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Open
Water Diver Course
The
next step: Advanced Open Water Diver Course
Learn
photography, wreck diving, search & recovery and more with our
specialty diver programs
Increase
your confidence with the Rescue Diver Course
Diving
First Aid Courses
Become a
Dive Professional
Technical
Dive Training
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How
it works
Thinking about getting
involved in scuba diving but not sure if you'll like it? Contact us
be e-mail or phone to schedule a half-day introductory pool dive and see
what the excitement is all about. If you know that you're ready to
learn more about scuba and earn your certification card, than the Open
Water Diver course is for you.
Schedule
Our scheduled entry-level courses are
organized with your busy schedule in mind. Most of our programs are
three weeks in length and meet either weeknights or weekends. Our
classes meet at our store and the YMCA pool for our Poughkeepsie classes
and at Bard College for our students in northern Dutchess County. We
conclude the course with two days of diving in open water, either at Lake
Minnewaska or at Dutch Springs. Check the schedule for details
Entry Level Classes
If our scheduled classes don't quite mesh with
yours, we also offer private courses tailored to meet your busy lifestyle.
Knowledge
Development
In order to ensure your safety, you will learn some basic background
knowledge concerning scuba and the underwater world. Because we all
learn more readily at our own pace, our courses are designed with a
majority of the knowledge development conducted through home study.
We will guide you through a process where you read the subject material,
then watch a short video to better illustrate some critical points.
Or, if you prefer, use a CD-ROM - based course in lieu of the text and
video (selected classes only). Once you've done your part, you will
meet with your instructor and the rest of your class. During these
sessions, your instructor will explain how the material applies to the
diving you will be doing during the course, answer any questions you
may have and administer a short quiz to verify that you understand the
material.
Pool Dives
Because you can't learn scuba from a book (not very well, anyway), your
class will meet at the pool following your knowledge development
sessions. Here, your instructor will teach you the basic skills you
need to have in order to dive safely. Don't worry ... before we ask
you to do anything, your instructor will first explain and then
demonstrate how to accomplish each task. And since we all learn at
different speeds, we will patiently work with you until your perform each
skill satisfactorily. All this is done in a low-stress environment
either at the YMCA pool in Poughkeepsie or at the Bard College pool in Red
Hook.
Open Water Dives
By the time we meet for our dives in open water, you will be fairly
comfortable with diving and pretty familiar with your scuba gear. We
will dive two or three times on Saturday, finishing up our dives Sunday
for a total of four to five dives. On each dive, your instructor
will ask you to perform some of the skills you learned during your pool
dives, then guide you and the rest of your class on a sight-seeing tour of
your dive site. You will see bass, bluegill and sunfish, all of
which will follow you around begging for a crawfish snack. It can be
fairly hilarious! In between dives, we all relax around picnic
tables and trade stories about the things we saw. All said, it is an
excellent way to spend a weekend outdoors enjoying a brand new world.
What
You Will Receive
Your course fee of $355
includes your training materials, scuba rental, pool fees, air tank fills,
certification fees and tuition. When you complete your open water
diver course, you will receive a permanent certification card recognized world-wide.
What
It Costs
The course fee is $355 and is
all-inclusive, with the exception of your personal snorkeling equipment
(mask, fins, snorkel, boots and gloves). Average cost
for your snorkeling gear is approximately $250, more or less, depending on
the individual items you select. Our staff is well-versed in all
these items and is ready to assist you with your selection.
Start
Today
Drop by our store or drop us a
line for more information. You can start your adventure as soon as
you reserve a seat in your class. It's a totally different world
down there, just waiting for you to discover!
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