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Scuba Yellow Pages receives many questions about locations with
advanced dive sites and about qualifications to dive these sites.
It is a fact that many dive operators will not only require advanced
and/or specialty certifications for advanced dives, they may also
want proof of experience from your logbook. This is done for three
reasons: First, you can place yourself in danger by not being
trained and prepared; second, If you were to have a problem, you
could place other divers in danger in their attempt to help or
rescue you; finally, the operator must cover themselves for liability
reasons.
So how do I become qualified, you ask? Very simple, and lots of
fun. Advanced training is available through every certification
agency. The classes are short, more informal and with a very minimal
amount of academic work. The emphasis is placed on getting out
and diving. In fact, you can even complete your advanced class
or specialty while on vacation if you like.
While there are several specialties that can be taken after your
Open Water training, most require that you have the Advanced Diver
class first. In the advanced class you will gain a greater knowledge
of diving and be introduced to various specialty dives. Under
the guidance of an instructor, you will be able to sample these
dives and decide whether or not you would like to pursue them
further.
Agencies differ on requirements to complete an Advanced Diver
class, with respect to prerequisite number of dives, hours of
academic training, and number of dives within the class itself.
For example, PADI allows divers to enroll in the advanced class
immediately upon completion of the Open Water training, SSI requires
divers to gain some experience and log some dives additional to
the initial training before signing up for advance. Number of
dives required within the class range from four with NASDS, to
eight with NAUI. All agencies have the same goal and that is to
offer continued learning and experience, which will provide you
with more safety and enjoyment in challenging these new frontiers.
Beyond
"Advanced Diver"
Once
you get your fins wet with the advanced class, you will likely
choose an area that particularly interests you and would like
to continue in (oh, your hooked now). Whatever your interest,
you can continue to learn and gain experience through specialty
classes. These will "zero in" on the particular diving
of your choice. You will learn about safety and theory, as well
as how to use special equipment, required on many specialty dives.
I think it was Diver Training magazine that coined the phrase
"good divers never stop learning" and this is so very
true. Diving provides us with countless new experiences and a
great amount of pleasure. By preparing ourselves properly, we
can expand this realm of diving enjoyment even more, and take
advantage of all that it has to offer. We have listed below just
a partial list of specialty dives offered. There are many others
only in certain locations.
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Night
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Deep
- Wreck
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Boat
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Drift
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Navigation
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Search
and Recovery
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Multilevel
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Photography
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Naturalist/Fish
ID
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U/W
Hunting
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Buoyancy
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Cavern
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Dry
Suit
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Research
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Ice
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Altitude
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