Boat Diver Course

One of the great things about scuba diving is the fact that there are so many places to enjoy it. Since roughly seventy percent of the earth’s surface is covered in water, there are countless opportunities to get wet almost wherever you may find yourself. From quiet ponds and slow rivers to vast, challenging seas and oceans, the choices are endless.

Whether you dive every chance you get or just strap on a mask every once in a while, chances are you’ll be making quite a few of your excursions on some type of watercraft. While there’s nothing wrong with simply swimming from land in certain situations, boat diving offers many benefits and advantages. For starters, many dive sites that you may be interested in visiting could only be accessible by boat. This is particularly true if you lean toward wreck and reef diving. A boat can also be extremely useful if you choose to take part in multiple dives at different areas during a single day. And there is also the convenience a boat offers in terms of resting, refreshing yourself and changing into dry clothes.

Diving from a boat, however, involves skills you may not be aware of, and this unfamiliarity could affect the quality of your experience. Let the professionals at Scuba Lessons Jax help you get shipshape and ready, whether you’re headed for the coast of Jacksonville or Jakarta.

Why is a boat diver course important?

For starters, you should always know how to be safe and confident in any type of vehicle you ride in, be it a car, plane or – you guessed it – boat. Even if you’ve spent many an afternoon on the water, you may not have done so suited up in dive gear with limited mobility and the intention of going overboard. Then there’s the matter of what type of craft you’ll find yourself on. From an inflatable raft above a Bahamian blue hole to a luxury yacht off the Indian Ocean’s Chaaya Reef, the difference could be massive. And even if you happen to dive off of similar boats from trip to trip, there may be different practices and protocols in different locales.

 Because so much diving is done off of boats, this is an ideal course to complete before enrolling in lessons focusing on topics such as deep diving and wreck diving.

What exactly will I learn in the course?

Our boat diver course covers the following topics:

• Boat Basics: From little to big, we will show you the best way to dive from them and how the rules can differ depending on where you are. We’ll also focus on training and familiarization on boats in the Jacksonville area.
• Ingress and Egress: We’ll teach you the best way to enter and exit the water.
• Gear Stowage: Space can be tight on deck, so we’ll give you tips on storing your stuff.
• Surface Lines: Learn how to use them at the beginning and end of your excursion.
• Boat Safety: We’ll cover ways to give you peace of mind on board.

What is required for me to take the course?

Participants must be at least ten years old and have completed the open water dive course. No special equipment is necessary.