A WORLD DOWN UNDER SCUBA DIVING FINDS FOOTING IN SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

 BY NORA HESTON TARTE

Have you ever wanted to embark on a scuba excursion? Well now is the time to dive in head first. While Stockton has its own waterways, it’s pretty far from a body of water large enough to dive in. That’s where Justin’s Scuba Time, Inc. comes in. As San Joaquin County’s only PADI 5-Star Center, the Stockton dive shop offers certification in scuba.

“We spread out our classes over the course of four days. Two days in the pool and two days in the open water environment,” explains Derek Gentry, a scuba instructor at Scuba Time. To get scuba certified, you start at the indoor pool at the dive shop and then embark on a weekend trip to either Monterey (cooler months) or Lake Tahoe (summer) to finish certification.

From there, the world of diving is your oyster. “We offer all types of specialty diving classes like dry suit diving, diver propulsion vehicle diving, search and recovery, and the list goes on,” Derek says. Many continue their dive education by diving with their instructor in advanced courses after securing their initial certification. Scuba Time also offers a once- or twice-a-year dive trip that customers can attend. The first one back from COVID-19 is this month, a six-day vacation in the Cayman Islands at an all-inclusive diving resort. “Imagine traveling across the world diving in waters that house the most beautiful underwater creatures on the planet.”

Regardless of your interest in diving, Derek ensures just one time and you’ll be hooked. “We have taught people with lifelong fears of the water, claustrophobia, amputees, men, women, and children starting at the age of 10 years old. Nobody is too late or early to start learning how to be comfortable in the water and start diving.” In fact, the only person Derek says who shouldn’t dive is someone whose doctor won’t sign off on the activity. The initial certification process is straightforward. For $535, aspiring divers get four days of instruction, all of the necessary learning materials, and an equipment rental package. The cost does not include open water trip accommodations or personal dive items such as a mask, snorkel, wetsuit booties, and fins.

Still nervous? Start small. Derek says, “We offer a Discover Scuba Diving class where we do one pool session just to get a feel for diving and not ‘jumping into the deep end’ right away.”