Save this page to your DEL.ICIO.US account and TAG it there

Main Homepages: http://www.vancestevens.com | Vance's Scuba Page Portal | Vance's logbook and Vance's DiveBLogs | http://tinyurl.com/vancesdiveplans | UAE and Oman Diving Directory | UAE and Oman Dive Sites | FrogLegsScubaClub | Vance's Coral Sea shark photos
Info on: Padi Open Water course | Advanced Open Water course | Rescue Diver course

Here you will find information on the

Is this site useful to you? Show your appreciation by clicking on an ad, thanks.

This information is posted here for the benefit of those wishing to take my diving courses, and for the benefit of others involved in a similar PADI dive course. This is not a definitive description of the PADI o/w dive course.

Options for students wishing to take this course with me as their instructor:

1. Freelance: pay-as-you go for whatever diving expenses are incurred in your training. Costs are usually similar to and sometimes cheaper than what dive centers charge, but the real advantage with this plan is flexibility over where you dive. For example, we can do pool training in Abu Dhabi and take people diving on the East Coast of the UAE.
2. Pay a set fee to a local dive entity who will in effect engage me to teach you. In this case you would do all your training and diving through that dive center. The advantages in this plan are predictability in cost, convenience in diving through one well-equipped facility, and in case the area where we do the diving suits you.
3. e-learning: Many of my students are opting to take the academic portion of the course online. This option can often be combined with the other two options listed above. If interested, visit http://www.padi.com/scuba/scuba-diving-guide/start-scuba-diving/learn-to-scuba-dive-online/default.aspx

You can find the most current FAQs on my dive courses by clicking here.

A good site about snorkeling basics, and how to select your mask, fins, and snorkel: http://www.tomzap.com/snorkel.html

Course Overview

Students taking this course with me through a bona fide dive facility will pay a fee to the facility that usually covers all costs, e.g. equipment, training, air, and boat trips. Books and certification paperwork are sometimes included in the cost of the course, sometimes not. When shopping around, be sure and ask. Typical costs in Abu Dhabi are given here.

For courses taught privately, I charge a fee: currently 900 dirhams (around $250). This helps defray costs I bear in maintaining equipment which I and my students use during diving. Costs include maintaining regulators annually, testing tanks, replacing items lost and damaged in training, and purchasing replacement equipment as the old stuff wears out.

In 2011, there is an interesting option where you pay PADI to do the academic course online and then meet me for a weekend of some of the best diving available in UAE (from Dibba, Oman, to Musandam) at a fixed cost of 1800 dirhams for the pool and o/w training, including 6 meals and 2 night's accommodation. Find more information here: http://vancestevens.com/scuba_plan.htm#ow_costs

If you take the course freelance, the cost to you will vary depending on the number of students participating in the course, how much equipment you have to rent (apart from my spare sets), and how many boat dives you make (vs. shore dives), and sometimes on the policy of the dive center we use (some allow instructors with students to dive for free or at a discount, and may also discount student diving).

In return for training, the instructor expects that the students will pay for all the diving involved in their training, including costs of books, pool entry, air fills, any extra equipment rentals, boat trips for themselves and the instructor, and PIC envelope used to apply for PADI certification. If taking the course via a dive entity, these expenses are often covered in the overall cost, but be sure and ask, as books and PIC certification envelope are sometimes not included.

The advantage to going freelance is that you can choose where you dive. If you take the course through a dive center in Abu Dhabi then you will have paid to dive around Abu Dhabi. There are a lot of nice dive spots around Abu Dhabi but access to them can be restricted due to high winds and rough seas December, January, and February. If you choose freelance then we can dive in Khor Fakkan or Oman or wherever you choose for better winter conditions and much nicer underwater scenery. But pool access can be a problem (then again we can do pool training in calm bays off Khor Fakkan). Some people prefer to take the set price course through the dive center, do their first training dives in Abu Dhabi, and then pay a little more to do their last dives at Khor Fakkan.

