Our Try Scuba is an orientation to diving that allows you to experience the thrill of diving with a minimum of fuss. After a short academic session, you'll proceed to the pool, receive an orientation to basic scuba equipment from a qualified professional and actually Scuba Dive! Try Scuba is by appointment and typically available Thursday evenings during our regular class pool session.

Try Scuba allows non-divers to experience diving in a pool or open water, under the direct supervision of a dive leader, with a minimal amount of instruction and classroom time. Although this is a minimal diving introduction, the following four areas will be focused on:

Knowledge: The academic session focuses on the immediate needs of divers such as equipment adjustment, equalizing pressure, breathing, moving through the water and orientation.

Skills: So you can start diving as soon as possible, you'll practice a reduced skill set with SSI's 'Comfort Through Repetition' teaching method in a pool/confined water session.

Equipment: With the goal being to develop a working knowledge of scuba equipment, divers will receive an introduction to basic scuba equipment with an emphasis on equipment handling.

Experience: Upon completing the Try Scuba program, divers can apply their experience and receive credit for their Try Scuba course.

Recapture that feeling of total confidence by updating the diving skills you learned in your Open Water Diver course. This is typically a one evening course with one or two students. Includes classroom and skill performance in a pool with an instructor.

Knowledge: Your Scuba Skills Update Dive Leader will review the knowledge you learned in your Open Water Diver class as well as cover any new material and standards. You will review dive planning, dive tables and dive execution.

Skills: In the Scuba Skills Update you will have the opportunity to practice and review the scuba skills you learned in your open water diver class and learn techniques that that may have changed since you took your class. You will have the opportunity to refresh your memory and motor coordination and practice your self-aid skills, all with the guidance of a dive leader.

Equipment: The scuba skills update is a great opportunity to re-learn your current equipment, or the perfect time to learn about, and adjust your new equipment with the guidance of a dive leader.

SSI’s Advanced Adventurer program was created so that you can try out a variety of specialties before you commit to completing a full program. It’s a great way to experience what advanced training is all about and how valuable it can be to your diving adventures.

During the Advanced Adventurer Program, you will have the chance to try out 5 different specialties. You will complete one open water training dive per specialty, and if you decide to take a full program in any of the specialties you tried, the dive you took can be applied to your advanced certification.

Diver Stress & Rescue is the next course recommended after Advanced Open Water Diver, because it helps you gain confidence, teaches rescue methods and makes you a better dive buddy.

Knowledge: You will learn the signs of stress, and how to deal with stress in yourself and other divers before the dive, during the dive and after the dive. Also, you will learn about different personality types and the common actions of each type in stressful situations.

Skills: You will learn skills and techniques to help you and other divers prevent and overcome common stressors associated with diving. You will also learn self-aid and buddy-aid skills for potentially stressful and/or rescue situations.

Equipment: You will learn about how your equipment can help you to stay relaxed and enjoy every dive, what equipment is required in various rescue situations and how to use your equipment properly in the event of a rescue.

Changing the mixture of gases in the air we breath has a significant effect in our bodies. Using Enriched Air Nitrox, (EAN), has multiple benefits, but also important physical limitations that the diver needs to be aware of.

Why dive with Nitrox? Here are four good reasons:

• Longer Bottom Times
• Shortened Surface Intervals
• Great for Repetitive Diving trips
• Reduced Exhaustion

Due to the reduced fraction of nitrogen in your breathing gas, your body will have less work and the desaturation times will be reduced.

In your ENRICHED AIR NITROX program you will learn all the necessary rules for planning dives with Nitrox and using Nitrox in a safe way. An important key point in the entire program is analyzing your own tank prior to any Nitrox dive.

"Free Nitrox" is a slogan in a lot of resorts. This means that you do not have to pay a surcharge for Nitrox, but all diving operators will want to see a valid Nitrox certificate before you can dive with it.

ENRICHED AIR NITROX contains optional dives and therefore it is a perfect "Winter Specialty" before your diving holiday starts. This will allow you to go diving immediately and enjoy the advantages of diving with Nitrox.

Prerequisite: Basic Open Water Certification

Dive tables are designed to be used at sea level. Most of us understand that flying after diving is dangerous. Altitude diving has similar danger due to the same reason - lower atmospheric pressure holding the nitrogen that is dissolved in our bloodstream. Learn from the experts who designed the only simple one-step altitude conversion tables.

