Specialty Courses
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Take your diving further by exploring some specialty programs
PADI specialty courses are a great way to improve your knowledge and skills in your favorite areas of diving. Each specialty program focuses on specific diving skills and areas of knowledge that allow you to practice exactly the skills and type of diving that interests you. We have a large selection of courses available and have many of the most popular courses listed below. If you can’t find what course you are looking for then contact us.
Enriched Air Diver
The PADI Enriched Air Diver course is PADI’s most popular specialty scuba diving course, and it’s easy to see why.
Scuba diving with enriched air gives you more no decompression dive time. This means more time underwater, especially on repetitive scuba dives. You can typically stay down longer and get back the water sooner. No wonder many divers choose this as their very first specialty.
What will you learn about?
Advantages of Diving with Enriched Air, Equipment for Enriched Air Diving, Oxygen Exposure, Oxygen Analysis and Obtaining Enriched Air Fills, Diving Emergencies with enriched air, repetitive diving with enriched air and more.
General Course Information
Number of Dives: None! (though your next dives can be using NITROX)
Includes PADI Enriched Air Dive Manual, RDP’s and Equivalent Air Depth and Exposure Tables (digital)
Duration: ½ day after completing the online portion
Minimum qualification: Must be a PADI Open Water Diver (or qualifying certification from another organization)
Minimum Age:12
PADI Self Reliant Diver
At one point or another, many divers have found themselves alone during a dive, whether it was intentional or not. The PADI Self Reliant Diver is the practice of self reliant scuba diving and preparing you to dive without a “dive buddy.” Solo diving, once considered technical diving and discouraged by most certification agencies, is now seen by many experienced divers and some certification agencies as an acceptable practice for those divers suitably trained and experienced. Rather than relying on the traditional buddy diving safety system, solo divers should be skilled in self-sufficiency and willing to take responsibility for their own safety while diving.
What will you learn about?
The Self Reliant Diver course stresses proper dive planning, personal limitations, and accident prevention, as well as the benefits, hazards, and proper procedures for diving efficiently. You will also learn the additional equipment that is required for self reliant diving including its proper usage and assembly. This is the perfect course for underwater photography and underwater video divers as well as those diving with their children or buddies that may not be very experienced in scuba diving.
Pre-requisites include: 100 dives and an advanced certification
Underwater Navigation
Be the scuba diver everyone wants to follow because you know where you are, and where you’re going. The PADI Underwater Navigator course fine-tunes your observation skills and teaches you to more accurately use your compass underwater. If you like challenges with big rewards, take this course and have fun finding your way.
If you’re a PADI (Junior) Open Water Diver who is at least 10 years old, you can enroll in the PADI Underwater Navigator Specialty course.
What will you learn?
You’ll learn the tools to Navigate, including navigation using natural clues and by following compass headings. During three scuba dives, you’ll practice:
- Methods to estimate distance underwater.
- Compass navigation while making at least five turns.
- Marking or relocating a submerged object or position from the surface.
- Underwater map making.
AWARE Fish ID
“What was that fish?” is a common question heard after a dive. If you want to be the scuba diver with the answers, instead of the one asking the questions, then take the AWARE – Fish Identification Specialty course. You’ll enjoy your dives even more when you recognize the creatures that you see and can identify the main fish families and their characteristics.
If you’re at least 10 years old and a PADI (Junior) Open Water Diver or higher, you can enroll in the AWARE – Fish Identification course.
What will you learn?
Once you learn to recognize what types of fish you see, you’ll find it easier to reference the exact species after a scuba dive. For example, a butterfly fish in the Caribbean has a similar shape to a butterfly fish in Southeast Asia, but colors and markings may be wildly different. If you know what fish family it belongs to, you can more easily look up the local name or at least be able to intelligently ask the local scuba instructor what you saw. During two scuba dives, you’ll learn:
- How to identify characteristics of local fish families and species.
- Fish survey techniques and strategies.
- About Project AWARE activities that can help protect aquatic life
Get credit! The first dive of this PADI Specialty Diver course may credit as an Adventure Dive toward your Advanced Open Water Diver certification – ask your instructor about earning credit.
PADI Search and Recovery
It happens: People accidentally drop things from docks, off boats or even while scuba diving. If you’ve ever lost something in the water and wanted to go find it, then the PADI Search and Recovery Diver Specialty course is for you. There are effective ways to search for objects underwater that increase your chances of success. And there are good and better methods to bring up small, large or just awkward items. Search and recovery can be challenging, but a whole lot of fun.
PADI (Junior) Advanced Open Water Divers who are at least 12 years old can enroll in the Search and Recover Diver course. PADI (Junior) Open Water Divers with a PADI Underwater Navigator certification also qualify.
What will you learn?
Gathering information and resources, then carefully planning a search are the first important steps you learn. During four scuba dives you’ll practice:
- Swimming search patterns using your compass and natural navigation.
- Locating large and small objects using various search patterns.
- Using a lift bag for large or heavy objects, plus other recovery methods.
- Planning a search operation based on facts gathered about a lost object prior to the dive.
We also have a large selection of different specialties available. You can pick from them depending on your interests. If you don’t see the course you are wanting to do, contact us and we have additional options.