PADI Deep Diver

It’s a rare diver who hasn’t felt the urge to dive deep. As a general rule, divers are adventurous people and deep diving, whether to visit a wreck or reef can certainly be adventurous. So, it is only natural that most divers have some interest in deep diving.

The PADI Deep Diver Specialty is designed to enable you to plan and take part in no-decompression dives up to 40 metres deep. During your training you will learn about the organisation of deep dives, the procedures involved, techniques and equipment recommendations, along with the problems and potential hazards of deep diving. Along with the PADI Enriched Air Diver Specialty, this programme is an ideal step for anyone interested in moving into technical diving in the future.

Minimum age: 15 years

Course prerequisites: PADI Advanced Open Water Diver

What will I do?

You will have two and a half days of intense deep diver training to complete. In our fully equipped multi-media classrooms, you will learn how to deal with many different scenarios, including how to plan for deep dives and considerations to take into account before, during and after diving to deeper depths.

You will put into practice what you learn in a combination of skills in four open water training dives including the use of a totally independent air source and other deep diving related equipment, culminating in actually diving to a depth greater than 30 metres with your PADI Instructor.

During your programme you will cover the following:

• The planning, organisation, procedures, techniques, problems and hazards of deep diving in the range of 18–40m
• Risk factors and decompression table review
• Safety stops and emergency decompression procedures
• Ascent, descent and buoyancy control considerations
• Special post dive considerations
• Equipment considerations for dives in the 18-40m range
• Experience in planning, organising and making at least four deep dives under the supervision of your PADI Instructor

How do I get started?

Just pick your dates if you can and pay your £125 deposit and you will receive your PADI Deep Diver eLearning login details. Don’t worry if you can’t commit to a date straight away. There are plenty scheduled throughout the year and you can get started on the home study as soon as you have received your eLearning code.

How long will it take?

The PADI Deep Diver Specialty takes place over one weekend. Starting on the Friday evening at 6.30pm, you will review the theory sections from the PADI Deep Diver programme and watch the PADI Deep Diver DVD with your Instructor. The Saturday and Sunday will cover all the practical sessions during four open water training dives.

What will I need?

The PADI Deep Diver Specialty is open to all divers over the age of 15 years who hold the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver certification or equivalent.

Once you have booked onto your PADI Deep Diver you will receive your PADI Deep Diver manual to start you on your way. You will also need your own dive torch, which can be purchased from the shop when you arrive for your course. It is always a good move to buy your own dive computer for future dives, however we will supply one for the weekend if you prefer.

You will need to fill out a self-certification medical statement. If you have any medical conditions that you think may prevent you from scuba diving, please feel free to contact us and we will try to be of assistance.

All the PADI materials and standard scuba equipment needed to complete the programme are included in the cost. You will need to pay for your entry to the open water dive site and any required air fills while away from the centre. This is approximately £30 a day.

Where can I go from here?

Once you have completed your PADI Deep Diver Specialty you have started down a road of discovery. Many wrecks are situated in deeper water so your next step maybe the PADI Wreck Diver Specialty and the PADI Enriched Air Diver Specialty.

Once you have completed five PADI specialties, the PADI Rescue Diver course and have 50 logged dives you hold all the prerequisites for the PADI Master Scuba Diver certification. This is the highest non-professional rating in the PADI system of diver education.

Here at Aquasport all our Instructors hold this level of recreational certification. We recommend that every diver takes this route regardless of their further ambitions as we see it as a commitment to education and a real achievement.