I took Rick's course in the early 1990s (and have not been in touch since). I see that some commenters think him harsh, but he was a tough taskmaster who packed a lot into the training, and I'm glad. I didn't realize then how diligently he was preparing us for a sport that requires extra discipline and minute attention to detail of gear, surroundings, safety, and other divers. You will learn the rules and methods very well. A year later, on a dive on the north shore with friends, a Harbormaster approached our group and grilled us on rules -- I knew the answers thanks to Rick. We heard the Harbormaster yell at another group that they had better review! I've been diving for many years and became a certified scuba teaching assistant. My tips: 1. Rent the major gear, and practice until you find the best fit for you, before you buy. 2. Take meticulous care of your gear (duh). Become very familiar with gear, what you can maintain yourself, and what is better to have serviced (such as regulators). 3. Don't let well-meaning family buy your gear as gifts. These are personal items that you have to try on your whole body and fit on your face and in your mouth. Eventually I had my 1/4 wetsuit custom made (by a pro who is no longer with us.) 4. Many divers who are from the north don't dive locally and won't get into a 1/4 inch wetsuit. They travel to warm waters and wear a much lighter dive skin or rash guard, or just a bathing suit. Still, it's useful to be trained wearing a thicker wetsuit. 5. Join a dive club. If you don't like the first one, try another. My first club was disdainful of beginners. 6. Don't let anyone rush you. Dive with others of your level, or hire a Dive Master to supervise you until you are confident. 7. If you are still tentative, find dive sites that are walk-ins from the shore, or don't go deep. There is sea life to appreciate at 20 feet. Dive vacations can be splendid! The beauty of the underwater world is worth all the fuss. Enjoy your new sport. read more

My boyfriend and I just completed the Open Water Certification course. After shopping around for other courses in the area, this is by far the cheapest, even after you include those extra (hidden) fees throughout the course. We met for class in the Boston YMCA - the first hour and a half is lecture (fast-paced, lots of note-taking) followed by an hour and half in the pool learning to use the equipment. Here is the breakdown: $250 - Class Fee $75 - Open Dives Fee $50 - Rental Fee $20 - Wetsuit Rental Fee (for pools lessons) $5 - Photo for Dive Card (optional) $40-80 - Boots $50-100 - Mask, Fins, Snorkel $16 - Air to fill tanks, during Open Dives Despite some unexpected extra costs, I had a great time learning to scuba dive. I was on the fence at first, but now I'm eager to get out there again. Rick, the instructor, is VERY passionate about the sport and you will learn everything you need to know and more. Some have left comments that he is rude and loves to hear himself talk, at the end of the course he acknowledges that he may be a prick and students in the class probably hate him (I loved that he was self aware and didn't give a sh*t), but he prides himself on successfully teaching the necessary skills and safety requirements. On our open dives, out in Rockport, MA I was nervous to go out in the ocean for the first time, but it was awesome and I felt very safe with Rick. I would recommend this course to anyone looking to get into scuba diving. You'll learn so much and even though cost keeps growing, Rick is not like all the other dive shops, he is not out to steal your money. It is an expensive sport regardless. We're now thinking about taking the Advanced course with Rick, too. read more

Boston Scuba Academy - Setting up rental equipment at open dive site. - Fitness & Instruction Near Me

Got Y certified 20 years ago with Rick. Great guy who certainly knows the water. Excellent way to get together with a group of like minded folks if you ever wanted to try diving. They dives locally which keeps the costs down (no one charges you to talk off the beach in the Gloucester area and you still have a blast). The cost is a steal to learn from the best and get into a great sport. If you travel, you can later dive in great locations while on vacation without any fear of the limited training they provide at the resorts! read more

Amazing class with one bad ass teacher! I took this scuba class several years ago by searching online and choosing one of the cheaper classes. ($225 and you are allowed to pay in installments). i got to say i got every dollars worth with this class. first off the teacher. rick tejero. definitely one of a kind. been scuba diving for many many years and definitely has a passion for the sport. he is a NO bs kind of teacher. funny and nice but definitely no messing around. dont get me wrong....you have a great time. but if your playing underwater while the class is suppose to be practicing a scuba diving technique, he is going to call you out. if your going for a quick weekend dive and in depth knowledge doesnt matter, prob not the best course. but if you want the course from someone who is passionate about diving and is serious about learning and mastering all the basic techniques, this is it. its been 3 years since i took the class but ill say that i still dive by the principles rick taught me. read more

I was certified with Rick and I hated every moment of it. I felt unsafe on my certification dives and after receiving my certification I felt I did not possess the necessary basic skills to SCUBA safely. The others in my class seemed afraid of Rick and too nervous to ask questions, this is not the type of teaching environment anyone should be subjected to, so do yourself a favor and get certified somewhere else. I ended up contacting East Coast Divers and explaining my situation and lack of training with Boston SCUBA and they told me they would offer me free pool courses until I felt comfortable enough to continue diving. Thank goodness for them or else I would have probably given up on diving. read more

