Master Scuba Divers
My Training Choices
OW, AOW and MSD
If you are certified MSD then you already know that you need to be first an Advanced Open Water Diver. If you’re new to scuba diving with PADI then look up the PADI link below.
Open Water Diver
If you’ve always wanted to take scuba diving lessons, experience unparalleled adventure and see the world beneath the waves, this is where it starts. Get your scuba diving certification with the PADI Open Water Diver course – the world’s most popular and widely recognized scuba course. Millions of people have learned to scuba dive and gone on to discover the wonders of the aquatic world through this course.
Advanced Open Water Diver
That’s what the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course is all about. You don’t have to be “advanced” to take it – it’s designed to advance your diving, so you can start right after earning your PADI Open Water Diver certification. The course helps build confidence and expand your scuba skills through different Adventure Dives. You try out different specialties while gaining experience under the supervision of your PADI Instructor. You log dives and develop capabilities as you find new ways to have fun scuba diving.
Master Scuba Diver
Join the best of the best in recreational scuba diving and live the dive life as a PADI Master Scuba Diver. The Master Scuba Diver rating places you in an elite group of respected divers who have earned this rating through both significant experience and scuba training. Fewer than two percent of divers ever achieve this rating. When you flash your Master Scuba Diver card, people know that you’ve spent time underwater in a variety of environments and had your share of dive adventures.
Because I fell in love with shipwrecks
Shipwrecks are my favorite type of dives. To do this in full security I decided to take the following certification specialties.
Wreck Diver
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. Ships, airplanes and even cars are fascinating to explore and usually teem with aquatic life. Each wreck dive offers a chance for discovery, potentially unlocking a mystery or spying something others have missed. The PADI Wreck Diver Specialty course is popular because it offers rewarding adventures while observing responsible wreck diving practices.
Peak Performance Buoyancy
Excellent buoyancy control is what defines skilled scuba divers. You’ve seen them underwater. They glide effortlessly, use less air and ascend, descend or hover almost as if by thought. They more easily observe aquatic life without disturbing their surroundings. You can achieve this, too. The PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty course improves the buoyancy skills you learned as a new diver and elevates them to the next level.
Deep Diver
The lure of the deep. There’s something exciting and mysterious about exploring deeper dive sites while scuba diving. Sometimes it’s a wreck that attracts you below 18 metres/60 feet, and on wall dives it may be a giant fan or sponge. Whatever it is, to scuba dive with confidence at depths down to 40 metres/130 feet, you should take the PADI Deep Diver Specialty course.
Night Diver
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. The scene changes as day creatures retire and nocturnal organisms emerge. If you’ve wondered what happens underwater after the sun goes down, sign up for the PADI Night Diver Specialty course.
Search and Recovery Diver
It happens: People accidentally drop things from docks, off boats or even while scuba diving. If you’ve ever lost something in the water and wanted to go find it, then the PADI Search and Recovery Diver Specialty course is for you. There are effective ways to search for objects underwater that increase your chances of success. And there are good and better methods to bring up small, large or just awkward items. Search and recovery can be challenging, but a whole lot of fun.
Underwater Navigator
Be the scuba diver everyone wants to follow because you know where you are and where you’re going. The PADI Underwater Navigator course 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.
Nautical Archaeology Society
This is not a PADI course but I thought that if I am going to understand shipwrecks better a course on underwater archeology would help me better comprehend the wrecks I am visiting. I recommend taking the Introductory Course if nothing else. It is a very well designed course. If you like it you can pursue the many other levels.
NAS Introduction to Foreshore and Underwater Archaeology
What does the course involve?
The first stage of the NAS Training Programme, the Introduction Course is a full day of training introducing participants to the subject of nautical archaeology. Combining a mixture of classroom and practical sessions, the course aims to promote nautical archaeology to those interested in learning a little bit more.
As well as an introduction to the basic principles of archaeology, the Course will also introduce the range of sites which can be covered under the title 'nautical' or 'maritime' archaeology - it is not just shipwrecks and it is certainly not all underwater.
By the end of the day you will not only have received an introduction to various theory topics but will have also undertaken practical sessions in 2D survey methods. The chance to practice techniques and to draw up the results will help to give you the skills to start recording and understanding some of the sites you visit.
For an example timetable on what the day involves please click the link below. Please note that this is a sample timetable and specific timing may vary from course to course.
Under water photography and videography helps me share some of my dives with others
Although I took the following courses with PADI and National Geographic, I found that reading books, YouTube tutorials and lots of practice were more beneficial. Having said this, I am happy I took the following courses.
