CONTINUING YOUR SCUBA DIVING EDUCATION

Click Here for Overview Video of Diving

ADVENTURE DIVER
The PADI Adventure Diver Program is designed for the newly certified Open Water Diver.  In just one day the diver can complete three Adventure Dives from a list of different types of dives.  Coupled with a single classroom session this is the perfect way to continue your diving education in a minimum amount of time.  The dives completed in this program count as three of the five required dives for the Advanced Open Water Course.

Click on Deep Diver, Fish Identification, Night Diver and Wreck Diver below for Videos

SPECIALTY DIVER COURSES
Specialty Diver courses are designed to familiarize divers with the skills and knowledge for other areas of recreational diving. A specialty course is intended to introduce the student to a special interest area in a safe and supervised manner. This allows the diver to develop new skills while avoiding many common problems that might be encountered otherwise.

The following are a few of the Specialty Dive Courses offered at Aquatic Adventures Scuba Academy: 

BOAT DIVER A vast majority of the dive sites visited are best reached by boat. The Boat Diver specialty helps the diver learn the idiosyncrasies of diving from a boat. Learn about the special techniques for entering and exiting the water from a boat. This course is a perfect adjunct to one of our dive vacation trips.

CAVERN DIVER
Underwater caverns are often known for their fascinating rock formations.  Streaming sunlight filtering through cavern openings can create spectral beauty.  The Cavern Diver course is intended to provide an introduction to diving in natural overhead environments.  Practical knowledge of cavern environments and specialized diving techniques make this a unique course.  The Cavern Diver course includes a classroom session and three cavern dives conducted at two different locations.

DAN OXYGEN 1st AID
While diving is one of the safest sports today, problems can sometimes occur.  The on the scene management of diving emergencies by providing Oxygen 1st Aid is of critical importance for all divers.  The Diver's Alert Network (DAN) has designed this course, which consists of a four hour classroom session where hands on oxygen administration is learned.  This class is perfect for all divers from beginner through Divemaster and Instructor. This course involves classroom only and is a recognized PADI Distinctive Specialty Course.

DAN AED 1st AID
Automated External Defibrillators (AED) are now located in many airports, sports arena and public shopping malls.  The use of these devices have been directly responsible for saving countless lives.  A Study Reported in the Washington Post on November 12, 2003 indicated that persons trained in the use of AED were twice a likely to be able to revive a victim than with CPR alone.  This course teaches the warning signs of sudden cardiac arrest and how to use Automated External Defibrillators to provide assistance.  CPR training is a prerequisite for this course.  This course involves classroom only and is a recognized PADI Distinctive Specialty Course..

DAN 1st AID FOR HAZARDOUS MARINE LIFE INJURIES
While serious hazardous marine life are rare, most divers have experienced discomfort from time to time.  This  course teaches you to identify hazardous marine life.  It also focuses on possible injuries caused by marine life and how to provide 1st Aid in an emergency.  It also looks at how to avoid marine life injuries.  This course involves classroom only.

DAN ADVANCED OXYGEN FIRST AID FOR SCUBA DIVING INJURIES
This advanced-level program is designed to train existing DAN Oxygen Providers to use the MTV-100 or a Bag Valve Mask while providing care for a non-breathing injured 

DAN BASIC LIFE SUPPORT FOR DIVE PROFESSIONALS
The remote nature of dive accidents, whether a few hours from shore or days from civilization, frequently requires more advanced levels of care than are offered by traditional or entry-level CPR programs.  This course is designed for members of the professional dive staff to deal with emergencies using a coordinated team approach.

DEEP DIVER (click for video)
Diving to a depth greater than 60 feet is exciting, but requires specialized training. The course teaches the principles associated with deeper diving and the risk factors involved. Corresponding lectures include reviewing dive tables, safety stops, emergency decompression procedures, flying after diving, and altitude diving. Prerequisite certification of Advanced Open Water is required. Certification requires classroom work and four dives over at least two days.

	DRIFT DIVER The PADI Drift Diver Specialty course introduces you to the coolest magic carpet ride you’ll ever experience. This course shows you how to enjoy rivers and ocean currents by “going with the flow,” staying with your dive partner, communicating with the dive boat and knowing where you are the whole time. When you drift dive you feel as if you are flying!
	DRY SUIT DIVER Diving with a dry suit allows the diver to dive in areas that might be inaccessible with just a wet suit. It also often allows greater bottom times by increasing diver comfort. This classroom sessions will include the principles, uses, and maintenance of dry suits. One confined water and two open water dives will also be conducted to complete the course.

ENRICHED AIR - NITROX Diving with enriched air or Nitrox allows divers longer bottom times.  Divers that use Nitrox when diving with air computers or tables are afforded additional insulation from decompression sickness.  The increased percentage of oxygen in the mixtures leaves the diver feeling less tired after the dive.  The PADI Enriched Air - Nitrox course is designed to familiarize divers with the benefits and theory of no decompression diving with oxygen enriched mixtures of air containing 22% to 40% oxygen.  This course consists of a classroom session, no dives are required..

