Diving Specialities
AWARE - Fish Identification Course Speciality
This course is designed to introduce divers to the most common families and species of fish found in temperate and tropical waters.
Specific areas include:
* The project AWARE philosophy about protecting worldwide aquatic ecosystems.
* Fish family groupings and common characteristics of fish species found in the local area.
* Fish surveying techniques and strategies for collecting valid data.
* The planning, organisation and procedures for identifying fish families and species while diving.
Open Water Training: 2 dives.
Cost: £100 (Speciality E-Learning included)
Boat Speciality
This course is an introduction to boat diving.
Specific areas include:
* The planning, organisation, procedures, techniques, problems and hazards of boat diving.
* Proper boat diving etiquette - storage of personal equipment, personal conduct and considerations for care of the boat.
* Basic, common boat terminology.
* Specific boat diving laws and/or ordinances.
* Local boat diving laws and/or ordinances.
* Overview of emergency / safety equipment needed on board private diving vessels.
Open Water Training: 2 dives from a boat.
Cost: £100 (excluding cost of boat trip)
Deep Speciality
This course covers the knowledge, skills and techniques for deeper diving.
Specific areas include:
* The planning, organisation, procedures, techniques, problems and hazards of deep diving.
* Risk factors and decompression-tables review.
* Safety stops and emergency decompression procedures.
* Special equipment, descent lines and buoyancy control considerations.
* Procedures for flying after diving and high-altitude diving.
* Orientation for recompression chambers
Minimum Qualification - Adventure Diver.
Required Equipment: torch, slate, reel, SMB.
Open Water Training: 4 dives on 2 days.
Cost: £210 (Speciality E-Learning included)
Drift Speciality
This course is an introduction to drift diving.
Specific areas include:
* The planning, organisation, procedures, techniques, problems and hazards of drift diving.
* Special equipment - floats, lines, reels.
* Proper procedures for buoyancy control, navigation and communication.
* Site selection and overview of aquatic currents - causes and effects.
* Techniques for staying close to a buddy or together as a group.
Required Equipment: reel, SMB.
Open Water Training: 2 dives.
Cost: £100 (Excluding cost of boat trip)
This course covers the knowledge, skills and techniques for deeper diving.
Specific areas include:
* The planning, organisation, procedures, techniques, problems and hazards of deep diving.
* Risk factors and decompression-tables review.
* Safety stops and emergency decompression procedures.
* Special equipment, descent lines and buoyancy control considerations.
* Procedures for flying after diving and high-altitude diving.
* Orientation for recompression chambers
Minimum Qualification - Adventure Diver.
Required Equipment: torch, slate, reel, SMB.
Open Water Training: 4 dives on 2 days.
Cost: £210 (Speciality E-Learning included)
Drift Speciality
This course is an introduction to drift diving.
Specific areas include:
* The planning, organisation, procedures, techniques, problems and hazards of drift diving.
* Special equipment - floats, lines, reels.
* Proper procedures for buoyancy control, navigation and communication.
* Site selection and overview of aquatic currents - causes and effects.
* Techniques for staying close to a buddy or together as a group.
Required Equipment: reel, SMB.
Open Water Training: 2 dives.
Cost: £100 (Excluding cost of boat trip)
Dry Suit Speciality
The purpose is to be an introduction to dry suit diving and help the diver to develop the skills, knowledge and techniques necessary for dry suit diving.
Specific areas include:
* The planning, organisation, procedures, techniques, problems and hazards of dry suit diving.
* Proper procedures for buoyancy control.
* Ascent and descent technique training.
* Routine, user-level, preventative maintenance and performance checks on dry suits.
Minimum of one pool session plus Open Water Training: 2 dives.
Cost: £200 (Speciality E-Learning included)
Delayed Surface Marker Buoy (SMB) Speciality
Many divers wouldn't think of diving without carrying a delayed surface marker buoy (DSMB), and in some locations it's considered required safety equipment. Knowing how to properly deploy and manage a DSMB are valuable skills learned in this course.
Marker buoys serve a range of purposes and you’ll learn about common types of DSMB along with the reels used to control them. During the two training dives, you’ll practice:
- Preparing and stowing your DSMB and reel.
- Deploying the DSMB from a stationary position and from mid-water.
- Swimming while towing a DSMB and managing the reel and line.
- Making a safety stop using the DSMB line.
Open Water Training: 2 dives.
Cost: £120
Night Speciality
This course is an introduction to night diving.
Specific areas include:
* The planning, organisation, procedures, techniques, problems and hazards of night diving.
* Proper procedures for buoyancy control, navigation and communication.
* Use of dive lights and buddy-system techniques.
* Disorientation and emergency procedures.
* Orientation to nocturnal aquatic life.
Required Equipment: torch, backup torch.
Open Water Training: 3 dives over 2 days.
