DSD - Discover Scuba Diving
If you have never had the amazing opportunity to dive under the water before and are curious to see the beautiful ocean life around San Juan, up close and personally, then a Discover Scuba Diving Course may be just the ticket for you! A short 2-3 hour course is all it takes to experience your first adventure under the water.
First, we give you a brief but comprehensive lesson on dive safety, pressure and equipment. We take you through the setup and use of the specialised equipment for Scuba Diving and then we teach you some practical but necessary skills for safety and enjoyment. Once you have shown that you understand and can perform these skills, your instructor will lead you on a short dive to explore the reef and point out many of the amazing inhabitants you would never see without diving. Say hi to Nemo!!
Advanced Adventure Diver ( AOW )
After having completed your Open Water Diver it is necessary for you to practice your newly found skills and exercise your proficiency in diving. What better way to do this than to increase your knowledge at the same time and all under the supervision of a Certified Instructor!
During the AAD (AOW) Course you will have some very simple learning requirements in the form of videos and reading, which are easy and fun to do during the evenings. The basis for the AAD Course is to simply increase the exposure of new divers into the realms of other new and exciting diving situations. The course gives short introductions into other specialties/skills that you may see other divers doing during your trips! Don’t be jealous! You can learn these skills too!
During the AAD course you will complete 5 great dives alongside a Certified Instructor who will not only help you refine your diving skills but, at the same time, teach you some new and valuable underwater skills. The 5 dives consist of two mandatory dives, Navigation where you will learn some techniques for Underwater Navigation and Deep Dive, where you will descend beyond the limits of Open Water Divers and learn of the risks and rewards of going on deeper dives.
Along with these two mandatory dives you, as the Student, can personally choose three other dives from a long list that interest you as a person. For example, there is Boat Diver, Photography or Videography introductions. If Fish Identification is something that interests you then by all means you can do that! How about Drift Diving? Or, if you are really keen on improving your diving then a Peak Performance Buoyancy Dive may be the one for you! There is a very long list from which to choose so we are certain you will enjoy this next step in your diving career!!
If that FUN wasn’t good enough, you will be excited to hear that the dives you do during the AAD Course will count towards the Specialty Courses of the same topic! So if you choose to do your Deep Diver Specialty, you already have one of the required dives completed and signed off by your Instructor!!!
Min age: 12 years
Min total dives: 9
Master Diver
You completed your Advanced Open Water (IAC) prerequisites and continuing with your Specialty Course education you decided to take the Dive Safety and Rescue Course to provide yourself with the knowledge and skills on how to deal with situational and medical emergencies in the dive arena. Now, if you couple in the Night Diver Specialty with this and since you already have your AOW you now have all you need to be called an IAC Master Diver! Keep up the great work!
Min age: 16 years
Min total dives: 50
The Open Water Diver Course
So, you’ve decided to take the step to becoming an Open Water Diver!
Congratulations on a great decision!
The Open Water Diver courses we offer here at SWS are all full duration courses with no shortcuts. To become a safe and confident diver you need proper instruction and practice. The courses last between 3-5 days depending on personal skill level and which organisation you choose to follow. We here at SWS offer the following programs through our licensed and insured instructors;
IAC - https://www.diveiac.de/en/
DIWA -http://www.diwadiving.com/pages/ENG/aboutDiwa/aboutUs.php
CMAS - http://www.cmas.org/learn-to-dive
PADI - https://www.padi.com/education
Please click on the names to find out more about these organisations and which may suit you best.
During, or before, your courses you will be provided with Reading Materials, Videos to watch in our classroom and all the tools you need to learn to dive safely. You will be guided through the Theoretical Studies and our Professional Instructors will help you learn all of the safety and dive skills required of a new Open Water Diver.
After all of the Theory, Confined and Open Water Dives portions have been completed, you will be set to join any other licensed dive centre on guided dives! It may seem like a lot of work but believe us, it’s extremely fun and the reward will last a lifetime.
Min Age: 12/14 years
Min total dives: 4
Advanced Open Water (IAC) CMAS **
After the fun of completing your IAC Advanced Adventure Diver or equivalent, the next step in the ladder of Education would be to increase your knowledge and skills by completing some Specialty Courses. You have already completed your basic training and now have some experience in 5 specialty courses through your AAD Course Adventure Dives and it’s sure your Instructor has explained about the benefit of continuing onwards to the Specialty Level in your selected areas and how easy, fun and educational that would be to do! Since you already have one dive and some basic knowledge towards the Specialty Courses these courses can be completed with minimum time and effort!
Using two of your chosen Specialties along with the Group Leader Specialty (including CPR1) and the mandatory Navigation Specialty you can simply apply and receive your Advanced Open Water Certification. You have really come a long way with your training now!
Welcome to the AOW Club! Onwards and upwards!
Min age: 15 years
Min total dives: 20
Dive Leader/CMAS ***
As a master diver you have shown and displayed that you are a keen diver and your knowledge and experience have grown immensely already. You have already displayed an interest to be a responsible diver who has started the education of looking after other divers with your Dive Safety and Rescue Specialty.
By completing the Dive Leader Course, you will have reached the highest level of Recreational Dive Education possible and will be well onto your way towards a Professional status if that is your goal. As a Dive Leader you fill an important link in many ways between the Recreational and Professional levels as you will have a vastly improved knowledge base and your skills will be honed through training in the various mandatory and chosen specialties you have completed.
As a Dive Leader you will be qualified to dive with Beginner Level Divers and be someone who they will look up to and admire. During the theoretical studies you will repeat and consolidate all of the education you received up to and through your Master Diver Level and various Specialty Courses you have taken. This will be augmented with more education on Diving Equipment, Physics of Diving, Diving Medicine, Psychological aspects of diving, Dive Planning and Management, Assessment of situational and environmental factors, Diving with inexperienced Divers amongst others.
You will also be tested more rigorously with physical tests such as static breath hold, free diving skills, and endurance. Along with these very attainable tests you will be given more practical training in order to build your abilities to deal with many situations and conditions.
Min age: 18 years
Min total dives: 65 Logged Dives (Log book Required)
