Learn to Dive
Scuba Diving Courses for Beginners
Learning to scuba dive is possibly the most exciting thing you will ever do! Are you ready to discover a new world of exquisite natural beauty? Are you ready to go somewhere new, somewhere humans could only dream of before scuba? Are you ready to meet people, to make new friends, to share a fun, safe activity with like-minded people? Learning to dive will change your life. And if it doesn’t change your life, it will certainly change your holidays and weekends!
Most of our planet is ocean. Imagine being able to explore what lies beneath its surface...
PADI Discover Scuba Diving
This is a short introductory course for those who would like to try scuba diving. Are you unsure whether you will like diving? The Discover Scuba Diving course will give you the chance to do a dive, closely accompanied by an instructor, but does not lead to any certification. The course consists of a 1 hour lecture, a 1 hour pool session, and a single dive in the ocean. You will explore similar reefs and see the same marine life as experienced divers do. The maximum depth you will dive to is 12m. The course includes all equipment needed.
Course Prerequisites:
The minimum age is 10 years old. You need to be in a good state of health. You do NOT need to be super-fit, or a powerful swimmer. Scuba diving is a gentle, relaxing activity – it is not a fitness activity (although it certainly promotes a healthy lifestyle!).
Course Schedule:
The scheduling for all my courses is flexible. This course can be done over 1 day or 2 days. Typically it is done in 1 day.
Max participants: 4
PADI Open Water Course
The Open Water course is the FULL beginners course, leading to the most well-known, internationally accredited diving certification in the world. PADI is “The Professional Association of Diving Instructors”. The advantage of getting a PADI certification, is that your certification will be recognised everywhere. PADI holds 90% of the world market in diving certifications. However, the quality of your course will be as good as your instructor makes it! This course will teach you to dive independently. Once qualified, you will not need to be supervised by any dive professional. The certification is valid for life. The course includes all equipment, study materials and dives.
The Open Water course has 3 main components:
Diving theory
This can be done by self-study at home, or as a series of lectures / workshops with me. You will have a manual to read and a DVD to watch. I present the theory in a practical and entertaining manner, always relating what we are learning to the real world of diving. In total these knowledge workshops will take about 4-6 hours, and can be scheduled to your convenience. For those who work during the week, we often complete the theory over 3 evenings. For others it can be done in a single day. We can meet at your home, or at my Durban (or Umkomaas) classroom.Pool session
It is important that you first learn to dive in a safe, predictable environment. Before we venture into the sea, you will spend 3–5 hours in the swimming pool, learning the skills and safety procedures for scuba diving. I will not take you into the sea until we BOTH feel confident of your ability and safety. We will go at your pace, and if necessary break the session up into smaller sessions. The pool session can be done in your home pool, or in one of my Durban (or Umkomaas) purpose-built diving pools.Open Water Dives
The course includes 4 dives in open water. These are usually done in the sea, but can be done in a Durban lake if you prefer. The 4 sea dives are usually done over 2 days, in either Durban or Aliwal Shoal (Umkomaas) or Sodwana Bay. You will dive to 12m on the first two dives, and to 18m on the second two dives. On completion of the PADI Open Water course you will receive a certification card, enabling you to dive anywhere in the world, to a maximum depth of 18m. Your life will never be the same!
Course Prerequisites:
The minimum age is 10 years old. You need to be in a good state of health. You do NOT need to be 'super-fit', or a powerful swimmer. Scuba diving is a gentle, relaxing activity – it is not a fitness activity (although it certainly promotes a healthy lifestyle!).
Course Schedule:
The scheduling for all my courses is flexible. On a ‘full-time’ basis this course takes 4 days. ‘Part-time’ scheduling allows for complete flexibility, to suit your timeframe. Call me to discuss.
Max participants: 8
Course philosophy: Safety is first, but Fun is a close second!