Cost: £155 (Speciality E-learning included)
Enriched Air (Nitrox) Speciality
This course covers the knowledge, skills and techniques for diving with enriched air.
Specific areas include:
* The theoretical and operational considerations involved with enriched air diving.
* PADI Enriched Air Diver Manual - completion of knowledge reviews.
* Completion of Enriched Air Diver Exam.
Open Water Training: 2 Enriched Air dives optional.
Cost: £150 with dives; £105 without dives (Enriched Air E-Learning included)
This course is an introduction to night diving.
Specific areas include:
* The planning, organisation, procedures, techniques, problems and hazards of night diving.
* Proper procedures for buoyancy control, navigation and communication.
* Use of dive lights and buddy-system techniques.
* Disorientation and emergency procedures.
* Orientation to nocturnal aquatic life.
Required Equipment: torch, backup torch.
Open Water Training: 3 dives over 2 days.
Cost: £155 (Speciality E-learning included)
Enriched Air (Nitrox) Speciality
This course covers the knowledge, skills and techniques for diving with enriched air.
Specific areas include:
* The theoretical and operational considerations involved with enriched air diving.
* PADI Enriched Air Diver Manual - completion of knowledge reviews.
* Completion of Enriched Air Diver Exam.
Open Water Training: 2 Enriched Air dives optional.
Cost: £150 with dives; £105 without dives (Enriched Air E-Learning included)
Peak Performance Speciality
The purpose is to polish a diver's buoyancy control beyond the Open Water Diver level.
Specific areas include:
* Peak performance buoyancy fundamentals: buoyancy check; fine-tuning buoyancy underwater: weight position and distribution and streamlining.
* Use of PADI's Basic Weighting Guidelines.
* An opportunity to polish buoyancy control beyond the Open Water diver level: positioning and distributing weight for comfort and desired body position (trim in the water): visualisation techniques prior to dives: establishing neutral buoyancy during all segments of a dive: hovering.
Open Water Training: 2 dives.
Cost: £150 (Peak Performance Buoyancy E-learning included)
Digital Underwater Photography Speciality
This course is a two part introduction to Digital Underwater Photography. The course helps student divers to develop the knowledge, skills and practical techniques necessary to obtain excellent photgraphs with their digital camera.
Specific areas for Level 1 which takes place in a pool environment include:
* Equipment needed to take great underwater photos.
* How to prepare and underwater photo system.
* Basic underwater photo techniques while diving in an environmentally friendly manner.
Level 2 is undertaken both within the classroom and Open Water. Specific areas include:
* A workshop to learn how to download and backup images, organise, process, and share images.
* Expand knowledge on file format, resolution settings, getting good colour, and making images lighter or darker.
* Dive in Open Water to practice skills learnt.
Open Water Training: 1 dives for Level 2.
Cost: Level 1 £100 (E-learning included)
Level 2 £150 (Must be preceded by Level 1)
The purpose is to polish a diver's buoyancy control beyond the Open Water Diver level.
Specific areas include:
* Peak performance buoyancy fundamentals: buoyancy check; fine-tuning buoyancy underwater: weight position and distribution and streamlining.
* Use of PADI's Basic Weighting Guidelines.
* An opportunity to polish buoyancy control beyond the Open Water diver level: positioning and distributing weight for comfort and desired body position (trim in the water): visualisation techniques prior to dives: establishing neutral buoyancy during all segments of a dive: hovering.
Open Water Training: 2 dives.
Cost: £150 (Peak Performance Buoyancy E-learning included)
Digital Underwater Photography Speciality
This course is a two part introduction to Digital Underwater Photography. The course helps student divers to develop the knowledge, skills and practical techniques necessary to obtain excellent photgraphs with their digital camera.
Specific areas for Level 1 which takes place in a pool environment include:
* Equipment needed to take great underwater photos.
* How to prepare and underwater photo system.
* Basic underwater photo techniques while diving in an environmentally friendly manner.
Level 2 is undertaken both within the classroom and Open Water. Specific areas include:
* A workshop to learn how to download and backup images, organise, process, and share images.
* Expand knowledge on file format, resolution settings, getting good colour, and making images lighter or darker.
* Dive in Open Water to practice skills learnt.
Open Water Training: 1 dives for Level 2.
Cost: Level 1 £100 (E-learning included)
Level 2 £150 (Must be preceded by Level 1)
Search and Recovery Speciality
The purpose is to be an introduction to search and recovery diving.
Specific areas include:
* The planning, organisation, procedures, techniques, problems and hazards of search and recovery diving.
* Limited visibility diving and underwater navigation techniques.
* Proper techniques and safety considerations for object location, including the use of various search patterns, lines and reels.
* Proper techniques and safety considerations for recovery of objects using various lifting devices.
