Speciality of the Month – PADI Deep Diver
Specialty of the Month – PADI Deep Diver
When most people start their diving adventures they often to say to us, I’m going to stick to just doing the open water course as I don’t need to go deeper.
Then as they do a few dives, build up some confidence and then hear about some of the wonderful dive sites that require you go below 18m, then they soon sign up to do their Advanced course.
Again, for a short while this satisfies their needs to explore deeper. However for many a time comes when they want to go deeper still.
For me it was when I saw a school of Hammerhead Sharks at Elphinstone Reef in the Red Sea. They were slowly meandering around the reef at a depth of 45-50m. As a Deep Specialty Diver you can go to 40m and get nice and close to the action, at 30m they would have been small and washed away by the blue of the water.
Many other divers are fascinated by the wrecks that litter our sees. There are hundreds to explore in the UK as well as overseas and many of them lie well below 30m.
Other divers become ‘depth junkies’, a term used for divers who like to go deep for the sake of it. ‘Weirdos’ you may be thinking, but there is some sense to their madness! At 40m you tend not to be crowded with other divers, the quiet of the ocean and a small hit of Nitrogen Narcosis provides for a truly relaxing way to get away from the hectic pace of everyday life.
Some divers often forget that your holiday insurance often only covers you up to the depth you are qualified to dive to. So if you are suddenly on a dive and wish to descend in to the blue then remember you need to be qualified first or you insurance company won’t pay out.
The PADI Deep Spec course covers 4 dives, many people have already done one as part of their Advanced so only need to do 3 more. We complete these at NDAC in Chepstow as it has great viz and great attractions at that depth.
There are a few words of warning though. The deeper you go the more the risk increases, we would therefore strongly advise owning or renting a dive computer and have equipment that you are familiar and comfortable with. It’s also worth having your own torch and SMB as it can get a little darker at that depth.
Oyster Diving are offering 10% off the PADI Deep Dive Specialty course for anyone who books in the month of July. To book your course please call 01273 384971 or visit their website – www.oysterdiving.com/deep-diver/
Happy diving!