Underwater Photography

The ability to take photos underwater will add a whole new dimension to your diving. by doing so, you can create images of the underwater environment & show others just what it is you see when you dive. They are also great to keep as memories of dive sites & are a lot of fun to take! During the program, you will learn techniques specific to the underwater environment, considerations to be made, such as available light, sediment, currents & finding good subjects. You will practice these new skills under the supervision of an Instructor & find you develop good photographic skills quite quickly.

To participate you must be at least 12 years of age & be Open water certified.

                                                                   Night Diver

Being familiar with potential hazards, techniques for entries/exits, special communications & advantages of Night Diving are all part of the Night Diver program. Amazing changes occur underwater at night & a familiar site can appear as an entirely new environment!

To participate you must be at least 12 years of age & hold Open water or equivalent qualifications.

                                                            Enriched Air Nitrox

Using Nitrox will allow you to extend the limits of diving that cannot be done within the normal parameters of air diving. "Nitrox" has a higher Oxygen content than air, enabling you to safely extend your bottom times to depths up to 40msw. You will discover safety considerations for Nitrox use, blending, calculations etc. This course will certify you to use mixtures from 21% O2 to 40% O2. We can also offer you the IANTD Nitrox certification, as we can tie both courses together.

To participate you must be at least 15 years of age & Open water or equivalent certified.

                                                  Peak Performance Buoyancy

This valuable program is for those divers wishing to polish their buoyancy skills. Buoyancy and weighting are often overlooked as important skills, however it is critical that you set your weighting up properly so you feel comfortable, are properly trimmed in the water, can maintain specific depths & can dive safely.  Buoyancy control is an integral part of all diving activities, such as navigation, wreck diving, underwater photography, drift diving etc. During the program you learn ways of reducing the amount of weight needed through a series of buoyancy exercises, breathing techniques etc. 

To participate you must be at least 12 years of age & be Open water certified.

                                                           Equipment Specialist

This program will develop your practical knowledge of the theory, principles & operation of diving equipment. You will be able to perform routine, recommended care & maintenance on all your equipment, from your mask & snorkel to your regulator & B.C.D. This course is highly recommended for all divers whether you own equipment, hire it or are intending to buy it. During the course we ask you to bring in your own equipment (or any pieces you own) so it can be checked over as we cover each item.

To participate you must be at least 12 years of age & be Open water certified.

                                                              Marine Awareness

This course is designed to expand your knowledge on the underwater dive environment & it's inhabitants. The ocean is host to a vast array of marine life, extremely different from their land dwelling counterparts. Being able to identify marine life will greatly enhance the enjoyment you receive from diving & knowing about what you are looking at makes it all the more interesting. The chain of life that is prevalent in the ocean is so interrelated that even the smallest, seemingly insignificant interruption can cause a major disturbance, affecting many, often larger forms of life.

To participate you must be at least 12 years of age & be Open water certified.

                                                     Diver Propulsion Vehicle

This program introduces divers to the skills & excitement of using propulsion vehicles. You will develop an entirely new diving sensation that is fun & also practical in many circumstances. You need to know battery care, maintenance, hazards & precautions of this type of diving, also appropriate ascent/descents, turn around points, propeller entanglement & much more! 

To participate you must be at least 12 years of age & be Open water certified.

                                                        Fish Identification

This is an important course for all divers. It will give you the knowledge & skills to correctly identify & classify fish using a variety of methods, both in tropical & temperate waters. Divers completing this course find they receive a lot more enjoyment out of diving by being able to identify what they are seeing. You will also learn about scientific survey techniques & the importance of preservation & research programs, such as, PADI Project Aware & REEF Fish Survey.

To participate you must be at least 12 years of age & be Open water certified.

                                                     Coastal Navigation

This course is for those divers & non-divers who frequent boats of any size or type. This program will enable you to safely navigate around coastal areas with particular emphasis on using charts, compass knowledge, radar use, fixing positions, hazards etc.  the course is flexible as you attend class sessions or complete the assignments by correspondence. Coastal Navigation is ideal for yacht owners, small to medium boat owners or Charter Boat operators. 

                                              Safety Equipment & Techniques

This program is offered exclusively by Coral reef Institute and endorsed by PADI. The concept of the program stemmed from years of observations and feedback from divers using a range of safety items.  There appears to be a lack of knowledge in why divers carry safety items such as signal tubes, lift bags, reels, safety stop anchors etc.  More importantly, there appears to be a lack of knowledge in how to use these items and how to properly configure your Scuba equipment so as to be able to easily access these items.  There are many divers who do carry safety equipment but have never practiced using it, nor understand how to properly deploy the items.  Therefore if the diver encounters a problem in the diving environment, even though they have the safety items, they may not be able to successfully use them. 

This PADI Distinctive Specialty program includes 3 theory sessions and two dives. The theory sessions cover why divers require safety items based upon what sort of diving they are doing, ideas on how to improve your personal safety as a diver, covers in detail more than 20 different safety related items and how they are used and care and maintenance of this specialized equipment.  The theory sessions also include a practical session where each diver brings in their dive equipment and associated items and has it evaluated by the Instructor as to how they might better configure their equipment and any potential problems with accessing safety items. Participants will see a range of different equipment set-ups, such as the standard Open circuit set up, a technical or twin tank set up and a Rebreather configuration.  This session is also applicable for those who hire equipment, but own a range of safety items.  

During the dives, each diver's equipment configuration is tested for accessibility and the diver will have the opportunity to deploy and use all safety items.  If there are items the diver doesn't own, such as a lift bag and reel or safety stop anchor, then they will also have the chance to use these items in order to gain an insight into the situations they could use them.  With this knowledge, the diver can then make an informed decision as to whether or not they believe certain safety items are applicable to their own diving.  The dives also cover a review of numerous safety skills such as air sharing and simulated situations such as entanglement, loss of visibility etc..

To participate you must be at least 10 years of age & hold Open water / Junior Open water certification or higher.

                                                       Multi-Level Diver

You can safely extend your bottom times by making use of multi-level theories & by using the Wheel version of the Recreational Dive Planner.  These dives are done by going to the deepest depth first & moving your way up to shallower depths throughout the dive. You can achieve significantly longer bottom times, diving Multi-Level, rather than spending the whole time at one depth. This is beneficial on wall diving, wreck diving & in many other situations. The course also covers decompression theories, computers etc.

To participate you must be at least 15 years of age, be Open water or preferably Advanced/Deep qualified.

                                                              Boat Diver

This program will give you the specific knowledge & skills pertinent to all types of Boat Diving. You will discover Boat diving etiquette, terminology, marine laws plus much more! This course can be extended upon with Seamanship & Boat Handling, which offers extensive training in navigation, safety at sea & handling techniques.

To participate you must be at least 12 years of age & certified as Open water or equivalent.

                                                            Drift Diver

This is an excellent course for those in areas dominated by tidal currents. Drift diving is fast, exhilarating & easy! However, you need to know specific techniques to do this type of diving safely. Knowledge & behaviours of currents, judging a site suitable for Drift diving & setting up lines & buoys are all essential skills of Drift Diving.

To participate you must be at least 12 years of age & be Open water or equivalent certified.