Minimum Qualification - Advanced Open Water (AOW) / Junior AOW or Open Water / Junior Open Water with Underwater Speciality certification (or qualifying certifications).
Open Water Training: 4 dives on 2 days.
Cost: £210 (Speciality E-learning included)
Underwater Naturalist Speciality
This course is an introduction to aquatic life including an overview of responsible human interactions with aquatic life.
Specific areas include:
* The planning, organisation, procedures, techniques, problems and hazards of diving in different aquatic environments.
* A basic overview of major aquatic life groupings (kingdoms and phyla).
* Factual information that dispels myths of potentially dangerous aquatic life.
* An overview of basic aquatic life interations and associations.
* Responsible human interactions with aquatic life.
* Diving technique used to help preserve bottom dwelling aquatic life and minimise aquatic life disturbance.
Open Water Training: 2 dives.
Cost: £120
The purpose is to be an introduction to search and recovery diving.
Specific areas include:
* The planning, organisation, procedures, techniques, problems and hazards of search and recovery diving.
* Limited visibility diving and underwater navigation techniques.
* Proper techniques and safety considerations for object location, including the use of various search patterns, lines and reels.
* Proper techniques and safety considerations for recovery of objects using various lifting devices.
Minimum Qualification - Advanced Open Water (AOW) / Junior AOW or Open Water / Junior Open Water with Underwater Speciality certification (or qualifying certifications).
Open Water Training: 4 dives on 2 days.
Cost: £210 (Speciality E-learning included)
Underwater Naturalist Speciality
This course is an introduction to aquatic life including an overview of responsible human interactions with aquatic life.
Specific areas include:
* The planning, organisation, procedures, techniques, problems and hazards of diving in different aquatic environments.
* A basic overview of major aquatic life groupings (kingdoms and phyla).
* Factual information that dispels myths of potentially dangerous aquatic life.
* An overview of basic aquatic life interations and associations.
* Responsible human interactions with aquatic life.
* Diving technique used to help preserve bottom dwelling aquatic life and minimise aquatic life disturbance.
Open Water Training: 2 dives.
Cost: £120
Underwater Navigator Speciality
This course is an introduction to underwater navigation.
Specific areas include:
* The planning, organisation, procedures, techniques, problems and hazards of underwater navigation.
* Methods of estimating distances underwater.
* Natural navigation techniques.
* Using underwater patterns.
* Dive site relocation techniques.
* Compass navigation techniques
Open Water Training: 3 dives.
Cost: £155 (Speciality E-Learning included)
Wreck Speciality
This course is an introduction to wreck diving.
Specific areas include:
* The planning, organisation, procedures, techniques, problems and hazards of wreck diving.
* The preparation and use of lights, air supplies, special equipment, penetration lines and reels.
* Limited visibility diving techniques and emergency procedures.
Minimum Qualification - Adventure Diver.
Required Equipment: torch, slate, reel, SMB.
Open Water Training: 4 dives on 2 days.
Cost: £200
*Costs exclude entrance to dive sites and boat trips where required.
If you have already completed an Adventure Dive in the Speciality area then this can usually be credited towards that course and reduce the number of dives to be completed.
*Special package prices available - click here to view these
Once 5 specialities are achieved plus Rescue Diver and 50 dives, the Master Scuba Diver rating can be applied for.
This course is an introduction to underwater navigation.
Specific areas include:
* The planning, organisation, procedures, techniques, problems and hazards of underwater navigation.
* Methods of estimating distances underwater.
* Natural navigation techniques.
* Using underwater patterns.
* Dive site relocation techniques.
* Compass navigation techniques
Open Water Training: 3 dives.
Cost: £155 (Speciality E-Learning included)
Wreck Speciality
This course is an introduction to wreck diving.
Specific areas include:
* The planning, organisation, procedures, techniques, problems and hazards of wreck diving.
* The preparation and use of lights, air supplies, special equipment, penetration lines and reels.
* Limited visibility diving techniques and emergency procedures.
Minimum Qualification - Adventure Diver.
Required Equipment: torch, slate, reel, SMB.
Open Water Training: 4 dives on 2 days.
Cost: £200
*Costs exclude entrance to dive sites and boat trips where required.
If you have already completed an Adventure Dive in the Speciality area then this can usually be credited towards that course and reduce the number of dives to be completed.
*Special package prices available - click here to view these
Once 5 specialities are achieved plus Rescue Diver and 50 dives, the Master Scuba Diver rating can be applied for.
Certain restrictions apply with regards to students under the age of 15. Please contact us for more information.
To get in touch with us:
Email - northamptonscubaschool@gmail.com
Tel - 07951 759809
Through the "Contact us" page or find us on Facebook
Email - northamptonscubaschool@gmail.com
Tel - 07951 759809
Through the "Contact us" page or find us on Facebook
