Dive in a little Deeper - How to get Advanced Scuba Diver Certified!

Aced your Open Water Course? Have you comfortably dived in the ocean/quarries or lakes? Are you wondering ‘What’s next?’… then the Advanced Open Water (AOW) Scuba Diver course may be for you!

The AOW is the next steppingstone on the PADI Scuba Diving Ladder and is a prerequisite for diving deeper than 60ft with any PADI Dive Centre. We all know that with Scuba Diving we must dive only within our trained limits. The Advanced Open Water Course, extends those limits, allowing us to dive to a maximum depth of 100ft/30 meters.

Prerequisites: Open Water Diver/Junior Open Water Diver (or qualifying certification).

Total time commitment: 2-3 days.

Minimum age: 12 years or older.

Depth: Age dependant, but the maximum depth is up to 30 meters/100 feet

What are the benefits of completing the AOW Course?

• Dive confidently, become a more independent and self-reliant diver.

• Dive for longer, learn how to manage your buoyancy and air consumption

• Dive deeper, explore deeper ocean critters and corals

• Dive a wreck, explore an amazing new dive site

• Dive smarter, become a more knowledgable diver!

  
  

The AOW course not only is incredibly informative, but it is also extremely fun! The course has two required dives: Deep Diver & Navigation Diver. Then, you get to choose your last three adventure dives to complete your course.

Pick from:

1. Drift Diver

2. Boat Diver

3. Night Diver

4. Wreck Diver

5. Multilevel Diver

6. Fish Identification

7. Enriched Air Nitrox

8. Search & Recovery

9. Dive Against Debris

10. Underwater Naturalist

11. Diver Propulsion Vehicle

12. Emergency Oxygen Provider

13. Peak Performance Buoyancy

14. Delayed Surface Marker Buoy

Step 1 – Complete the PADI Advanced Open Water Learning.

Get the PADI Advanced Open Water Scuba Diver book, or choose the eLite option on our website and save $115.

Click the link below to - Buy your Advanced Open Water eLite

Purchase with us for just $115!

Step 2 – Fly to Roatán, check-in at West Bay Divers and get ready to go diving.

With direct flights available from Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Miami, Atlanta, Toronto and Montreal (time of year dependent) check out your closest airport for the easiest way to Roatán. Once you arrive, swing by one of our dive shops, both located in West Bay and say hello!

Check out our locations here.

Step 3 - Complete your 5 Advanced Open Water Dives

Dive 1 – Deep Dive

During the PADI Deep Diver dive, you'll learn how to plan deep dives, manage your gas supply and how to identify and manage narcosis. You'll learn about buddy contact procedures, safety considerations and buoyancy control at depth. You will:

• Make deep dives with an instructor

• See more of the underwater world

• Dive to a maximum depth of 30m/100ft

• Manage your gas supply

• Identify and deal with narcosis

• Recognize your personal limits

• Practice descents, buoyancy and safety stops.

• Talk about No Decompression Limits (NDL’s) and explore how to stay within your diving limits.

• Through hands-on exercises, you'll discover how deep dives affect color, physical objects and your brain.

Dive 2 – Navigation Dive

Be the scuba diver everyone wants to follow because you know where you are and where you're going. The PADI Underwater Navigator dive fine-tunes your observation skills and teaches you to more accurately use your compass underwater. If you like challenges with big rewards, take this course and have fun finding your way. You will learn:

• Find the boat without surfacing

• Learn natural navigation clues

• How to use a diving compass

• How to navigate by making multiple turns

• Estimating distance underwater

Then choose three more adventure dives. Such as:

Peak Performance Buoyancy

This adventure dive is perfect for those who want to improve in buoyancy control, dive with less weight and reduce air consumption. You will learn:

• How to achieve neutral buoyancy

• Hover effortlessly

• Use the right amount of weight

• Be able to hoover upside down, to look under cracks and crevices.

• Back-peddle (fin backwards underwater to avoid aquatic life)

Diver Propulsion Vehicle Dive

If scuba diving is like taking a scenic stroll around a park, a Diver Propulsion Vehicle (DPV) is like exploring a neighborhood on an (electric) bicycle.

DPVs, also called underwater scooters, allow you to see more, conserve air and get from one place to another faster - with a huge smile on your face. Learn how to:

• See more in less time

• Minimize long swims

• Learn about different types of DPVs

• Try something incredibly fun

• Handle a DPV

• Manage your depth

• Avoid problems

Enriched Air Dive

Enriched air, also known as nitrox or EANx, contains less nitrogen than regular air. Breathing less nitrogen means you can enjoy longer dives and shorter surface intervals. No wonder Enriched Air Diver is the most popular PADI® specialty. You will learn:

• How to dive with enriched air

• How to check your tanks

• Use an oxygen air analyzer

• Set and read your dive computer

Wreck Dive

Whether purpose-sunk as an artificial reef for scuba divers, or lost as the result of an accident, wrecks are fascinating windows to the past. You will learn:

• Survey and plan wreck dives

• Explore wrecks

• Identify possible hazards of wreck diving

• See fascinating artifacts

• Learn special finning techniques

Fish Identification Dive

“What was that fish?” is a common question heard after a dive. If you want to be the scuba diver with the answers, instead of the one asking the questions, then take the Fish Identification Adventure Dive!. You'll enjoy your dives, even more, when you recognize the creatures that you see and can identify the main fish families and their characteristics. You'll learn:

• How to identify characteristics of local fish families and species.

• Fish survey techniques and strategies.

• About Project AWARE activities that can help protect aquatic life

Night Dive

The thought of dipping below the surface at night seems mysterious, yet so alluring. Although you've been scuba diving at a site many times before, at night you drop into a whole new world and watch it come to life under the glow of your dive light. You will learn:

• How to avoid getting lost in the dark

• Try something new and exciting

• Make your first night dive with a pro

• Navigate underwater at night

• Make ascents and descents in the dark

• Use your dive light for communication

Ready to book your slot with us and get Advanced Open Water certified?

Click here to book!

Any more questions about becoming a PADI Advanced Open Water Scuba Diver? Email us at dive@westbaydivers.com to find out more.