In this class you will learn:

• Why you need to do conversions to dive at altitude
• Why our gauges lie to us at altitude
• How to do conversions to equivalent ocean depth
• How to use an easy one-step conversion table
• Why you need to know conversions even if you have an altitude dive computer
• Why and how long you need to wait before going home after a dive at altitude

This information is covered as part of our basic open water class and taught as a stand-alone class.

Course Contents (stand-alone class):

• One evening lecture
• Two dives at Altitude

Learn to freedive down to a maximum depth of 20m/66 feet! This program teaches fundamental Freediving techniques for comfortable enjoyment in the aquatic world to depths of 20m / 66ft. You will also practice Static Apnea to help develop your breath-holding abilities and in-water comfort.

Your PFI Freediver course will cover fundamental topics such as:

• Essential Safety procedures for Breath-Holding at Freediver Level
• Proper Breathing Techniques for Freediving and Snorkeling
• Confined-Water skill development i.e. Static Apnea
• Open-Water skill development i.e. technique for Deep Diving!
• Equalization for Deep Diving
• Equipment for Freediving and Snorkeling
• The fundamental Physics & Physiology of Freediving—what happens to your body at depths!

Prerequisites:

• Swimming or snorkeling experience
• Good health and fitness – see PFI Medical Form
• At least 12 years of age with guardian permission

Typical Course runs for two weekends, and consists of lecture, pool, and open water sessions

The SCIENCE OF DIVING class covers all areas of dive theory in a comprehensive and detailed manner:

• Physics
• Physiology
• Decompression Theory
• Marine Life
• Diving Equipment

Diving is just more fun and safer if you know more about it. Whether you simply want more knowledge or plan to become a Dive Professional, Science of Diving is the class for you!

It is an unbelievable experience to see a big ship from a bird's perspective and to glide towards the captain's bridge. But there are also tragedies related to wrecks.

Diving on wrecks is exciting and there are some potential risks too, but with the right training, Wreck Diving will become a safer and more rewarding adventure.

During the Wreck Diving course, you will learn where and how to get background information on wrecks, how to locate wrecks and how to prepare for a wreck dive. During the 2 mandatory dives you will apply the correct wreck diving techniques, as well as evaluate and avoid the potential risks while diving on wrecks.

Course Content:

• Selecting a Wreck
• Wreck Diving Equipment
• Locating the Wreck
• Diving the Wreck
• Advanced Wreck Diving

If you want to learn more about Wreck Diving, you can buy the manual or the DVD even if you don't want to sign up for the course.

Diving is more fun and more comfortable in your own equipment.

The Equipment Techniques program teaches you how to choose the right equipment for your needs.

You will learn how to fit, adjust , maintain and make small repairs right on the spot.

Course Content:

• Your Total Diving System: The Basics
• Your Total Diving System: Scuba Equipment
• Your Total Diving System: Specialty Training and Accessory System
• Traveling With Your Total Diving System

If you want to know more about Equipment Techniques, you can buy the manual or the DVD even without signing up for the course.

Combine other specialties while taking the Equipment Techniques course! Drysuit Diving or Perfect Buoyancy are great add ons. The possibilities are limitless!

Dive Guide (DG)

This program is using practical application and background information. The goal is to create well-prepared, versatile and marketable Dive Professionals. SSI Dive Guides can lead and guide certified divers. Additionally, after passing the Snorkeling Instructor program, a Dive Guide can teach and issue Snorkeling certifications.

Divemaster (DM)

Dive Guide plus the Science of Diving program equals Divemaster. Divemasters can assist SSI Instructors with pool/confined water and open water training under the direct supervision of an SSI Instructor. This brings valued experience for all future diving carriers!

Assistant Instructor (AI)

Enroll in an Assistant Instructor program or enter the program as a Divemaster from any approved agency. After you are certified you can teach Scuba Skills Update, Snorkeling and Try Scuba (pool only) and you can even upgrade Training Specialist - a further step up your career ladder.

Training Specialist (TS)

An Assistant Instructor can become a Training Specialist and teach certain SSI specialties by simply purchasing the training materials and co-teaching that Specialty with an SSI Instructor. These SSI Specialty programs include: Boat Diving, Digital Underwater Photography, Navigation, Perfect Buoyancy, and many more.