to see exercises in a video before doing them ourselves."

• "Always full of energy, very experienced and super passionate"

• "Andrew was always happy, full of energy and great at motivating the group. Fantastic Guy!"

• "Andrew is excellent. He made it fun!"

• "Andrew is a very interesting and supportive instructor."

• "It was always fun learning from Andrew. He made us laugh all the time. You would never feel low with this instructor he boosts up the energy of the class."

• "Bob is clearly a master at scuba diving and I felt comfortable asking him any questions I had. His answers were appropriate for my level of experience but he still had me thinking critically."

• "Bob was great and kept me involved with what I was learning even when I was losing pace. "

• "Instructors were awesome despite large class size."

• "I found the classroom material to be repetitive, but the stories and conversations between videos really helped to keep me engaged."

• "The instructors both went over the material and allowed us to learn from our mistakes and gave real examples of when/where to apply what we learned from the knowledge reviews/tests."

• "Great guy."

• "Always positive, always informative (even through the slightly corny classroom required material)."

• "Great instructor!"

• "Classroom was thorough but time consuming. I would have preferred more independent studying and video review followed by testing in the classroom rather than a very long class with clarification on material we could study independently. "

• "Bob and Andrew demonstrated great patience to help me get my buoyancy right. Safety first is definitely on their mind. "

• "(For Bob Weeks)"

• "Bob and Andrew are great instructors and truly care about our safety and enjoyment during this experience. "

• "Bob was great. Straight forward, understanding, patient, knowledgable."

• "He was great! "

• "Andrew was a very motivated instructor who has an amazing amount of experience to draw upon. His ability to connect with every student and make sure that all questions are answered makes him a good teacher. His best quality is his energetic attitude and ability to satisfy the curious mind."

• "Andrew is fantastic! Love him!"

• "Andrew is a very nice guy, although sometimes I didn't get his cold jokes. I wish I would dive with him in the future, but I might not be in San Diego for a long time."

• "He taught us the material in a timely, orderly fashion and answered any questions we had about scuba diving."

• "Andrew Kerner made our class diving safe, fun and exciting! He help build my self confidence under the water. He is an awesome "Dive Instructor". :-)"

• "Great energy, enthusiasm and pedagogy, able to conduct class in great atmosphere while providing safe and relevant instruction. Great humor, made the whole process both fun and safe. Very patient and good natured instructor!"

• "Mary was a wonderful teacher! She answered any and all questions we had and encouraged discussion in class. I hope her the best with her little one!"

• "Bob is a great instructor. I could not have asked anything more. I'm sad that we will no longer be able to learn from him as he seems to know an endless amount of information about scuba diving."

• "Bob is truly a great instructor! Very knowledgeable, extremely patient and easily approachable. "

• "Bob was great! You can tell scuba is his passion and that he loved teaching new students. He was patient when needed and made sure everyone was safe and comfortable. I'd love to learn all my scuba skills from Bob!"

• "Very patient, knowledgable, and detail-oriented! Easily picks up on your trouble spots without you having to ask and corrects them!"

• "Acknowledged her inexperience teaching but her ample experience diving more than made up for it. Made sure to clarify instructions and was patient with us."

• "Bob is a great instructor and he was very patient while we were practicing the underwater skills."

• "There were a few times Mike was unprepared with air tanks and small pieces of gear and such but overall he was excellent. He knew what he was talking about and knew how to portray it well to the group, safety was his first priority, and he was very respectful."

• "Very engaging instructor. Ensured our safety."

• "I really enjoyed working with Mike. He knows what he's doing and cares about his students"

• "Bob & Suzanne make a great team and both have immense experience diving and instructing. They both take a strong interest in the students' well being. It's nice to see instructors who love the sport so much and are in it for the right reason....to promote diving and share their knowledge/experiences. I like the fact that Bob always provides valuable feedback right after a dive on a students performance...what to correct and what to do better. This is very valuable. I also like the website...it contains useful information/resources...no fluff. I also like the fact that the instructors are unpretentious....in some ways old school...diving with a weight belt...this is appreciated. I know insructors that have never worn weight belts and could not show me how to ditch and don one !! Granted I know equipment is changing....:)"

• "Bob was extremely flexible and accommodating. There were students who couldn't get into the UCSD class and he went out of his way to accommodate them. Also, I felt very safe having him as an instructor. No matter what could or would happen, I felt that he was always there and ready to deal with it; or if necessary, come to the rescue! :) Also want to remark on Bob's patience. It can be tricky learning to communicate underwater, but I found that Bob was always very kind and patient."

