Advanced Open Water Diver
Advanced Open Water Specialty Course Package
The SSI Perfect Buoyancy specialty is the best way to improve your buoyancy and get the most from every dive. Buoyancy is an essential dive skill, but any diver will tell you it takes time and practice to perfect the skill. With a combination of online learning and training dives, you will learn how advanced buoyancy skills and techniques, so you can master your buoyancy more quickly and enjoy more relaxed dive adventures. Upon completion, you will earn the SSI Perfect Buoyancy Specialty certification.
In this specialty program, you will gain the advanced skills and knowledge you need to safely and confidently navigate underwater. You will learn how to use a compass and natural navigation techniques, estimate distance, how to leave and return to a designated point, plus basic navigation patterns. With a combination of online learning and training dives, you will learn how to combine navigation techniques to enhance your diving experience. All of which hones your underwater observation skills, improves your dive safety, and helps you to get the most out of every dive. Upon completion, you will earn the SSI Navigation Specialty certification.
Night diving requires different skills from diving during the day. The SSI Night Diving and Limited Visibility specialty is the best way to learn about night diving and practice the techniques you will need to become a safe and confident night diver. In this program, you will be provided with all the knowledge and skills you need to safely and comfortably dive at night or in limited visibility conditions. With a combination of online learning and training dives, you will learn how to enter and exit the water, use specialized equipment, and how to communicate with your buddy easily at night or in limited visibility. Upon completion, you will earn the SSI Night Diving and Limited Visibility specialty certification and be ready to go night diving with confidence.
The ocean is filled with dive sites, but many of the best ones can only be accessed by boat. If you want to discover these incredible dive sites, become an SSI boat diver. It is the best way to learn how to dive from different types of boats safely and with confidence. You can experience the excitement of liveaboard diving anywhere in the world, fill your day with diving away from the crowds, and cruise along as the sun goes down. With a combination of online learning and training dives, you will learn how to utilize the skills and techniques you need to dive safely and comfortably from boats, including small personal craft and liveaboards. Upon completion, you will earn the SSI Boat Diver Specialty Certification.
Specialty Classes
It is easy for dive skills to get rusty and to lose confidence when you have not dived for a while. With the SSI SCUBA Skills Update, we will get you back in the water and diving with ease in no time. This SCUBA refresher course allows you to review and practice SCUBA skills you learned in your Open Water Diver program, under the guidance of an SSI Professional. This is a great course to take just before a dive vacation, so you spend less time worrying about your skills and more time admiring the marine life.
The SSI Diver Stress and Rescue specialty program teaches you the skills you need to protect yourself and other divers. You will learn how to identify stress, how to prevent accidents and be taught practical techniques to conduct rescues and provide emergency care. With a combination of confined water and open water practice sessions, you will become well prepared and confident at handling emergency and rescue situations. Upon completion, you will earn the SSI Diver Stress and Rescue Specialty certification. * SSI React Right Certification or First Aid, CPR, O2 Provider certification is required before taking the SSI Stress & Rescue Course.
Diving with a full face mask offers special features and benefits. With a combination of online learning and training dives you will gain knowledge on underwater communication skills for diving with a full face mask, safety drills and procedures, and special features that are associated with the full face mask. Upon completion, you will earn the SSI Full Face Mask Certification.
In this fascinating program, you will learn all the skills you need to safely and confidently conduct search and recovery dives. With a combination of online learning and training dives, you will learn how to use search patterns, specialized dive plans and equipment such as lift bags, lines and reels. By developing your search and communication techniques and practicing searches in a dive team, you will become a confident search and recovery diver in no time. Upon completion, you will earn the SSI Search & Recovery specialty certification.
Many of the ocean’s best dive sites are wrecks. These impressive structures attract unusually high densities of marine life and give you the chance to immerse in living history as you dive. There is nothing quite like wreck diving and the SSI Wreck Diving specialty will give you all the skills and knowledge you need to become a safe and confident wreck diver. With a combination of online learning and training dives, you will learn how to safely conduct non-penetration dives around wrecks and artificial reefs, up to a depth of 30 meters. All of which will ensure you can enjoy wreck diving with confidence and get the most out of every dive. Upon completion of this program, you will earn your SSI Wreck Diving specialty certification.
The SSI Altitude Specialty course will provide students the skills and confidence to dive at higher altitudes. During the course, students will learn techniques and concepts needed to safely plan dives at higher altitude. Students will earn the SSI Altitude Diving specialty certification upon the completion of the course.