Required Equipment and Materials:

Students I teach privately in the Open Water Diving Course must have individual gear; i.e.: fins, mask, snorkel, & appropriate exposure protection. When the course is taken through a dive facility, the facility usually provides these items, but I still recommend that students have their own personal gear, particularly a mask, and next personal boots and wetsuit if possible, as these are the most difficult items to fit. A poorly fitting mask makes diving harder because it lets water get into your airways through your nose, and this is difficult for beginning divers to manage. Each student must also have a copy of the PADI Open Water Dive Manual, dive tables, and a logbook or notebook with logbook pages (these are all supplied in a package called a 'crew pack' and labeled Go Diving). The instructor has logbook pages on the web (and sometimes provides these materials under arrangements with dive facilities).

Students on my privately taught Open Water course will also need to provide, rent, or borrow: tanks with air, weights and weight belt, a compass, a buoyancy-control device with low-pressure inflator & backpack, a regulator with an alternate air source (such as an "octopus" configuration), and a submersible pressure gauge. The instructor may be able to help with some but not necessarily all of this equipment. (All equipment and boat diving are normally provided if students pay flat fees to a diving facility)

For pointers on the kind of personal gear to look for, see Equipment Considerations. For approximate costs, and availability of dive gear in the UAE, please refer to the Equipment Rental and Purchase Guide. Note that these materials have not been updated in quite some time.

Watermanship:

How skilled a swimmer do you have to be beforehand?

Diving is challenging but not difficult. Students must be able to float, tread, bob, and swim comfortably in at least 8 feet of water.

• Before I will take students out for open water training, I must see that each is able to float or swim for 10 minutes without touching any object (but water) or using any swimming aid.
• Before certification, students are required swim continuously 200 yards/183 meters without touching any object (but water) or using any swimming aid. Optionally, students can swim 300 yards (275 meters) without touching any object (but water) using only mask, fins, and snorkel (no wetsuit).

The purpose of this test is not to test swimming ability, but to ascertain that you have the confidence to maintain yourself in water in the event of any mishap.

Brief Summary of the PADI Open Water Scuba Course

The course consists of five modules, each with academic and confined water (pool) sessions. Academic sessions familiarize you with what to expect underwater, and ensure that you understand the behavior and effects of compressed air breathed at depth. The pool sessions expose you gradually to the underwater environment, and the exercises we do there will give you confidence that you can deal with any contingency when you get out in the open ocean.

You can do your first open water dive after the first module pool and academic sessions. After the third pool and academic sessions, we can go for our second ocean dive (both can be done in one day if you prefer, after completion of the 3rd pool and academic sessions). PADI regulatoins now allow the first ocean dive to be done after the first academic and pool sessions, if the student feels ready for it, but the second dive cannot be done before the 3rd academic and pool modules have been completed. Students may dive as often as they like with their instructor for pleasure between skills dives, but these will not count toward certification. Additional dives are however encouraged for experience and pleasure.

After that, there are the last two academic and confined water modules to complete, and your two final ocean dives, which can again be done in one day. (As long they are not done before the pool sessions mentioned, the ocean dives can all be done whenever is convenient for all concerned; all at the end of the course, for example).

After that ...

Congratulations! You will then be certified as a PADI Open Water Diver! 

More Details

Before the course begins:

Prior to beginning the course: Each student must ...

• fill out the PADI Medical Statement, with doctor's signature if required
  
• 1. Download this form from Oct 2012 here: EEnglish - Medical Statement V201 - 10063.pdf
  2. http://prosites-vstevens.homestead.com/files/divelogs/PADI_Medic_form2006.pdf <-- an earlier version is here, in case of problems with the one above
• fill out the Standard Safe Diving Practices Statement of Understanding
• fill out the Liability Release and Express Assumption of Risk
• Obtain the PADI Open Water Dive Manual.
  • Read the first Module (first chapter in the book)
  • Complete the Knowledge Review for Module 1
  • Watch the video or DVD for Module 1

As the course gets under way:

Readings for the 5 modules, viewing of the corresponding video materials, and completion of the 5 Knowledge Reviews must be done prior to each subsequent Academic Session.

Times given are approximate. There is never a time limit set. The instructor is enjoying himself and is rarely in a hurry. Students may take as long as they like to ask questions and become comfortable with the equipment and its use underwater. First modules tend to take longer than later ones as students adapt.

At the first academic session, more time than in later sessions will be taken with formalities, and in the first pool session, more time than usual will be consumed in assembling and adapting to the equipment. Time required will also increase with the number of students taking the course. Larger classes take longer.

