Advanced Open Water

Advanced Open Water

Having learnt to dive and witnessed marine creatures for the first time, you will no doubt have a craving for more diving experiences. The Advanced Open Water course allows you to continue your diving adventure, to learn new skills and will give you the opportunity to dive at more challenging sites, both in the UK and abroad, under the guidance of a PADI instructor.

Certification

The Advanced Open Water course continues your open water training with minimal classroom and pool training. It will give you an introduction to five specialty areas in diving, under the supervision of your PADI dive instructor. Underwater Navigation and Deep Diving are two core dives that have to be completed as part of the course. The remaining three dives are elective and can be chosen by the student, subject to environment and seasonal constraints.

Each of the dives counts as credit to the relevant specialty course, thus making the specialties quicker and cheaper to complete if you wish to continue your education in a specific area of diving. Five specialties and the Rescue Diver certification qualifies you for the Master Scuba Diver rating, the highest non-professional rating in scuba diving.

Another option for those with time constraints is the Adventure Diver certification. Any three of the dives from the Advanced Open Water course qualifies you for this rating and these dives can all be credited towards your Advanced Open Water course in the future.

Who Can Take the Advanced Course?

PADI Open Water divers or other entry-level divers from other agencies may enrol on the Advanced Open Water and Adventure Diver courses. If you have a non PADI certification or have not dived for some time, a scuba review will be required. Divers aged between 12 and 15 will gain the Junior Advanced Open Water rating.

Course Orientation

The Advanced Open Water course takes place over two days, usually a weekend, either at Stoney Cove or at the coast. Prior to the course, students will receive the “Adventures in Diving” manual that contains the background information to the specialty diving areas of the course.

Core Dives

Underwater Navigation: learning how to navigate under water makes your diving more relaxing and enjoyable. This dive introduces the basic skills to utilise compass and natural navigation techniques.
Deep Dive: on many dive sites, points of interest may be below 18 metres. This dive introduces you to safe practices for deeper diving, shows you how air consumption is affected by depth and the effects of nitrogen narcosis.

Elective Dives

Boat Dive: most sites are accessed by boat. This elective teaches you the techniques, protocol and language used for boat diving.
Drift Dive: Dive from a boat in a running current. Set you buoyancy at the bottom and let the current do all the work as you admire the view.
Dry Suit Dive: when winter closes in and the temperatures drop, a dry suit keeps you warm, keeps you dry and most importantly, it keeps you diving. This elective does require a pool session before the open water dive.
Multi-level Dive: we all want to spend longer underwater and learning about multilevel diving allows just that. Using the wheel, dive computers and some planning can give you a much longer bottom time than simple tables.
Night Dive: diving at night shows you a whole new undersea world, as different creatures come out when it is dark.
Peak Performance Buoyancy Dive: learn to truly master buoyancy skills and learn how to dive more efficiently and comfortably.
Search and Recovery Dive: this dive teaches the skills necessary to find a missing object and then bring it safely to the surface. Location of small objects, large objects and lift bags are all practised.
Underwater Naturalist Dive: this elective focuses on the aquatic ecosystem. Learn more about the sea’s plants and animals, and how they interact with each other and the environment.
Underwater Photography Dive: if it’s worth diving then its worth photographing. This elective introduces some of the methods used in underwater photography and how it differs from above water photography.
Wreck Dive: few experiences underwater compare with diving a wreck. The thrill of descending a line and watching a shipwreck come into vision is something you have to experience.

Terms and Conditions

Each student taking the course must have completed and signed a medical form. Alternatively, a doctor’s certificate consenting that the student is fit for instruction must be produced.

Students cancelling a course within two weeks of the course start date will lose their deposit.

In Depth cannot be held responsible if the Open Water portion of any course is cancelled due to bad weather. In this case, the first available dates will be arranged to complete the course.
In Depth is not responsible for any consequential loss such as trips or holidays.

To Book a Course

Register today with any of our instructors at In Depth Diving or call 01992 589910 to confirm your place on our next course. The PADI Advanced Open Water course costs £260. A deposit of £100 will be required on booking.