PADI Open Water Scuba Diving Course

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.

• Do you have to be an athlete or a competitive swimmer? Hardly. The only requirement here is that you be able to swim 200 yards/meters (no time limit, any stroke); or 300 yards/meters with mask, fins and snorkel (no time limit). You also need to be able to tread water or float in water too deep to stand for ten minutes. Rarely do we find anyone who has difficulty with this.
• What about kids? Children ages 10 to 14 can qualify for Junior Certification, which requires they dive with an adult until age 15.
• Don’t certain medical conditions disqualify you from diving? Only very few. So long as you are in good cardiovascular and respiratory health, and not on any medication that might cause complications under water, getting a physician’s approval to dive is generally easy. And, if you can honestly answer NO to all of the questions on the Medical History Form, you won’t even have to get your doctor’s okay. You would be surprised at the range of people who dive. There are even special programs to help paraplegics and quadriplegics experience the underwater world. More than anything else, it just takes desire.

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 two choices for completing the necessary self-study:

• By far the fastest, easiest, most effective and most enjoyable way to do so is with PADI’s new eLearning program. It combines text, photos, illustrations, charts, graphs, animations and live-action video in a way that makes learning easy and fun.
• Students who are more comfortable with traditional textbooks and classroom lectures can also choose to use our textbook-based learning materials. If you opt for this route, it is important you be good at reading carefully, taking notes and underlining or highlighting important information.

Academic Review/Pool Training. Once you have completed your home study, you join us for academic review and pool sessions.

• During your academic review, your instructor will review the information you’ve gained by working through the self-study materials. They will bring this information to life with first-hand examples of how divers apply this information on dive vacations and here at home. Discussions with your instructor and fellow students help you learn and add to the enjoyment.
• In our heated pool, conveniently located on store premises, your instructor will demonstrate and have you practice diving’s fundamental skills. Like all aspects of learning to dive, pool sessions are fun and enjoyable. They increase your comfort level and make the transition to open water diving easier. When you’ve completed your academic review and pool training, you’ll be ready for the final and most important phase of earning your entry-level diver certification: your open water training dives.

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).

Every one of our pool sessions is conducted at Squalo Divers, where we proudly feature our own heated swimming pool.

Living in South Florida, we are lucky to have access to some of the finest dive sites in the world, all just a stone's throw away. Many of these locations are ideal for training new divers. We strive to provide all our entry-level students with the chance to explore a variety of sites. The specific locations we visit each day are determined by the prevailing weather conditions.

The program encompasses:

• Comprehensive study materials
• Academic sessions and pool practice
• Open water training
• Access to all necessary equipment, with a few exceptions noted below
• PADI open water diver digital certification awarded upon successful completion

Participants are required to provide the following equipment items listed below, in addition to:

• Transportation to and from all dive and training sites
• Meals and beverages.

Diving is a equipment-intensive activity, meaning the quality and appropriateness of your equipment significantly impact your comfort, safety, and overall enjoyment.

Nothing can diminish the investment you've made in learning to dive safely quite like having the wrong gear. We are pleased to offer most of the essential equipment for your pool and open-water training dives, including BCDs, cylinders, regulators, dive computers, and weights. All our gear is top-notch and meticulously maintained.

For students enrolled in our introductory scuba courses, the following items are mandatory:

• Scuba mask, snorkel, and fins
• Wetsuits (available for rent or purchase)
• Signal marker tube
• Bathing suit and towel

We also recommend additional items such as mask defogger/scrub, silicone mouthpiece, gear bag, a rash guard, and neoprene mask strap.

The fit and comfort of your personal gear are crucial, as these are items that dive operators expect you to possess. As a certified diver, you wouldn’t want to venture out without them.

It's essential to recognize that scuba masks, snorkels, and fins have specific requirements that differ from casual snorkeling gear. Therefore, we advise against purchasing any equipment without consulting us first.

We offer a wide range of scuba masks, snorkels, booties, fins, signal marker tubes, silicone mouthpieces, rashguards, gear bags, and wetsuits for sale both online and in our physical store. Wetsuits are also available for rental.