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I have now done 6 classes with Seattle Scuba (open water, dry suit, advanced open water, peak performance buoyancy, drift diving, and rescue). I feel I have seen enough to give a wholehearted endorsement of the business and, especially, the instructors. All of my classes were taught by Duncan Scott. He is calm and assured and very competent. He dives effortlessly, which gives great confidence that he can support you easily as well. I highly recommend any class or trip with Duncan. This place could make a fortune selling gear to their students, but never once have I felt that I was being taken advantage of. In fact, the discounts offered to students usually result on a price much lower than anything you can find online. If anything they are too generous, and it seems they could use some profits from product sales to spruce the place up a little bit. It is definitely a vintage Seattle joint that could use some renovations, but I would take good people over glossy appearance any day.
The classes are well taught, with a strong emphasis on safety. Ultimately, you have to listen and be responsible for yourself, communicate your needs, etc, but I felt well supervised the entire time. To do that, they sometimes break you up into small groups, even though they are well within PADI guidelines to take the whole group out. I like this extra-cautious approach. However, this leaves the other group sitting in the rain on the shore for an hour or so. I would have liked to have seen some more shore support on those cold days. A pop-up tent and some hot tea, hot water for cold gloves, etc. That seems like a nice touch that wouldn't cost a lot and would be really appreciated.
I would also add that their website is very antiquated and is a bit hard to follow when it comes to scheduling classes, especially on a mobile device - but it works. They still use a lot of paper with a lot of the tests, applications, etc, which could be done online through PADI.
Overall, this is a great group of people who are clearly passionate about what they do and they have been doing it a long time. There seems to be a bit of apathy towards change, as can happen when a business has been successful for a long time, and it seems they could use a fresh look at some of their offerings and practices. I would say they are still a 5 star operation, for sure. After all, I got what I needed, I felt safe, and I felt the pricing was very fair. - via 