Become a PADI Open Water Diver!

The PADI Open Water Diver course is the world’s most popular scuba course, and has introduced millions of people to the adventurous diving lifestyle.

The PADI Open Water Diver course consists of three main phases:

  • Knowledge Development (Online, or in a classroom ) to understand basic principles of scuba diving
  • Confined Water Dives to learn the required scuba skills
  • Open Water Dives to review your skills and explore!

Knowledge Development

Learn the lingo. During the first phase of your PADI Open Water Diver scuba certification, you develop an understanding of the basic principles of scuba diving. You learn things like how pressure affects your body, how to choose the right scuba gear and what to consider when planning dives.
You review what you have studied in five knowledge sections with your instructor and take a short quiz to be sure you’re getting it. At the end of the course, you’ll take a longer quiz that makes sure you have all the key concepts and ideas down. You and your instructor will review anything that you don’t quite get until it’s clear.

 

Confined Water Dives

This is what it’s all about – diving. You develop the required scuba skills by scuba diving in a pool. Here you’ll learn everything from setting up your scuba gear to how to easily get water out of your scuba mask  without surfacing. You’ll also practice some emergency skills, like sharing air or replacing your scuba mask.  Plus, you may play some games, make new friends and have a great time.

There are five confined water dives, with each building upon the previous. Over the course of these five dives, you learn all the skills you need to dive in open water.

 

Open Water Dives

After your confined water dives, you and the new friends you’ve made, continue the learning experience during four open water dives with your PADI Instructor at a local dive site. We use a variety of places along the south coast, including the picturesque Swanage Pier, the coral gardens of Kimmeridge, or in the depths off Chesil Beach. This is where you fully experience the underwater adventure – at the beginner level, of course.

The open water section may be reffered to another more exotic resort if required, (this is called a refferal) which is ideal if you are going on holiday and you only want to dive in the warmer waters.



What do I get?

Unless you choose PADI eLearning, you’ll get the following training materials during the PADI Open Water Diver course: 

  • The PADI Open Water Diver Manual
  • PADI Open Water Diver DVD
  • Recreational Dive Planner (Table or eRDPML).
  • You will also get your PADI Log book

 

 

 

How do I do It?

To enroll in the PADI Open Diver course or Junior Open Water Diver course, you must

  • Be 10 years or older! (PADI eLearning requires a minimum age of 13 years due to international internet laws)

  • Students younger than 15 years, who successfully complete the course qualify for the PADI Junior Open Water Diver certification, which may be upgraded to a PADI Open Water Diver certification upon reaching 15.

Physical: For safety, all students complete a brief scuba medical questionnaire that asks about medical conditions that could be a problem while diving. If none of these apply, you sign the form and you’re ready to start. If any of these apply to you, as a safety precaution your Doctor must assess the condition as it relates to diving and sign a medical form that confirms that you’re fit to dive.

Waterskills: Before completing the PADI Open Water Diver course, you will have to demonstrate basic waterskill comfort by:

  • swimming 200 metres. (There is no time limit for this, and you may use any swimming strokes you want.)
  • float and tread water for 10 minutes. (Again using any methods that you want.)

About Physical Challenges: Any individual who can meet the performance requirements of the course qualifies for certification! There are many adaptive techniques that allow individuals with physical challenges to meet these requirements. Individuals with paraplegia, amputations and other challenges commonly earn the PADI Open Water Diver certification. Even individuals with more significant physical challenges participate in diving. Give us a call for more information.