As a Nitrox diver, you can increase your bottom times and safety margins, plus shorten your surface intervals - so you can spend more time diving and less time waiting! In this program, you will learn new skills and increase your diving knowledge whilst learning how to safely plan and dive with enriched air mixtures of up to 40% oxygen. Upon completion, you will earn an SSI Enriched Air Nitrox 32% or 40% certification.
The SSI Deep Diving Specialty will teach you all you need to dive to depths between 18 and 40 meters, through a mixture of academic sessions and open water dives. With a combination of online learning and training dives, you will learn how to plan and safely complete your deep diving adventures and use computers and gas consumption calculations to get the most from your deep dives. Upon completion, you will earn your SSI Deep Diving Specialty certification and be able to explore beautiful deep dive sites wherever you choose. This SSI Specialty is also a prerequisite for some advanced training, making it the next logical step to take in your dive education.
Choosing and buying your dive equipment is one of the biggest and most important investments you will make as a diver. We want you to choose the right dive kit for your needs and know how to care for it properly. Working with an experienced and trained SSI Professional, you will learn in-depth information about the components of your Total Diving System and develop a thorough understanding of your diving equipment. You will also practice basic preventative dive equipment maintenance to ensure you get maximum performance and longevity from your Total Diving System.
Underwater photography has some challenges not found on land, but with the SSI Photo & Video specialty program, you will soon learn how to capture your amazing underwater experiences. This program provides the in-depth knowledge you need to dive with an underwater camera and properly use, maintain and store your equipment. You will develop your skills and learn techniques to take underwater images and video safely and easily, plus perfect your diving abilities while using your underwater camera system. Learn how to take high quality images that you can share with everyone and earn your SSI Photo & Video specialty certification.
Join the SSI Science of Diving specialty and you will develop a complete understanding of the underwater world and its effects on the human body. This specialty is required training for most SSI Professional programs, as well as some Extended Range programs, and is an essential way to expand your dive knowledge. Earn your SSI Science of Diving specialty certification for the knowledge or to begin your dive professional career. Upon completion, you will be halfway to earning the coveted SSI Divemaster rating and earn the SSI Science of Diving specialty certification.
The Dive Guide program is the first step on an exciting journey. Learn to safely lead certified divers in various environments and conditions. By giving dive briefings, doing site evaluations, and leading dives, you will become a confident Dive Guide in no time. Begin your diving career working as a Professional Dive Guide or continue the qualifications for Divemaster.
React Right is SSI’s emergency first response course and provides you with the training and knowledge you need to act as a first responder in a medical emergency. You will learn about primary assessment, first aid, CPR and primary stabilization techniques. You can also learn about oxygen administration in diving emergencies and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) basics. Using a combination of academic sessions and practical training scenarios, this program will give you the tools and confidence you need for emergency response. By the time you are certified, you will be able to act as an emergency first responder, provide first aid and CPR, administer oxygen and provide AED support in a medical emergency. *The SSI React Right Certification is a prerequisite for the SSI Stress & Rescue Course.
Diving in currents opens up a world of new dive sites that often host the most spectacular marine life. Go shore diving and you will discover the simplicity of just walking off the beach and exploring your favorite dive sites with ease. But wave, tides and currents can impact your dives and affect your safety if you do not know how to handle them. The SSI Waves, Tides and Currents specialty will enhance your dive skills and understanding, so you can enjoy diving in different environments safely and with confidence. You will gain a better understanding of dynamic open water environments and learn about the environmental conditions that affect different dive sites. Upon completion, you will earn the Waves, Tides and Currents specialty certification.
The Assistant Instructor rating is the next step after becoming a Divemaster along the SCUBA instructor pathway. It allows you to collect valuable teaching experience, practice briefings, teach academics, and conduct in-water training. If you want to further your career as a dive professional, you can finish the Instructor Training Course, pass the Instructor Evaluation, and become an Open Water Diving Instructor.
In the SSI Marine Ecology specialty program, you will learn how ocean organisms interact with each other and their environments. You will be taught how energy flows through communities and the links between different ocean ecosystems. With your newfound knowledge, you will appreciate the marine life you dive with even more! Upon completion, you will earn the SSI Marine Ecology Specialty certification.
Winter Hours
Open by appointment and select weekends.
(254) 933-8355