• "Bob Weeks is an excellent instructor. He knows everything about the area, and about how to deal with students. He's especially good at diffusing any fear a student may have about diving."

• "I appreciated his direct feedback. He seemed to deal fairly well with what must be a very stressful situation - responsible for a bunch of yahoos in a dangerous environment. Thanks again!"

• "Great!"

• "Bob and Suzanne Weeks were very motivated, friendly and well informed. Thank you!"

• "Suzanne was an awesome instructor. She explained this well and was very patient."

• "Instructors Bob and Suzanne where really cool people, they were motivational, enthusiastic, friendly and are experts at scuba diving."

• "Bob was highly enthusiastic & taught at a pace that the students could easily follow."

• "Understood fears and very calming."

• "Very Knowledgeable & enthusiastic"

• "I liked both of them. Both were very approachable, informative and instructive."

• "I thought the class was well-paced with clear progressions from each session to the next."

• "The natatorium pool was very dirty, lots of band-aids floating around and miscellaneous items like bracelets. Surprised about that."

• "The pool at the Nat is gross. So many band-aids and dead skin cells at the bottom... After seeing all that I seriously had to take 5 showers to feel clean."

• "It was great! I had so much fun!"

• "The swimming pool at times was dirty with bandages floating around"

• "The class was the perfect size. We were able to partner up effectively and I felt like the supervision was superb with both Bob and a divemaster watching our groups. The chemistry within each of the groups was also very good so that helped with the course as well."

• "Vetting of prospective students (e.g.: making sure they are reasonably competent in open water) might be a good idea. Aside from this, the instructor was extremely flexible and did his best to work around each student’s schedule. I can’t say enough good about the instructor."

• "Instructors worked hard to compensate for large class size. Although the instructors were great, the class is extremely repetitive and contains lots of useless information. It would be much better if we did not have to waste our time watching PADI movies. They are not helpful. The purpose of paying instructors is to have them teach, not to watch a boring video. "

• "I thought the class was divided up in such a way (Bob had 3 groups and Andrew had 4 groups) that it gave each student the attention they needed to learn all skills required and become confident in them."

• "Loved it!"

• "If certain individuals are struggling, it can create slightly stressful scenarios for their classmates (especially in open water). If possible, it might be a good idea to segregate people who are struggling from the folks who are a bit more up to speed."

• "Andrew was an awesome instructor. It was a pleasure learning from him and the dive masters that were there to help at the ocean dives were very helpful. I was able to dive with Dive Master Scott and he gave a lot of useful guidance and encouragement to develop my diving further. The pool that we practiced in was disturbingly dirty. I do not desire to ever be in the pool again after seeing how dirty and unfiltered it is. Band aids, clumps of hair, and even skin could be seen in the water."

• "Main gym pool was NOT very clean"

• "the class is fun, dives are awesome"

• "The pool needs to be scoured for mold. When there are many students in the pool kicking their fin across the bottom, all the black mold in the tiles starts going everywhere."

• "The scuba videos were a little bit slow and redundant, but I understand the need for repetition due to the large amount of information. If at all possible, maybe something more interactive. The videos could be assigned to be watched at home"

• "I'm glad it got done quickly, but 6 hours on a saturday ending late to be at the beach at 6am the next morning for another 6 hours is exhausting and painful. The exhaustion inhibited my abilities in the class."

• "It was great! However, I wish the pace was slightly slower to learn more difficult skills better. "

• "Love my coach and buddies!"

• "Class was overall great! Only complaint would be that the Natatorium Pool was fairly dirty. Lots of stuff floating around."

• "The overall cost of the class was very unclear. It should be clearly stated that the BCD, regulator, wetsuit, scuba tank, and weights need to be rented separately and are not covered as part of the enrollment cost of the class. This adds a significant amount to the cost of the class."

• "Thanks Andrew, Bob, Suzanne, Winston, and Shannon for the wonderful course! The experience in general was very nice. However, I did find the size of the class was a little bit too big. I understand the cost issue, but the waiting time is kind of long in the sea. However, the buddies I met were great."

• "I think this was a really good class size, and enabled all of us to receive the attention we needed without taking too much time."

• "Moved at a good pace, great instructors"

• "LOVE this class!!! The class's location and times were perfect for a part-full time student. The description on the UCSD REC catalog said however, that rentals were included in the overall price. While was not a major issue and didn't turn me away from the course, it was a bit misleading. The rentals were no problem actually and were actually priced extremely generously. A big thank you to the staff at Ocean Enterprises for being so friendly and helpful!!"

• "The decision to take this class has been one of the best I've ever made."