Digital Underwater Photography
Underwater photography is one of the most popular diving specialties, and with so many underwater cameras to choose from, it has become easier and more fun than ever to capture images of your underwater scuba adventures. The PADI Digital Underwater Photographer course gets you going quickly, whether you use a point-and-shoot camera or a sophisticated dSLR like the pros.
Underwater Videographer
Video is the best way to share the sights, sounds, motion and dynamics of the underwater world. If you want to get the best clips and also learn to edit your scuba diving stories to share with friends through ScubaEarth® and other social media, then the PADI Underwater Videographer Specialty course is for you. Learn to create underwater videos that are interesting, entertaining and worth watching again and again.
National Geographic
Are you at a point in your dive training where you’re exploring different certifications? How would you like to learn to observe and explore like an underwater scientist? If so, it’s time to discover the PADI National Geographic Diver certification.
Adventurers and dive geeks alike will benefit from this certification which includes two dives and a custom exploration project. You’ll think, observe and document, in the way explorers and scientists do. Exploration projects vary – you might survey local marine life, or record water temperature fluctuations. No matter what the project, you’ll hone your buoyancy and observation skills as well as your ability to critically think about the environments surrounding you.
The National Geographic certification is offered as both a specialty or an add on to the Open Water Diver course. If you’re interested, the first step is to locate a PADI National Geographic Dive Center.
Care for the underwater environment
Taking care of the underwater environment is the responsibility of every diver no matter what the level.
Project AWARE’s philosophy is to mobilize a global force of scuba divers and water enthusiasts who care about protecting the world’s water resources and choose to make a difference – one dive at a time. By earning the Project AWARE Specialist certification, you’ll be aware of the most pressing problems facing vulnerable aquatic environments and know what everyday actions you can take to help protect them.
Anyone who has an interest in the aquatic world should take this course. There are no prerequisites, age restrictions or water sessions required for this non-diving specialty.
Because shipwrecks are not everything
The following courses I chose because of the different dive environments I dive in, cold water, strong currents, and much more.
Dry Suit Diver
Want to stay warm? Want to extend your scuba diving season? Then dive dry. A dry suit seals you off from the water and keeps you comfortable, even in surprisingly cold water. There is incredible diving in the world’s cooler regions and in some areas, conditions are even better in colder months. Becoming a dry suit diver allows you to expand your boundaries and dive more places, more often.
Drift Diver
The PADI Drift Diver Specialty course teaches you how to enjoy going with the flow as you scuba dive down rivers and use ocean currents to glide along. It feels like flying – except that you’re underwater using scuba equipment. Drift diving can be relaxing and exhilarating at the same time. If this sound like fun, then the Drift Diver course is for you.
Multilevel Diver
In the old days, dive profiles were calculated from the surface down to a maximum depth, then back to the surface. Now, dive computers continually analyze your depth – giving you more bottom time for going shallower and allowing you to maximize your dive time. If you’d like to understand more about dive computers and learn how you can use tools like the eRDPMLTM to plan multilevel dives, then the Multilevel Diver Specialty course is for you.
Enriched Air Diver
The PADI Enriched Air Diver course is PADI’s most popular specialty scuba course. Why? Because scuba diving with enriched air nitrox gives you more no decompression time, especially on repetitive scuba dives. If staying down longer and getting back in the water sooner sounds appealing, then don’t hesitate to become an enriched air diver.
Dive equipment maintenance
This course will not make you a dive equipment specialist. However, it will be of great help for maintaining your equipment in good working order.
Equipment Specialist
Don’t miss a dive due to minor issues with your scuba diving equipment. Whether it's a missing o-ring, wetsuit tear or a broken fin strap, the PADI Equipment Specialist course teaches you to manage basic repairs and adjustments. You'll also learn more about how your gear works, making you more comfortable with it and better prepared to take care of your investment.
More to choose from
There are other courses. One example is rebreathers. But these are excessively expensive. Besides, I think that the courses I chose are sufficient.
Rebreathers
Rebreathers used to be only for technical diving, but not any more. New Type R (recreational) rebreathers are lightweight, easy-to-transport and have sophisticated electronics to simplify their use. Why dive a rebreather? You get longer no stop limits, reduced gas consumption because you reuse most of your exhaled gas, and unmatched wildlife encounters because you don’t release annoying bubbles. The PADI Rebreather Diver course introduces you to rebreather diving to a maximum depth of 18 metres/60 feet and lets you experience things you never imagined possible as a scuba diver.
Other PADI Diver-Level Courses