Calidivers

After 8 years since my last dives, I recently refreshed my PADI certification before heading out with Mauri and another CaliDiver to Breakwater in Monterey. It was a relaxed and comfortable environment; I didn’t feel stupid or insecure for my lack of knowledge and recent experience. This was my first cold water dive ever. Mauri made sure I had all of the right equipment and that I knew how to use it properly. Although I was a bit apprehensive about the cold, it ended up being a great day with 2 dives and time to hang out after. I’m looking forward to my first international trip with CaliDivers this month!

I just completed my NAUI basic open water certification (YAY!) with CaliDivers and Mauri as my instructor. From the get-​go you get a sense of Mauri’s respect and admiration for diving. He is an extremely experienced diver and instructor who understands that safety is the key to being a good diver and having fun. I especially appreciate Mauri’s teaching ethics — he drives home key points and skills until everyone understands and is absolutely comfortable. He’s methodical and precise in instruction, a no-​nonsense sort of instructor who also knows how to provide an encouraging and friendly atmosphere.
In truth, I don’t think I’m as eloquent as I would like to be in praising the class. I’m the type of person who yells excitement and it’s taking a lot out of me not to write in caps and end each sentence in an exclamation mark. Just take the class and/​or join CaliDivers. You won’t regret it.
Also, the club has fun, exotic dives planned year-​round and have Monterey dives planned monthly. You’ll see me there! :D Yeeeee!

Mauri Munoz and CaliDivers are top notch!
I recently completed my NAUI open water scuba diver certification with CaliDivers. I was very impressed with Mauri Munoz as my lead instructor and have full confidence that he trained me, and my girlfriend (who was doing a refresher course), to be well prepared for any circumstance that may occur. Mauri was very thorough and required that I repeat any skill set that I had difficulty learning until I had mastered it; I am very appreciative of his tenacious attention to detail (as you will read later in this review). We completed our classroom and pool training at the City of El Cerrito’s swim center (what a great venue for our training with easy off-​street parking and very clean facilities).
Mauri was well prepared for each of our sessions and had often arrived well before we did with all training equipment in place. Once we completed our classroom and pool training we were required to complete four ocean dives, over two days, for final certification; these were completed at Breakwater Cove in Monterey, CA. On day one the weather was clear and pleasant with day two turning a bit overcast. The water in Monterey is brisk to say the least (around 53 degrees each day) with the dive area very convenient to the staging area on the beach.
Mauri not only taught us how to follow his excellent directions for our dives, he taught us how to prepare ourselves to be in charge of our own dive; this is extremely important as it is imperative that you and your dive partner know what to do and that you can depend on each other in case of an emergency. Safety is of paramount importance in scuba diving and we were well schooled in what to do, when to do it, and how to execute it under not only normal conditions but in emergency circumstances.
Let me state for you just a bit of my background to give my comments some perspective. I recently retired from a 35 year law enforcement career as a police lieutenant. During my career I participated in thousands of hours of training, to include firearms, tactics, SWAT, rappel, CQB; these training situations require great attention to safety guidelines to ensure that students are not injured in the training scenarios. I went on to be a trainer for local law enforcement, a federal task force, and state and federal agencies, as well as having numerous military operators in my classes. In my career I have participated in numerous training situations that require preparation for hazardous circumstances not only in training but in operational environments. I have had the pleasure and honor to train with some of the finest instructors in law enforcement and military cadres. I can state, without reservation, that Mauri Munoz is in the top ten-​percent of the best trainers I’ve ever trained with. He ensured that we were well-​prepared for not only normal diving circumstances but hazardous situations that could arise.
After we completed our basic dive training we traveled to the Cozumel, MX area to dive for several days in the warm waters there (80 – 82 degrees, wow!). While the diving was beautiful the three dive masters we experienced were of various levels of competence. None of them inspired great confidence and unfortunately two clearly demonstrated why it is so important that we know how to depend on each other as dive buddies; one dive master was very casual in his attention to the group once we were at depth and the other was downright dismissive of a problem with the air level of my tank after only a few minutes under water (I notified him when I was down to a 1000 psi and my girlfriend was at 1700; then shortly thereafter at 700 with her at 1500; at 500 psi we chose to ascend). These circumstances caused us to fallback on our emergency dive training from Mauri and execute a unilateral decision to ascend without the dive master’s assistance; we completed our three-​minute stop before completing the ascent and when we were on the surface my tank was at 150 psi. The dive master chatted with us after we were back on the boat and was surprised that were not going to take a second dive with him; moments later we saw him attempt to reassure another couple of whom he had completely lost track while we were submerged. The NAUI emergency training we received was not just a nicety, it was imperative.
If you are looking for mediocre scuba dive training, go someplace else; if you are seeking outstanding scuba dive training then train with Mauri Munoz and his team at CaliDivers. We plan on training with Mauri and his team again and again to ensure that we are well prepared for any contingency.

Great group of people in the CaliDivers club. They all love the sport of scuba and are helpful and fun to dive with.
The Scuba certification class I took from Mauri was excellent. His emphasis is safety, safety, safety, & fun. I learned a lot from the classes and the open water dives. Especially from my mistakes. I found Mauri encouraging and informative and never willing to compromise when it comes to being safe.
This club likes to dive. They have a number of dives already scheduled this year. I expect to join them whenever possible.

I recently got certified as a diver with CaliDivers (at the end of 2014) but I’ve been watching Mauri (a club officer) teach classes in El Cerrito for many months. I’m a fan of his clear and methodical teaching practices (this coming from someone intimately familiar with Red Cross courses) and it always helps to have experienced divers like him around.
The club has a very relaxed, friendly, and encouraging atmosphere. Of the multiple classes, annual event, and trip I’ve attended so far I’ve yet to meet anyone who’s anything but friendly, engaging, and a genuine pleasure to dive with! I’ve got nothing but appreciation for those I’ve met so far and I’m looking forward to many more dives in many places (with many great people)!
Dive safely, dive at your own risk, and enjoy your dive
=D

Most bizarre phone interaction, ever:
«Do you have scuba masks with prescription in them, for rent or for sale?»
«Yes, we do, for astigmatism, bifocal, and {something mumbled]».
«Great, can you tell me what the prescription is, what the number is on the goggle.»
«No, you can go on-​line to see that. I’m not gonna tell you.»
«How does someone then procure a mask from you without knowing what they are buying.»
«Look, I’m not gonna tell you.»
Okay, then. Yikes! No words.

I was recently SCUBA certified. I wanted to continue learning by joining a diving group with experienced divers. My instructor recommended Calidivers. I was immediately welcomed into the group. My first post certification dives were at Pt Lobos in Carmel, CA. The divers were professional and very friendly! During the SIT time, I bombarded the group with lots of questions. They helped me work through issues I encountered during each dive. They not only organize local dive trips, but also destination trips. I look forward to many many more dives with Calidivers!!!

Calidivers is a great group to find a buddy and go diving with. They organize frequent dives and carpools from the San Francisco Bay area down to Monterrey Bay regularly. As a dive club unaffiliated with a shop, there was no pressure to buy any gear. Unlike most outfits that like to be in Monterrey by the crack of dawn, this grop tends to leave a little later. It allowed me to keep some semblance of a sleep schedule and still get enough sleep.

CaliDivers is a great group of fun, conscientious, and safe divers. They offer a lot of regular, Monterrey Bay and California dives as well as unique international dive trips. Highly recommend this group if you’re looking for a dive club unaffiliated with a dive shop.

The dive trips are well organized and the club buddies are very down to earth. Kudos to the officers!!!