• "The class was great. I'm happy UCSD offers recreational courses in SCUBA. "

• "The class was great! I feel like I had enough time to learn the material, apply it in a controlled environment, and then take it all the way to the ocean. I feel very comfortable and confident in my scuba abilities thanks to this class!"

• "Class was fun, and reasonably paced (coming from someone with hardly any swimming experienced)"

• "Fun class, I personally had a bit of more time on my hands so I thought the class could have been quicker but there was always sufficient time to complete assignments and review things."

• "This class is a great way to get introduced to scuba diving and helps to establish a good base for diving."

• "I had an absolute blast. I thought the locations were extremely convenient, the times were well suited for a college student schedule, my only complaint would be having pool dives the night before early ocean dives. Not only was all my gear still wet but there was one weekend I only got a few hours of sleep before an early morning because our pool dive went late. If this can't be changed its not detrimental to the experience but would be nicer if constructed differently in my belief. "

• "Very fun and interesting class."

• "Great class!"

• "I thought the water in the pool could have been cleaner...I know it does get a lot of use during the summer with various summer programs. If there is one thing I dislike its a dirty pool. Regarding the night dive, it seemed there was some confusion on the expectations that night. I also felt there were too many students out in the same area at one time. So perhaps spacing out the two groups might be helpful, either different spots not too far apart or timing them out. I know it can be difficult with too many students at night."

• "Really the only complaint I have is the state of the pool at UCSD's Natatorium. It was pretty filthy."

• "This was a really fun class. I think it covered pretty much everything I needed to know to get started diving safely. My only complaint is that the reading/videos occasionally felt more like an infomercial for PADI than a lesson."

• "Great class. Lots of fun and the instructor was very helpful w/ people's problems in the class."

• "The natatorium pool had dirty bandaids that remained the the pool for over a week. This was a bit repulsive. Our instructors on the other hand were wonderful!!"

• "Class was lots of fun."

• "I like the class, the instructors, and the people in the class. I wish I can have more classes like this where you learn real things and use it in real life experiences. This is going to be so great whi I get my scuba gears."

• "Very challenging and satisfying class with supportive and understanding instructors."

• "Everyone should get certified-great class"

• "Awesome, I thoroughly enjoyed the classes and dives."

•"I had always wanted to take up scuba diving but was a little nervous about what it might entail. Bob and Suzanne put me at ease from the first minute. Everything was explained clearly and I was allowed to develop at my own pace. I am now hooked on diving, and will be eternally grateful to Bob and Suzanne for not just teaching me how to dive, but for changing my life". -G.T., Visiting Professor (UCSD)

•"I just wanted to tell you that I keep remembering the good teaching I received at the UCSD diving course. I have been diving after that as much as I can. It is not too much since I live in a inland city. I always think about the special learning context that you both provided, which made me very secure and comfortable with my diving skills. After visiting and diving with some diving centres, I have been able to appreciate even more the solid foundation you provided." -B.G., Visiting Professor (UCSD)

•"The UCSD scuba classes allowed me enough time and practice to adequately execute skills during my ocean dives. The classroom sessions are important and provided vital information that I might otherwise not have understood . I feel confident enough to go diving with a buddy and without instructor supervision. Each dive was conducted with safety and with student abilities in mind. The open water and advanced Scuba diving classes have greatly expanded my interest in marine life and underwater exploration beyond my expectations. The instructional staff is experienced, safe, knowledgeable, and accommodating. I would highly recommend the UCSD open water and advanced open water recreation classes to anyone interested in further exploring the marine environment." — Tim W., BS-Environmental Systems: Ecology Behavior & Evolution

•"Overall, the SCUBA program at UCSD is wonderful. The instructors are very kind and well educated and emphasize the importance of safety and good judgment in all of their courses. Additionally, they work well with beginning to advanced students and their love of the sea is quite contagious. Having gone diving in various locales, with other SCUBA professionals, I would highly recommend the instructors and program at UCSD for certification and training, as it will prepare you to dive in any conditions, anywhere in the world." Dr. Dan S. Ph.D. Material Science

•"I just wanted to tell you that I keep remembering the good teaching I received from you at the UCSD diving course. I have been diving after that as much as I could (which is not too much, living in a inland city… but its something) and I always had a thought to the special learning context that you both provided, which made me very secure and comfortable with my diving skills. After visiting and diving with some diving centres, I have been able to appreciate even more the solid formation you provided." - Beatriz G

•"You showed incredible patience, interest, and kindness towards me and all of your SCUBA students. I was really impressed by your knowledge and experience and your ability to convey them so well to others and make it so fun! I am confident with SCUBA because I was taught well — thank you for giving me a whole future of diving to look forward to!" Sincerely, L A