Open Water Diver certifications are the first step to pursuing a career as a recreational diver. The course is similar, even though different agencies may call it something else. You will learn the skills and knowledge required to become a certified diver. Find out more about the course requirements as well as maximum training depth. Learn more about Open Water Divers, and how to apply. There are several ways to become certified.
PADI Open Water Diver certification
PADI Open Water Diver certifications can be purchased for as low at $350 - provided you find a school that offers it. For your certification, you'll need to do at least four openwater dives. PADI has known that different learners learn in different ways, so if you're interested in a private course, let's chat. We'll explain the basics and answer your questions about diving.
Apart from the Open Water Diver manual you will also need to complete knowledge reviews. These reviews will assess your skills such as swimming or floatation. PADI recommends that students practice survival floats and skin diving before they begin the course. Five chapters are broken down and linked to five videos. Each video explains the answer to the knowledge review questions.
Competencies for confined water diving
PADI Instructor Manual includes a list containing the required skills for each level. These skills include mask clearance, ascent and fall, neutral buoyancy in different depths, set up and use of your gear, and setting it up. These skills are essential for open water diving but confined water diving can be much more fun. It is also more fun! And you'll get to dive under the sun and experience a world of different wildlife.
PADI Open Water Diver starts at 8.30am. The experience begins with a brief orientation and a theoretical session. Finally, you will have a practical session in restricted water. During this time, you'll learn to breathe underwater, compensate for pressure, and retrieve your regulator. After that, you'll embark on your PADI dive aboard a boat to reach the Atlantic Princess, a 30-meter-long wreck full of marine life.
Maximum training depth
Open Water certification will allow you to safely dive to the maximum permissible depth. However, the question that many Open Water certified divers have is how deep they can go. Most agencies allow divers to open-water dive for up 50 minutes before they recommend deeper diving. Below are some guidelines to help you decide if you should train at this level.
A course of advanced swimming will require you to be able swim at least 50ft/15m without stopping. A typical course lasts fourteen minutes, so you'll need to be able to swim a distance of 200 yards (185 meters) without stopping. All the equipment required for this course will need to be purchased, including a single-cylinder that has at least 72 feet of storage and enough supervision. An exposure suit will be required to fit the length of your dive course.
Requirements
A typical scuba certification course takes about three to four working days. Students complete a manual and study sections, and quizzes are given throughout the course. Instructors will help students answer their questions. Students begin their certification with confined diving, a safe and comfortable way to learn the basics. After the student has completed their confined dive, he/she is ready for open water diving. The instructor will guide students and go over all the information with them.
Prospective divers must take four open water dives after completing the course. They will learn proper diving techniques and safety procedures during each dive. After passing both the theory and practice tests, they will take a final exam. The prerequisite to any certification is passing this exam. This exam will determine if the student can dive safely. For instance, students will need to learn how to breath underwater and to measure water pressure.