WHO IS ATABARDIVERS.COM?

Thank you for visiting atabardivers.com, the official website of ATA/BAR DIVERS. We are an informal group of American multilingual PADI dive professionals. We offer instruction and support in English and Korean (한국어에 능통합니다) at affiliated dive centers in Southern California. ATA/BAR DIVERS does not offer membership but we do offer advice, educational and travel opportunities; we also share experiences and camaraderie within the greater diving community.

 

Our name is a fun play on diving terms. While we have been known to be "Divers-at-a-Bar" after some of our underwater adventures (for post-dive briefing purposes, of course!), this is not our focus. Our name reflects important concepts in diving: (1) “ata” (atmospheres absolute) and, (2) “bar” (a metric unit of pressure roughly equivalent to one atmosphere). We do not condone drinking alcoholic beverages before or while diving, but we do like to have fun.

 

AUDIENCE

ATA/BAR DIVERS target audience are mature, mid- and post-career professionals who are experienced in—and passionate about—our underwater world. While we like children (and even have a few of our own), our dive experiences are not always family-friendly. For this reason, unless specifically noted, our dive outings do not include those divers under the age of 21 years.

 

We are not tec-divers, but we are experienced divers. For the greater good of the group, you should be an experienced diver too. If you are not already certified as an Advanced Open Water Diver, please consider this important training before you travel with us so you can keep up with our escapades.

 

AFFILIATION

As PADI Pros, the founding members of atabardivers.com hold the PADI professional designation of Assistant Instructor or Open Water Scuba Instructor. We are also Emergency First Response instructors. We hope to see you in a scuba or EFR class soon! We offer instruction in English, Hungarian, and Korean.

 

GOALS & OPINIONS

We love to dive, and our goal is to share information about scuba diving, from equipment and training to dive destinations and operators. The opinions expressed on this website are solely those of the founding members of atabardivers.com and do not reflect the opinion of dive operators we may be affiliated with. Our orientation is a positive one that  promotes the good things in diving; we do not dwell on the bad. But occasionally, our experience may be less-than-acceptable with a product or a service—and we will share that with our readers. Experiences can be different depending on the divers involved. We offer you our opinions on our experiences; we do not offer a forum to voice differing opinions on our postings. We welcome you to post differing opinions at other sites.

 

IMAGERY & TERMS OF USE

Unless otherwise noted, the images or videos posted on this site are copyrighted by atabardivers.com and cannot be used or transmitted without the express written permission of atabardivers.com.

 

FEEDBACK FROM OUR STUDENTS

What our scuba students say about the training provided by the ATA/BAR DIVERS PADI Pros:

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Thanks again for today, I had such a great time. I am beyond grateful to have you as my instructor 🙌🏼

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Maui was great. It was beautiful and a lot of fun. [My husband] and I went diving it was amazing. We encountered beautiful colored fish along with baby turtles. Also, I stayed off [the] sea bottom [!]  Thank you for the hard love. I couldn't have done it without you ❤ and tell your husband I remember to turn on my air lol. I enjoyed your class and learned a lot would not change a thing. Anyone that takes your class will learn alot and enjoy 😉 diving for life.

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I just wanted to take a minute to express my gratitude for the incredible experience I had while attending your open water course and getting my diver certification. You both were not only professional in the delivery of instruction but extended yourselves by providing a high level of patience and personalized attention to each student.  I would highly recommend both of you to anyone interested in pursuing diving... I think you are all awesome people and instructors and I look forward to not only the next dive but the opportunity to advance to the next level.

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Wow, I had such a wonderful time, honestly don't think I could have experienced my scuba with a better couple of instructors. So glad to call you both my personal teachers.

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We had a great experience in the classroom, covering the book material and in the pool. You made the pool time enjoyable and gave us the confidence and skills to feel comfortable on the boat. On the boat you made us feel comfortable and confident as we performed out requirements. We had a great experience and really enjoyed working with you, you all were super helpful and upbeat. My son and I are planning on continuing our dive education.

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OMG! Thank you both. It’s rare to have such an experience with such people! I hope that every bubble that is exhaled and floats gently to the sun, from your students, brings you satisfaction and happiness – I know that we will think of you – and the kindness and love we felt – with every bubble and exhale :-)  thank you.

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Thank you so much for all the time you spent teaching me how to dive. This has been the most amazing experience and I am so thankful to have had you as my teacher! Your humor and positive vibes truly put the cherry on top of this whole learning process. You're an amazing teacher. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

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Thank you so much for last weekend. It was a fantastic experience, and I learned a great deal from you... I can't wait to get back in the water and thank you again for helping make this experience so [cool].

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Thank you for all you did these past weeks. You not only taught us well, you made it fun! I enjoyed your sense of humor, it's twisted like mine! Your stories of your experiences we're great also... Being the Old Guard of the bunch, you made me feel very comfortable and at ease. I am sure our paths will cross in the near future.

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I just received your recent Diver Roll Call email and it compelled me to reach back out to you.  I started my scuba journey by attending your open water course about a year ago, last July.  Since then, I've done about 11 more dives and also got my Advanced Open Water certification while abroad in Indonesia.

 

Having started my diving in the Channel Islands, it really surprised me how different tropical/warm water diving was and really helped build an appreciation for the training I had and the conditions for which I learned (e.g. colder water, strong currents, lower visibility). So first of all, I just wanted to thank you again for the awesome instruction... Anyways, long story short, I don't think I would have had nearly as good of a time on my trip if I didn't have the training that you provided.  My friend, who was certified in Northern California, had a less than ideal Open Water training, and it actually showed as he did not seem nearly as comfortable or confident in the water.  After sharing our stories, it was evident that I received the higher quality training.  So thank you for that and I apologize for waiting a year to share that with you!

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Thank you both so much for the wonderful experience. You both have made the learning experience far greater than I could have ever imagined. You both have shown me a wonderful world I have never known fully about, so I just want to thank you both so much for everything. Wonderful, wonderful experience...

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JOIN US

Would you like to join the atabardivers.com email list or join one of our classes? Please contact us. We will send you an occasional email about upcoming events and posts. We can also communicate fluently in Korean. 한국어에 능통합니다.

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