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How to be an advanced diver

By April 3, 2021No Comments

You already have your first diving certification, now continue training as an advanced diver.

After the Open Water Diver (first diving qualification) we find a great diversity of options to continue our adventure as divers, and depending on who you ask, they will recommend one or another.

We believe it is best for you to understand what your options are and choose the one that best suits your expectations.

In almost all diving organizations, after completing the OWD, two possible paths are offered to start advanced diving. 

Be careful! Although both courses have the word advanced in their name, they are not at all the same.

We will tell you what SSI courses consist of, since it is the diving certification body we work with.

ADVANCED ADVENTURER:

  • What it is: This is an introductory program to five different SSI specialty programs.
  • Objective: to offer unique diving experiences and an insight into the possibilities of different types of diving.
  • Includes 5 introductory dives to 5 different specialties with their corresponding briefing.
  • You will obtain a certification: Advanced Adventurer

ADVANCED OPEN WATER DIVER:

  • What it consists of: It is not a program, but rather the official recognition by SSI as an advanced level diver, starting with the minimum OWD qualification and completing at least four complete diving specialty programs and 24 dives.
  • Objective: to offer the necessary training to acquire the advanced level of diving.
  • Includes: 4 complete diving specialties, with their specific theory and practices for each one. The specialties that, according to our criteria, will train you most completely at this level are:
    • Perfect buoyancy.
    • Orientation.
    • Deep Diving.
    • Enriched Air Nitrox

You often ask us if you can change one of the specialties for another, and the answer is yes, but in principle we advise against it. In our training plan, these are the four specialties that we consider as a starting point, since they are the ones that we consider will really train you as an advanced diver, and allow you to safely develop most types of diving.

Let us give you an example: imagine that your buoyancy could be improved and we substitute the “Perfect Buoyancy” specialty with “Wreck Diving”…do you think you would be prepared to enter them safely? 

What if instead of taking the “Deep Diving” license we replaced it with the “Underwater Photography” license? It is a super interesting specialty, but we recommend it for divers who are already advanced or focused solely on photographic diving, since otherwise your photographs will also be limited by your depth limit of 18 meters.

The combination we have chosen will allow you to dive in most types of diving and will make your diving much more enjoyable, facilitating your progress if you decide to continue completing the rest of the specialty programs.

  • You will get 6 certifications:
    • One for each diving specialty chosen (Perfect Buoyancy, Orientation, Deep Diving, Enriched Air Nitrox)
    • Specialty Diver (Recognition obtained by completing 2 diving specialties + 12 dives)
    • Advanced Open Water Diver (Recognition obtained by completing 4 diving specialties + 24 dives)

Now that you know the main differences, which path would you like us to take you on?

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