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**Peregrino** · 11-07-2011, 20:43

I gave up my instructor liscenses years ago. Not sure there is anyone in Fayetteville I would send a friend to. Stay away from Cape Fear. RecTec (old Aquanut store) used to be OK but I don't know if they're still in business. 21st Century Tactical fronts for some PADI instructors but I don't know any of them. There's a technical shop here in Aberdeen that might teach basic OW; the guy that owns it works in USASOC. I've met him and he seems OK - his shop is at least clean and professionally laid out. A bit far to drive but I've found tech instructors tend to be a bit more "thorough" with their basic OW instruction. (They understand the importance of imparting a sound foundation - after all - they want to grow more [live] tech divers.) A former associate owns a store in Angier but that's even further to drive. Wherever you go - DO NOT get hung up on the "my certification agency is the only legitimate one" BS that the agencies spew to capture market share. So long as the agency meets minimum national/international standards (I forget the name; have to look it up later), one Basic OW cert is as good as any other. Some even have "home study" modules; the only time you deal with an instructor is for the water (pool and OW) sessions. The only thing the agencies are really interested in is collecting your money (for any imaginable reason - certification tabs to be continued on other wet suit) and avoiding lawsuits if you fail a Darwin moment. We can RV and discuss at a PM if you're interested. DO NOT BUY ANY GEAR until we've spoken.

11-07-2011, 20:43	#3
Peregrino Quiet Professional Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Occupied Pineland Posts: 4,701	I gave up my instructor liscenses years ago. Not sure there is anyone in Fayetteville I would send a friend to. Stay away from Cape Fear. RecTec (old Aquanut store) used to be OK but I don't know if they're still in business. 21st Century Tactical fronts for some PADI instructors but I don't know any of them. There's a technical shop here in Aberdeen that might teach basic OW; the guy that owns it works in USASOC. I've met him and he seems OK - his shop is at least clean and professionally laid out. A bit far to drive but I've found tech instructors tend to be a bit more "thorough" with their basic OW instruction. (They understand the importance of imparting a sound foundation - after all - they want to grow more [live] tech divers.) A former associate owns a store in Angier but that's even further to drive. Wherever you go - DO NOT get hung up on the "my certification agency is the only legitimate one" BS that the agencies spew to capture market share. So long as the agency meets minimum national/international standards (I forget the name; have to look it up later), one Basic OW cert is as good as any other. Some even have "home study" modules; the only time you deal with an instructor is for the water (pool and OW) sessions. The only thing the agencies are really interested in is collecting your money (for any imaginable reason - certification tabs to be continued on other wet suit) and avoiding lawsuits if you fail a Darwin moment. We can RV and discuss at a PM if you're interested. DO NOT BUY ANY GEAR until we've spoken. __________________ A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear. ~ Marcus Tullius Cicero (42B.C)
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