OPEN WATER DIVER CERTIFICATION COURSES

We offer the Open Water Certification Course in three different formats. Each is designed to meet the needs of each student diver with the same goal of certification under any format.

Open Water Diver complete package:

This format is designed for the beginning student with no experience or gear. The course is under the instruction of a PADI Instructor from classroom to open water dives and is completely hands on. Classroom averages 6-8 hours, pool is 6-8 hours and open water dives are conducted over two days. The entire course is normally completed over 3-4 days. Depending on class schedule, it may be two weekdays and one weekend or two weekends. This course includes books, rental gear and pool usage. Each student must purchase personal gear including mask, fins, snorkel and boots from SI Scuba or an $85.00 rental fee will be assessed for the use of BCD, regulator set, wetsuit, weights and tank. We do offer a student discount to use with all gear purchased while you are a student. Depending on the site used for open water dives, there may be a fee of up to $30.00 per day.

Open Water less Rental Gear:

This format is taught under the same schedule as the complete package but does not include the use of rental gear. It is intended for those who have access to gear or have purchased gear. Rental gear includes BCD, Regulator, Wetsuit and Weights.

Open Water Diver with e-Learning

This course offers the student the ability to conduct the classroom portion online through SDI or PADI e-Learning. This allows the student to complete the class portion at a self paced schedule from anywhere an internet connection is available. Once completed with e-Learning, the student will simply call to schedule their pool and open water training sessions. Each student will complete a quick review exam the day of pool training. This course can usually be completed in 2-3 days after the e-Learning portion is complete. Each student must purchase personal gear including mask, fins, snorkel and boots from SI Scuba or an $85.00 rental fee will be assessed for the use of BCD, regulator set, wetsuit, weights and tank. We do offer a student discount to use with all gear purchased while you are a student. Depending on the site used for open water dives, there may be a fee of up to $30.00 per day.

A quick word on personal gear. After many years of teaching and certifying thousands of students, we have come to the conclusion that it is an injustice for us to not inform our potential students about gear and issues that can come from certain gear purchases. First, we recommend gear that is designed for scuba diving. This does not include kits made and designed for snorkeling. While these kits do include mask, fins and snorkel, they are simply not designed to propel a scuba diver through the water. Scuba adds a considerable amount of drag that snorkel fins will not overcome. This leads to the diver struggling to keep up and will reduce dive time due to increase air consumption. Then there is always the discomfort. With the added work load, we have seen many student wear blisters to the point they must discontinue training. At Si Scuba, we will beat any price you can find on the identical item. There simply is no reason to leave yourself open to gear issues that may delay your training.