I got certified by Rick many years ago. He was the best I have scuba dived all over the world. It is amazing reading some of the reviews. read more

We, my husband, our son and I, got our Open Water certification at BSA and were certified by Rick more than 20 years ago. After that we've been taking other classes with other instructors, have cards from SSI, PADU, NAUI, all three of us are Rescue Divers now. And I only can credit Rick for giving us a good start. He is the best instructor of all we've seen, absolutely no nonsense, tells it like it is instructor. Scuba diving is a serious sport and has to be taken as such. Thank you, Rick for introducing us to the wonderful silent world of fishes, critters, and the beautiful corals!!! read more

With Rick the sales pitch comes first. Then listening to himself talk. Followed by instruction. I understand his need to have the class safe and listening but...being safe when you dive becomes a lot more of a challenge when you are worrying about your instructor having an irrational freak out at you or others. Other members of the class remarked that while they appreciate Rick's knowledge, they are afraid of him. He will not listen to you, he is too busy enjoying his own voice. Some of his assistant instructors are great though, so he gets a star for that. Be aware that he is not up front with all costs. His initial rates seem to be the best deal but then he nickel and dimes you for rentals and other items required to finish your cert. If you can learn without the need of tolerable interaction with a teacher, he can get you certified... IF you believe you are the type of student that wants to connect to the class, others, and enjoy your certification look elsewhere... read more

Rick was awful. I almost did not finish the class because he was such a bad teacher. One night be forgot the wetsuits but made us put on dive weights anyway and I was afraid I would drown. He also pushed around one of the younger students because he was afraid to stay under water for one of the exercises. Do not use Boston Scuba Academy if you want to begin to enjoy scuba. read more

I got certified with Rick in 2006 and have 70+ dives at this point. The information he emphasized to our class over and over again helped me when things went wrong under water. I highly recommend him to everyone. read more

I just finished my open water scuba certification with Rick Tejero at BSA. I will say that throughout the entire experience I felt a sense of security in the fact that Rick has certified thousands of divers and has been diving for over 40 years himself. He's seen it all and anything you could screw up or forget, hes got you covered. The man knows what he's doing and it's reflected in the quality of the course. He runs courses basically all the time at the Boston YMCA, Needham Y, Waltham B&G's Club and the W. Roxbury Y. The classroom section was thorough and well done. The pool section was also really well done, for all 6 pool sessions there were at least 2 or 3 instructors in the pool. BSA provides everything for the pool as part of the fare- tanks, BC, mask, fins, snorkel, reg etc. By the end of the course I felt more than prepared for the open water skills test. The ocean segment was both days on a weekend. You have to rent gear from a dive shop, but that's the case with all certifications regardless of where you go. The dive site we went to was in Rockport, MA and we did 2 skills dives and 2 fun dives to practice diving. I think that compared to other courses you could take in the Boston area, no one is as qualified to teach you to dive as Rick. After the course I have a feeling that I learned and am good at everything I wanted to get out of a scuba course. As for cost there are some inescapable truths- the course costs $275 and you have to buy you own mask, fins, and snorkel before you go in the ocean. So depending on how much you spend on mask, fins and snorkel the price tag is higher than $275. However, if you plan to continue diving yourself, on vacation or whatever, you need those items anyway- dive shops expect you to have that stuff when you rent (they give you everything else) so.. do something cool, breath underwater, pretend you're aquaman, see lobsters and fish and look like a b.a. in your wetsuit- get scuba certified at BSA! read more

Please be aware that the reduced price of BSA relative to other instructors in the area has a reason behind it - the YMCA certification is different from the PADI certification. In most situations the organizations show reciprocity to one another's certs, but it's up to the individual divemaster (most of whom worldwide are PADI) and for myself I chose not to limit my options. read more

Boston Scuba Academy offers scuba licensing at favorable prices. Unfortunately, the prices quoted on their website and flyers is only part of the cost. As the course moves on, the additional charges ($200+) pile up - something you will not realize until your $50 deposit is lost. However, Despite these dishonest practices, Boston Scuba Academy remains the cheapest option out there (which makes you wonder why they feel they have to lie about their prices). However, even despite the lying about the prices, the worst part about Boston Scuba Academy is without a doubt the instructor Rick. Rick is patronizing and incredibly rude. The entire first lesson is basically one big sales pitch and Rick tooting his own horn. The extra charges come in the form of must-have gear, despite the fact the Rick in his 20 minute monologue/sales pitch on the phone (I only called to ask about the dates) repeatedly stated that the total price of the course was $375. The need for extra gear is brought up about halfway through the first lesson, but surprise surprise, Rick just happens to have a buddy who owns a dive shop and can sell you the extra stuff for a low low price... All this being said, I have no doubt about Rick's abilities as a Scuba diver, nor as an instructor. So if you're happy paying more than $600 to have this guy lie and talk down to you, this is course for you. read more

