Scuba diver course

a deep diver underwater diving over the belt of coral reefs

October 7, 2023

SSI Deep Diving Speciality Course in Andaman

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An SSI Deep Diving Specialty course is a set of specialised skills and practices that allows a trainee to become a confident and comfortable diver between depths of 18 to 40 meters. SSI deep dive is a mixture of academic sessions and open water dives that help to plan smooth and safe deep dive adventures. The use of a compass, dive computer, navigation, perfect buoyancy, and air consumption calculations are key points to get the most from your deep dives.

Recreational divers are allowed to go up to 40 meters and it all depends on your experience, limitations and of course based on your diving level. You need to be at least an adventure diver or advanced diver and log at least 20 long dives then you can sign up for the deep speciality course. A person who is at least 15 years of age is eligible for a deep diving speciality course.

During the course, you will learn more about various deep-diving techniques that will improve your standard dive practices. You will study the effect of diving beyond the advanced level and how this can affect you such as nitrogen narcosis, oxygen toxicity and decompression sickness as risk factors of deep diving. SSI Deep Dive allows you to visit less frequently explored areas and learn new skills to prevent involved deep dive risks by conducting 3 deep dives with an instructor.

Key points of deep diving speciality course

To stay hydrated before dive

Dehydration increases the chance of decompression sickness and causes fatigue later on. You must limit your intake of alcohol and caffeine the day before your actual deep dive. Both of these increase the risk of dehydration for many hours afterwards. Consume sufficient water to stay hydrated, probably two quarts per day.

Plan your dive

It’s time to formulate a proper deep dive plan keeping in mind your gas consumption, breathing rate, pieces of equipment selection, buoyancy control, calculated safety stops, and an emergency exit plan.

Ensure your Buddy Check

The coordination between you and your buddy is an essential part to have a safe diving experience. Keep an eye on each other while diving and make sure both of you are capable enough to use alternate air source, BC inflator, and weight release.

Look your Buoyancy

The air in your BC and the bubbles in your wetsuit compress as soon as you dive deeper and may result in Buoyancy fluctuations. It may accelerate your descent rate too much that you will find it hard to stop at your planned depth. Finally, in search of neutral buoyancy, you can lose considerable air inflating and venting your BC.

Maintain your breathing rate

Slow, steady, and relaxed breathing is always recommended for underwater diving. The breathing air is much denser in deep dives and airflow passes restrictions and turns corners from your tank to your lungs. The friction causes turbulence which restricts airflow and increases your breathing effort. Dense and fast-moving air both are responsible for turbulence. It is important to slow down the speed of airflow to maintain slow breathing.

Ascend slowly and early

Ascend is the greatest danger probably you have in deep dives and improper ascend leads to decompression sickness. The change in pressure may fluctuate your buoyancy resulting in loose control of your ascent and blowing you away from your safety stop. It may further result in rapid air consumption and low air ultimately leads to dangerous rapid ascent.

It is important to make efforts to locate and use the ascent line or anchor line to maintain and control your ascent rate. Start venting your BC quickly, don’t rely on the lift of your BC to ascend. Be neutral, calm, and fin to ascend.

Significant gas source use

It is an essential point for deep diver course students to learn to use redundant gas sources. This is a useful training technique because it addresses the risk of gas depletion. The method is beneficial in providing adequate gas supply in case a gas depletion emergency occurs away from the dive boat and divers effectively have no gas source to rely upon.

Additionally, gas depletion is crucial when occurs on the bottom of the sea. In such a situation, the diver has to rely upon a buddy diver to support the air supply to ascend to the safety stop. The buddy diver has to have sufficient gas and be proficient enough to donate additional air supply.

The use of pony cylinders is the best possible solution to provide a redundant gas supply. Ponies are small cylinders and have a sufficient amount of gas calculated for a safe ascent and safety stops. Divers should carry pony cylinders with them and it is immediately available to them throughout their dive. It makes divers confident, self-reliant, and their survival doesn’t depend on the competency of their dive buddy.

Inclusions of SSI deep diving speciality Course

A person who completed an open water diver course is eligible for an SSI deep diving speciality course to dive up to 40 meters. The course includes 3 open-water dives, a dive time of 45 minutes each and takes 2 days to complete. The participant must be at least 15 years old and physically and mentally fit enough to dive. Dickson’s, Pinnacles, and Johnny’s Gorge will be the probable dive sites. The program will cost INR 18000 excluding an additional 18% tax. After completing the deep diving speciality course, a diver can explore the reefs down 40 meters.

