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Discover Scuba is a great way to find out whether or not scuba is for you. Learn some of the fundamental skills of scuba diving under the guidance and supervision of one of our experienced instructors.
Quick Details
The PADI Open Water Diver certification is the most well-known and respected in the world, opening the world’s oceans, rivers, and lakes for exploration and adventure.
Our course provides new divers with the knowledge and training to safely explore the exciting undersea world.
This is a performance-based curriculum, enabling students to progress at their own speed. The course includes academic, confined water, and open water instruction.
State-of-the-art teaching techniques and tools are included in the curriculum in order to ensure that the content is up to date and exciting.
Below we answer the most common questions about learning to dive. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact us.
FLEXIBLE
Our Flex course option allows you to set your own schedule and generally takes a total of three days. We conduct your pool session in the store during regular store hours (most students complete this part of the course in one day). After you complete the pool session, we do four open water training dives (which takes two additional days). These sessions — pool and open water dives — do not need to run consecutively. Pool sessions and open water dives can occur any day of the week during store hours.
PRIVATE
If our regularly scheduled course format doesn’t meet you needs, private sessions offer the one-on-one instruction time that you desire. This is the perfect learning opportunity for busy professionals and those who simply want the most in terms of individual attention. You and your friends and family get your own private Squalo Divers instructor and learn on a schedule that meets your needs (weekdays and irregular hours are no problem). This course generally lasts three to four days.
Just about anybody who is comfortable and relaxed in the water — and who has the desire — can learn to scuba dive. This includes children as young as ten and seniors well into their seventies.
Becoming certified consists of three phases: Self Study, Academic Review/Pool Training and Open Water Training.
Self Study. At one time, a beginning scuba class could drag on for weeks. These days, few people have that kind of time — nor is it needed. With PADI’s unique self-study materials, the adventure begins the moment you sign up. You will be able to easily complete most of the necessary academic learning when and where it is convenient, and at your own pace. Squalo Divers gives you three choices for completing the necessary self-study:
When you complete the self-study phase of the course, it’s time to get wet!
Academic Review/Pool Training. Once you have completed your home study, you join us for academic review and pool sessions.
Open Water Training. This section of the course consists of four dives conducted over two days. Each guided dive, under the direct supervision of your instructor, will give you the opportunity to apply the skills you mastered in the pool.
Once you’ve completed your academic/pool session and open-water training, you’ll be awarded your PADI Open Water Diver certification! But remember, this is only the beginning. Once you’ve experienced the underwater world, you’ll be hooked! You’ll be eager to further your diving education and get back in the water as soon as possible. Our newly certified Open Water Divers almost always immediately sign up for their Advanced Open Water Diver and Enriched Air Nitrox Diver courses. These two ratings will allow you to participate in a much wider range of activities, both here at home and on vacation. Your learning opportunities don’t stop there. Depending on your interests, you can further your training in a variety of specialties, such as underwater photography and wreck diving. By taking five such Specialty Diver courses, and earning your Rescue Diver certification, you can eventually obtain the coveted Master Scuba Diver rating (the black belt for scuba divers).
All of our pool sessions take place right here at Squalo Divers. We have our own heated swimming pool.
As South Florida residents, we’re fortunate to have some of the world’s best dive sites right in our backyard. Several of these sites are particularly well suited for entry-level diver training. We try to give all of our entry-level students the opportunity to sample several sites. The sites we use on any given day will depend on weather conditions.
You can start whenever you want! With our modern learning materials, it can be as soon as you sign up for the PADI eLearning class or come into Squalo Divers and pick up your self-study materials. Our regularly scheduled academic review, pool sessions and open water training dives take place every week throughout the year. Here is a breakdown of the class:
-Orientation. As soon as possible, you’ll need to schedule a one-on-one orientation session with one of our staff members. This can take place any time. However, the further in advance, you can do this, the better. You will want to allow about 45 minutes for the orientation. Here is what we cover:
Orientation is an ideal time to purchase all of the personal equipment items you will need. Getting through the self-study materials and doing the required homework takes the average student approximately fifteen hours. For this reason, it is a good idea to complete the Orientation at least one week prior to the start of class.
The course includes:
Students are responsible for supplying all of the equipment items listed below, plus:
Diving is an equipment-intensive activity. This means that the quality of the equipment you use, and its suitability for specific diving activities, has a tremendous bearing on your overall comfort, safety and enjoyment. Fewer things can ruin the investment you make in learning to dive safely than not having the right equipment. We’re happy to provide most of the equipment you need for your pool and open-water training dives, including BCD’s, cylinders, regulators, dive computer and weights. All of our gear is top of the line and in excellent condition.
Students in our beginning scuba courses are required to provide the following items:
Fit and comfort are extremely important for the personal gear items listed above. These are all also items that dive operators will expect you to own. In other words, you do not want to go anywhere as a certified diver without them.
It’s also important to understand that scuba masks, scuba snorkels and scuba fins must meet a very different set of requirements than the gear one might use for casual snorkeling. Therefore, we recommend that you do not purchase any equipment without talking to us first.
We have a large selection of scuba masks, scuba snorkels, scuba booties, scuba fins, signal marker tubes, silicone mouthpieces, gear bags and wetsuits for sale online and also at our physical store. Wetsuits are also available for rent.