I was certified by Rick almost 30 years ago and have my advanced certification from BSA. He is well qualified and students should be grateful that he takes the sport so seriously. I learned everything I needed to know, and felt completely confident and safe when diving. read more

I am writing this review solely to thank my instructor Rick Tejero for what he has done for me personally. I attended Ricks classes back in 1983, when classes were held at Boston College. Through his dedicated and professional ethics and utmost savvy in the field, I must say that through out the years, I have enjoyed many a trip down the depths of our oceans. However I think the most important and valuable lesson Rick taught me was how to save a life in times of need. To date I have saved two people from certain death were it not for my training, the latest being a four year old child who had drowned in the pool just this past summer. I am not exaggerating when I say that after 35 years Ricks instructions for performing a CPR were just as vivid as the day he taught me the skills while trying to revive the helpless body of this child.Through my training I was able to bring this child back to life and reap all the joys and blessing that comes with doing so. Surprisingly , I just received an invitation form the Little Elm, TX city council to be recognized for this. Rick will be with me then also. Thank You Mr. Tejero. read more

I took the course this summer with Rick Tejeiro as well, and I have to say, he's kind of a badass. He's got so many decades of diving and teaching experience that he could strap lead weights on a bobcat and coax it to breathe out of a tube underwater. The classroom and pool sections are amazingly thorough, at the risk of sometimes being a little fast-paced. But by the end of the course, you manage to absorb all the essential information to have an awesome and safe time underwater. I love that he had so many instructors on hand at the pool to help out, and that he offers an abundance of times and locations for the classes, and a choice of weekends for the certification dives. I did a bit of research around before choosing the Boston Scuba Academy, and it does seem like they win hands down for price and convenience in the nearby area. But I have to take a star away (and perhaps this should only be a half-star, because it's still a great value) for the extra expenses that kept creeping up after you've already committed to the course. So for the record, I'll write up all the expenses I ended up paying for the course, just to let everyone know approximately what to expect in terms of total pricing: $225--Course Fees ($50 of which must be mailed at time of registration) $75--Two days (one weekend) of certification dives, required to get official certification card $50 --Rental equipment for certification dives (tank, regulator, wet suit...)-- if you can borrow any of these things it will reduce the fee $164--Purchase of mask, fins, snorkel AND boots (which he forgets to mention sometimes) necessary for certification dives. I bought all of these on the cheaper end of new equipment sold to us via Rick's friend's dive shop. Rick will continually emphasize what an amazing deal this is, and what a huge favor he's doing for you. It is in fact way cheaper than new equipment at any other nearby or online dive shop; if this is stretching the limits of affordable to you, then I'd suggest looking to borrow or score some used equipment somewhere as long as you make sure it fits you (VERY important). $25--Purchase of ankle weights for certification dive. Technically not required, though Rick stresses their importance to balance and says he will ignore you if your feet are bobbing up. Also purchased these from Rick's dive shop owner friend. This is probably something that can be more easily found used online if you're trying to save (yesterday I saw the exact same pair on eBay used for $14). $20--Rental of wet suit for use in the pool for 3 weeks. This also is not required, however, Rick highly advises it. As a competitive swimmer I was sort of skeptical about needing a wet suit (I used to be fine spending 4+ hours a day in a pool), but it does get pretty chilly standing around in the YMCA pool when you're listening and watching for long stretches instead of moving, so I'd say this is worthwhile. Plus it gets you used to wearing a wetsuit. Also it's totally hot. $559--Total So, while the additional costs aren't cheap, you do walk away completely certified and owning some of your own equipment--at least the parts light enough to lug with you on vacation! It's a really great and informative course, and I would highly recommend this over trying to sneak into some dubious uncertified dives where you'd just be risking your life with a bunch of other vacationers who don't know what they're doing either =) read more

I am shocked to read the other 2 reviews. While I felt as though I learned what I needed to learn to dive safely (in a group with a dive master), the way in which Rick Tajero spoke to his students was demeaning. As a teacher, myself, I found his teaching methods to be intolerant of the varying needs of his students. He spoke really quickly during lessons, would not repeat skills practices if people were not quite getting them in the 2 times we did them in the water and would raise his voice at his adult students. He is very proud of his lengthy experience as a diver and EMT, but used that pride to rationalize not letting people as questions as much as they wanted as he says "I will be answering all the questions you can think of in the lecture, so don't bother asking them". I took this class to save money as it was cheaper than most out there, but there were fees added on right and left and the total really came out to just under $700 all inclusive. It took an unusually long time to receive my certification card after completing the course and I never got the log book that was supposed to come with the course too. I regret choosing BSA for my certification and encourage people to look elsewhere. read more