About This Course
PADI® Open Water Diver is the first scuba certification level. A highly-trained PADI Instructor will teach you how to scuba dive in a relaxed, supportive learning environment.
By the end of the course, you’ll have the skills and knowledge to dive at home or abroad and be an ambassador for the underwater world.
We will conduct a Discover Scuba or Discover Scuba Diving session before starting our open water course. An approved diver medical must be received at registration time and the PADI open water manual and DVDs will be provided for home study.
Two classroom sessions, four hours per class, will give students instruction in physics, physiology, mechanics of scuba, decompression theory and safe dive planning. PADI quizzes will be provided and a PADI Open water exam must be completed and reviewed.
Location
The pool portion of the course is normally conducted at SAERC or a local public pool after mid October until the end of May. When conditions permit, confined open water training will be conducted using full wetsuits and scuba equipment from May until mid October.
After completion of shallow water training the students will be required to demonstrate the skills they have learned in deeper water at one of our local training sites. Four open water dives are required, normally two per day. You are certified when you and the instructor are confident you have met all the PADI standards. Sometimes an extra dive or two may be required. Students will be issued a temporary certification card to use until their permanent c-card is received from PADI.
Course pricing structure
Our primary focus is on course participants who want to be fully equipped with their own new scuba gear while taking their course.
Students who purchase our full set of equipment required for our local open water training conditions can expect to pay in the range of $2500.00 to $3000.00, depending on their size and the items selected. Private instruction with possibly a trainee buddy.
PADI Open Water Course fee: $500.00
Students who already possess all the properly functioning equipment required for training may take our private
PADI Open Water Course fee: $900.00
Group PADI Open Water Course, maximum 6 participants, may be conducted during the summer months. Students will be required to purchase our package of mask, snorkel, fins, wetsuit and accessories. Cost range: $700.00 to $900.00 depending on size and selection. All scuba equipment will be provided including knife, weight belt and air.
PADI Open Water Course fee: $695.00
There are no other direct expenses except for possible family doctor fees if there are contra-indicators on the dive medical form that require your doctor’s approval. Course fees include provision of PADI Open Water DVDs, Manual and Certification card processing.
Take This Course If You Want to
- Explore the other 70 percent of our planet
- Support ocean protection
- See things you’ve never seen before
- Learn from a scuba diving expert
- Carry the world’s most recognized scuba certification
Learn How to
- Be a confident and skilled diver
- Assemble and use scuba gear
- Manage your buoyancy
- Respectfully approach marine life
- Handle common problems
Prerequisites & Minimum Age
Course prerequisites: able to swim, medically fit for diving, comfortable in the water
During the Open Water Diver course, your instructor will ask you to:
- Float or tread water without aids for 10 minutes
- Swim 200 metres/yards with no aids or 300 metres/yards with mask, fins and snorkel
Minimum age: 10
Divers certified between the ages of 10-14 earn a Junior Diver certification.
Please call us at 902 747 2429 to discuss taking this course!