Suggested Read: SSI Night Diving Course

Possible Risks of Deep Diving

Deep diving speciality does include some risk events between the depth of 18 to 40 meters. However, proper training and preparation are helpful to sideline the below-mentioned deep-dive dangers.

Decompression sickness

Decompression sickness is a sort of injury that usually happens with the exposure of the body to sudden pressure decrease. The injury is caused by the formation of bubbles of gas in the blood and tissues of the body by a change in underwater pressure while scuba diving. The bubbles can be formed in any body part such as the lungs, heart, skin, joints, and brain. The problem of DCS occurs to scuba divers who ascend to the surface too quickly. The risk of decompression sickness is vulnerable to deep sea divers up to 40 meters and commercial divers beyond. Immediate medical attention is mandatory to prevent its fatal effects.

Nitrogen narcosis

Nitrogen narcosis is a reversible alteration inter conscious that occurs while diving at depth and this is because nitrogen has an aesthetic effect on us while diving at higher partial pressures or at a higher atmospheric pressure. Nitrogen narcosis can affect a diver between the depths of 80 feet and 120 feet and is based on your tolerance to it.

Nitrogen in general in the air that we breathe it makes up about 79% of the gas that we breathe and under normal atmospheric pressure it’s fine and does not really affect us because it’s an inert gas. But in increased atmospheric pressure, the partial pressure of nitrogen acts kind of drunk-like state or poor mental judgement, altered mental state, and even cause hallucinations while underwater.

Suggested Read: Deep Dive Sites on Havelock Island

Gas density

The risk of Gas density increases as you dive deeper and at one point your respiratory efficiency starts to decrease. Underwater higher gas density causes to increase in airway resistance and work of breathing and is responsible for reducing maximum breathing capacity.

Other deep dive risks involve:

Gas depletion
Increased gas consumption
CO2 narcosis

Conclusion: Deep diving is a specialized diving program that develops a set of skills, training, and experience to dive maximum allowable depths. Deep diving is useful to find out about different marine animals, and rare coral reefs, and to explore shipwrecks. However, some inherent deep-diving risks can be minimized or vanished by excellent training and skillset.

October 1, 2022

Complete Overview of Conducting SSI Open Water Diver Course in Andaman

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What is the meaning of an open water diver course?

The open water diver course helps you to learn multiple dive skills to freely explore the depth of the ocean. You have to transform your body with gills to breathe and Finns to swim underwater so that you can dive with confidence.

Our skilled and experienced dive instructors help you to develop and transform yourself into a complete, skilled, confident, and comfortable open water diver with 20 skills and 6 open water dives during your SSI course.

You can complete your open water diver course within 3 or 4 days depending on your travel schedule permits. It is identified that students don’t want to learn their academics during their visit to Andaman. So it is strongly recommended to complete your academic theory session before coming to practical training in Andaman. You can sign up for the e-learning program and start your academic session at home in all your comfort.

During the open water diver course, you will get to learn how to gain control over your body and maintain your underwater perfect buoyancy. Furthermore, the course will help you to develop and sharpen your breathing techniques and swim efficiently underwater using your fins. You must have to follow carefully all the instructions of your dive instructor and cooperate with him all the time so that he can assist you anytime in your learning session.

Day one

On day one there will be a short introduction of the course and the planned pathway of underwater skills divided into 4 days. Your dive instructor will assist you to complete your paperwork such as the registration form, privacy policy, liability release form, divers code form, and medical questionnaire which is required for the activity.

We will provide a detailed briefing session about scuba equipment, how we assemble it (It will include demonstration and practice of assembling and disassembling the scuba units), the importance of theory lessons and tips to implement it in practical sessions, basic knowledge of marine life, Effect on your body due to underwater change in pressure, tips to breathe underwater to get more comfortable for scuba dive.

Confined water session

Before we start the course, you have to pass a short 200 meters swimming test, 300 meters snorkeling test, and 2 minutes float test. The open water diver course requires these prerequisites to perform to proceed further. You can take your time to complete the swimming test. You will love snorkeling after seeing colorful fishlife underwater while performing the snorkeling test.

We take a break after the swimming and snorkeling tests. We will demonstrate 10 skills on day one and urge you to practice the skills repetitively to become more comfortable and confident for your open water diving course. The day one skills are written below.