EQUIPMENT SPECIALIST While problems diving are rare, the vast majority of those that do occur are equipment related.  Proper maintenance of one's scuba equipment helps insure safe and enjoyable diving.  For the diver who has purchased equipment it helps prolong the life of one's investment. For the diver who has not yet purchased equipment, this course provides valuable insight into the various types of equipment. This, in turn, will help in the selection of appropriate equipment later.  This course involves classroom only.

NIGHT DIVER (click for video)
Diving at night is considered by many divers to be the best there is in diving. Diving at night offers the diver the chance to see corals blooming, lobster and octopus hunting for food, and parrotfish sleeping in their milky cocoons. This course will cover the techniques for diving at night or in low-visibility conditions. Certification requires three dives. Students who completed a night dive as part of their Advanced Open Water course can complete the course with two additional dives.

PEAK PERFORMANCE BUOYANCY
Unless you are born with scales and gills, buoyancy control is probably the single most difficult skill to master completely. This course covers all aspects of buoyancy control from proper weighting to actual underwater technique. This course will not only make your diving safer and more enjoyable, but proper buoyancy control will also increase your bottom times and improve your air consumption. Completion of this course includes self study, a classroom session and two open water dive practice sessions.

SEARCH & RECOVERY DIVER
Searching for a missing item, recovering buried treasures, how does one go about this? The Search and Recovery course outlines the techniques and equipment needed to accomplish both. Four dives over a minimum of two days provide the student the opportunity to practice different search patterns, use lines, reels, and lift bags to recover various items.

UNDERWATER HUNTING & COLLECTING
Fresh fish or lobster for dinner would be the perfect end to a day of diving. But how does one get the lobster in the bag or the fish on the spear? The course will teach the proper techniques of collecting lobster or spear fishing while emphasizing diver safety and protecting the environment. Shell and mollusk collecting are also included in this program. Two dives are required for certification.

UNDERWATER NATURALIST (REEF DIVING)
No, this is not nude scuba diving! Underwater naturalist is reef diving. This course is designed to explore the unique relationship of the coral reef and its inhabitants. Learn the characteristics of the various forms of marine life, and be better able to identify the various critters seen on a typical coral reef. The knowledge gained in this course maximizes the diver's enjoyment , while ensuring the safety of both the diver and the ecosystem. Certification requires classroom and two dives.

UNDERWATER NAVIGATION
How does one use a compass? That question and more will be answered in depth. The course will expand upon the navigation techniques taught in the Advanced Open Water course to include natural navigation, site relocation, and compass navigation. Three dives over two or more days is required for certification.

UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY
Capturing the beauty of the underwater world on film can be very rewarding. What better memento of your vacation than a set of photographs or slides of the very reefs that you observed while diving. This course teaches the basic principles of underwater photography from composition to camera care. A complete slide presentation put together by Nikon is incorporated into the classroom sessions. Two scuba dives are required to complete certification.

UNDERWATER VIDEO
Most of us can remember the beauty and excitement generated by such television shows such as Jacques Cousteau the specials on PBS.  Now you can create your own underwater documentaries as mementos of your diving adventures.  This course teaches the basic principles of underwater video from composition to equipment care and selection.  Two scuba dives and one classroom session is required to complete this specialty.

WRECK DIVER (click for video) Wreck diving is one of the most popular diving activities, but it can be one of the most hazardous. The course will teach the diver the proper use of line stringing, penetration, and mapping. Advanced Open Water certification is a prerequisite and Deep Diver certification is highly recommended. One evening lecture and four dives are required.

BEYOND ENTRY LEVEL AND SPECIALTIES
The entry level courses teach divers the basic skills of diving.  The Specialty Diver courses lead divers into new and exciting areas of personal interest.  The following courses take divers to a new level of awareness, proficiency and self sufficiency.

The following upper level courses are offered at Aquatic Adventures on a regular basis.

EMERGENCY FIRST RESPONSE (1st AID & CPR) The course is divided into two sections. The first part concentrates on administering CPR, the second part focuses on administering first aid in a comprehensive manner and to provide a continuity of care as the first person on the scene to the arrival of the paramedics or transport to the emergency room. Basic skills taught include Primary Assessment, One-man CPR, obstructed Airway, Control of Bleeding, Shock Management, Illness and Injury Assessment. This course is important for both the diver and non-diver alike. Certification is valid for two years.

MASTER SCUBA DIVER
The Master Diver Certification is the highest recreational diver rating in the PADI program. It marks a level of achievement and proficiency. To qualify, the candidate must be certified as an Advanced Open Water Diver, a PADI Rescue Diver, have five PADI Specialty certifications and have logged at least 50 dives.