The Open Water course teaches all of the basic in water skills that you need to be a safe diver and to dive with a buddy of at least Open Water certification without the supervision of a dive professional. During your Open Water course you'll practice all of these skills and maybe even a few extras. You should aim to master these skills to a point where you feel that you can carry them out with ease.
- Equipment Assembly and Disassembly
Learn how to properly assemble and disassemble your equipment. - Pre-Dive Safety Check
With your buddy, check each others' equipment to ensure that everything is in place and working properly before the dive. - Regulator Clearing
Remove your regulator, put it back in your mouth, and clear it. - Regulator Recovery
Learn two techniques that will help you recover your regulator in the event that it is knocked out of your mouth. - Clear a Partially Flooded Mask
Partially flood your mask and clear it while remaining underwater. - Mask Removal & Replacement
Take the last skill a little further and completely remove your mask, put it back on, and clear it. - No Mask Breathing
This skill is normally done in combination with Mask Removal & Replacement. Learn how to comfortably breathe without your mask on. - Alternate Air Source Use
Simulate being out of air by signaling to your buddy, securing their alternate air source, making contact with each other, and ascending while breathing from their alternate. - Free Flowing Regulator
Simulate a freeflowing regulator. You'll see how easy it is to continue breathing normally from a regulator that won't stop flowing. - Air Depletion
Experience the feeling of running out of air and signal that you're out of air to your instructor. - Standard Hand Signals
Practice all of the standard diving hand signals with your instructor. - Disconnect Low Pressure Inflator
Simulate a stuck inflator and practice disconnecting your low pressure inflator. - Deep Water Entry
Enter the water safely using an appropriate deep water entry. The correct entry will depend upon the conditions.- Giant Stride
- Controlled Seated Entry
- Backwards Roll
- Bellyflop Entry
- Proper Weighting
Fine tune your weighting to achieve perfect buoyancy on every dive. - Snorkel to Regulator Exchange
Practice exchanging your regulator for your snorkel on the surface. - BCD Oral Inflation
Simulate a broken inflator or low air situation by practicing orally inflating your BCD. - Cramp Removal
Learn how to remove your own cramp and the cramps of your dive buddies. - Tired Diver Tow
Practice different techniques for helping a tired or injured diver on the surface. - Weight Removal & Replacement
Practice removing and replacing your weight system both on the surface and underwater. - Scuba Unit Removal & Replacement
Practice removing and replacing your scuba unit both on the surface and underwater. - 5 Point Descent
Go through the steps for a proper 5 point descent. - Fin Pivot
Learn how to find neutral buoyancy by moving up and down using only the air in your lungs. - Hover
Learn how to finely regulate your buoyancy by remaining perfectly neutral in the water. - No Mask Swim
Practice swimming without a mask. It's not an easy skill but it's important to learn. - Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent (CESA)
Simulate an out of air emergency. You can't find your buddy and have no choice but to ascend on only one breath of air. Ascend at a safe rate while constantly exhaling. - 5 Point Ascent
Learn the proper method for ending every dive with these 5 steps. - Skin Dive
You'll learn to properly hyperventilate, make a vertical dive, swim underwater, and clear and breath from your snorkel upon ascent. - Navigation
Learn how to use a compass underwater. You'll set a heading, follow a straight line, turn around, and come back to where you started from using only your compass for guidance. You'll practice this skill both on the surface and underwater.