The information below assumes students wish to sit 'academic sessions' with their instructor. However, all that is really required is that each student view the video or work the cd-rom for each module, and then complete the test. This can be done on a self-study basis, or in combination self and guided study, as each student prefers.

MODULE 1

(2 hours for one evening class and 2 or 3 hours for a pool session)

• Come to Academic Session with Module 1 Knowledge Review completed. We'll discuss any points which gave you difficulty.

Homework: Read Module 2 in the PADI Open Water Dive Manual and complete the Knowledge Review at the end of the chapter.

Further information available on the Internet:

Basic considerations:

• This site has a paragraph introducing SCUBA: http://www.scuba-diving-resources.com/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scuba_diving

About some of the equipment

• Cylinders: http://www.ehow.com/how_7440_air-tank-scuba.html
• BCD: http://www.ehow.com/how_7439_buoyancy-compensator-scuba.html

Vitally important: The mechanics of pressure

• To learn about pressure effects, start here: http://physics.itsbaxter.com/pressure.html
• Google search on 'scuba diving pressure effects': http://www.google.co.th/search? hl=en&q=scuba+diving+pressure+effects&meta=
• This is too complicated, but includes part of what you need to know: http://www.mtsinai.org/pulmonary/books/scuba/gaspress.htm
• again, too complicated, but essentially ... http://www.mtsinai.org/pulmonary/books/scuba/sectionf.htm
• This is more to the point http://www.mtsinai.org/pulmonary/books/scuba/sectiond.htm

You can dive now if you like!

After completing Module 1, both the confined water and academic portions, and after passing the exam, Open Water Training Dive 1 can be done in 5 to12 meters of water.

Open Water Training Dive 1

Training dive One now has no skills to be performed. The skills that used to be in this dive have now been moved to other parts of the course. However, the dive has the following objectives, which are (with slight variation) roughly common to all the dives in the PADI course:

• Participate in briefing, prepare and don equipment, do predive safety check (BWRAF)
• Appropriate entry
• check proper weighting at the surface
• Do a controlled 5 point descent following the bottom contour or holding the anchor line
• Tour the area looking at all the colorful coral and amazing fish life
• Begin and execute a normal 5 point ascent at 18 meters per min (1 ft./sec.)
• Properly remove and clean your gear during and after exiting the water
• Debrief and log your dive, and have your logbook signed by the instructor

One or two dives can be done in one in one day. The first is usually from about 9:00 to11:00 (depending on length of boat ride). There is a surface interval of 1 hour, followed by the second dive (which, if you had only completed Module 1, would be optional and though a lot of fun, would not count toward completion of your certification).

MODULE 2

(2 hours or more for one evening class and 2-3 hours for a pool session)

• Come to Academic Session with Module 2 Knowledge Review completed. We'll discuss any points which gave you difficulty.

Homework: Read Module 3 in the PADI Open Water Dive Manual and complete the Knowledge Review at the end of the chapter.

MODULE 3

(2 hours for one evening class and 3 hours for an evening pool session. This is usually the last long pool session, unless modules 4 and 5 are done in one evening)

• Come to Academic Session with Module 3 Knowledge Review completed. We'll discuss any points which gave you difficulty.

Homework: Read Module 4 in the PADI Open Water Dive Manual and complete the Knowledge Review at the end of the chapter.

Time to go diving! (again, if you like)

After completing Module 3, both the confined water and academic portions, and after passing the exams for all three modules, Open Water Training Dive 1 (if not done already) and 2 can be done in 5 to12 meters of water.

One or two dives can be done in one in one day. The first is usually from about 9:00 to11:00 (depending on length of boat ride). There is a surface interval of 1 hour, followed by the second dive.

Open Water Training Dive 2

ALL our dives, whether in training or after certification, include the procedures followed in your first dive (review these here).
Additionally, in this dive you must accomplish the following minimal objectives:

• Do a free descent to no more than 12 meters using a line (e.g. the anchor line) as a visual reference
• At bottom, recover and clear your regulator
• Secure, clear, and breathe from a buddy's alternate air source while remaining stationary. Each student acts as both donor and recipient.
• Partially flood and clear your face mask
• Completely flood and clear your face mask
• Achieve and maintain neutral buoyancy using your low pressure inflator
• Either donate an alternate air source to your buddy - or secure, clear, and breathe from a buddy's alternate air source, and then ascend together. Each student must be either donor or recipient.

MODULE 4

(2 hours for one evening class and 2 hours for a pool session)

• Come to Academic Session with Module 4 Knowledge Review completed. We'll discuss any points which gave you difficulty.

Homework: Read Module 5 in the PADI Open Water Dive Manual and complete the Knowledge Review at the end of the chapter. Prepare for the PADI Final Exam.

MODULE 5

(2 hours for one evening class and 2 hours for a pool session)

• Come to Academic Session with Module 5 Knowledge Review completed. We'll discuss any points which gave you difficulty.

Your academic training for the course is complete when you:

• Complete the Final Exam and sign that and all other exams to certify that all problems missed were explained and understood
• Sign and hand in to instructor all knowledge reviews from the 5 modules.

NOTE: You must sign the exams before your final two ocean dives. You must complete the knowledge reviews prior to certification. Your instructor must retain these records for 7 years after you have certified. Your temporary certificate can be issued only after these certification requirements have been met but it is valid for 90 days after your date of certification, which is the date you completed your certification dive. Ideally you should be completing knowledge reviews at the end of each academic module. In any event, don't delay handing these in beyond the date of your final certification dive.

Time to go diving and complete your certification!

After completing Module 5, both the confined water and academic portions, and after passing the PADI Final Exam, Open Water Training Dives 3 and 4 can be done in 5 to18 meters of water.

As before, these dives are typically done in one in one full day. The first is usually from about 9:00 to11:00 or noon. There is a surface interval of 1 or 2 hours, followed by the second dive in the afternoon.

Open Water Training Dive 3

ALL our dives, whether in training or after certification, include the procedures followed in your first dive (review these here).
Additionally, in this dive you must accomplish the following minimal objectives:

• Do a free descent to 6 - 9 meters using visual reference only (strange, dive 2 allows descent to 12 meters ??)
• Completely flood and clear your face mask
• Achieve and maintain neutral buoyancy by orally inflating the bcd
• (Optionally): buddy breathe while remaining stationary - and/or ascend together (optional)

Open Water Training Dive 4 (Final certifying dive)

ALL our dives, whether in training or after certification, include the procedures followed in your first dive (review these here).
Additionally, in this dive you must accomplish the following minimal objectives:

• Do a free descent, without visual reference, to a depth of 18 meters or less
• Achieve neutral buoyancy underwater and "hover in mid-water ... without swimming, sculling, or using fins"
• Remove, replace, and clear your face mask

Flexible skills

The following skills can be done as is convenient in dives 2, 3, or 4

• At the surface, in water too deep to stand in
  • In full gear, perform simulated cramp release on your buddy
  • Tow your buddy 25 meters, in full gear
  • Exchange the snorkel for regulator, reg for snorkel, several times, while keeping head underwater
  • Snorkel in a straight line keeping head underwater and using only a compass for directional reference, for 50 meters
  • Remove and replace your weight belt system
  • Remove and replace your scuba unit
• Underwater skills
  • Do an emergency swimming ascent exhaling continuously at a safe ascent rate from 6 to 9 meters
  • Navigate out 10 to 20 kick cycles underwater on a compass heading and return on reciprocal heading to starting point using the compass.
    Two problems to watch out for:
    • Watch buoyancy -- students tend to ascend inadvertently, so check that you stay near the bottom
    • Signal OK frequently -- students tend to swim away from buddies

Congratulations! You are now a certified PADI Open Water Scuba Diver!!

If you've done your paperwork, you'll get a temporary Scuba diver certification card on the spot.
You send your PIC form in to PADI with your picture and get your permanent card a few weeks later.

Copyright 2014 under Creative Commons License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/
in which you are free to share or remix this work as long as you attribute its source (this author, this page)
and share alike (under the same creative commons license cited above)

January 27, 2007

Mirrors: This page is available at:

• http://www.vancestevens.com/ow_info1.htm
• http://www.prof2000.pt/users/vstevens/ow_info1.htm