Regulator remove and replace ( Use purge method to remove the water from the regulator)

Regulator remove and replace (Use the blow method to remove the water from the regulator)

Regulator retrieval (Apply swipe method)

Regulator retrieval (Apply reach method)

Half flooded mask clearing (Use the blow method to remove water from the mask)

Full flooded mask clearing (Use the blow method to remove water from the mask)

Alternative air source breathing stationery

Check buoyancy with the total diving system

Mask removal and replacement

Neutral buoyancy (Confined water)

1 Open water dive

Before diving, it is to be kept in mind that PLAN YOUR DIVE AND DIVE YOUR PLAN. Your dive instructor will teach you how to plan your dive and explain entry and exit methods, fixed breathing patterns, continuous equalization, dive site topography, and fish life. You must take your time to learn and execute your skills and listen to the instructor carefully.

It is mandatory to perform your buddy check before every dive and make sure every piece of equipment is working properly. It is instructed not to press any button unless directed by the instructor. Back roll entry is the easiest way to get off the boat and the dive crew assists you while doing it.

We have to elate our buoyancy compensator properly and breathe through our regulator while getting off the boat, it is helpful to buoyant up at the water surface. We need to descend after the signal of the instructor. We need to deflate the buoyancy compensator to go down and equalize regularly using the other hand while feeling pressure discomfort on your eardrums.

After descending to the planned point, you have to be neutrally buoyant and start swimming. While diving underwater, your dive instructor will be with you at a safe distance and continuously monitor your movements.

Your air consumption is a vital part to stay longer underwater. Slow, steady, and long breathing is helpful to maintain proper air in your tank and stay longer underwater to explore marine life. The standard dive time is 45 minutes with a single dive tank and recommended to never hold your breath.

After the first dive, your instructor will give you an encouraging briefing that how well you did it. Furthermore, important key points to learn and focus on to dive comfortably, marine life you have seen, and some magic tricks to boost your diving abilities.

2 open water dive

We take a surface interval before your second dive, surface interval means you take a break between two of your dives. It is needed to release nitrogen from the body which you have inhaled while diving underwater. You have to perform a few more skills on your second dive such as regulator removal and replacement, neutral buoyancy, and half-flooded mask clearing.

It is to be kept in mind that your ascent rate should not exceed 9 meters per minute or 30 feet per 60 seconds. Your instructor will monitor that you use learned skills and techniques during the actual dive. You have to execute all skills carefully to master them. Pre-dive safety checks and performing required steps before going into the water are the must-do things before each dive. Your dive instructor will point out interesting marine life from time to time so that you can also enjoy your dive apart from learning.

Day two

A new day brings new skills and challenges to resume your confined water session. After a short briefing session, we will draw a schedule that how to proceed further with the remaining 10 skills and 2 open water dives. You have to double-check all scuba equipment and booty sizes before going to confined water skills. You have to assemble a scuba unit as a part of your training session and do a quick pre-dive safety check to ensure everything is working properly.

Confined water session

You will be demonstrated the rest 10 skills and asked to practice them repetitively. You have to practice the skills repetitively to complete the open water course in Andaman successfully. You also need to repeat the skills learned on day one. Your dive instructor will Enumerate all the skills as per your performance requirements. Skills are written as under.

Underwater BC removal and replacement
BC removal and replacement at the surface
Underwater weight belt removal and replacement
Surface weight belt removal and replacement
Without a mask swimming while breathing from a regulator
Free flow regulator
Tried diver’s toe
Air depletion practice
Emergency swimming ascend (ESA)
Emergency swimming ascend (EBA)

3 Open water dive

You need to make a dive plan for your 3rd underwater dive. The dive instructor will inform you regarding the dive site, coral reef structure, and the existence of marine life. Keep the entry and exit method points included in the plan. You need to follow all the must-do steps to proceed with your dive and practice all skills and tricks to get perfection on your actual dive.

You and your dive instructor will require to take a safety stop for 3 minutes at 5 meters of depth (It is a must to abort your dive and ascend). You have to execute all necessary signals and steps while doing the dive.

It is highly advised to equalize properly on time and respect nature while exploring amazing marine life. Your dive instructor will debrief that how well your 3rd dive is and what are the keys areas for improvement. We are focused on not just letting you become a diver but also an open water diver.

4 Open water dive

It’s time to take surface interval before your 4th dive and meanwhile, our dive crew gets ready with your scuba equipment for your next dive. During the interval, your instructor will provide the basic knowledge of underwater navigation and how to use a campus down there. After that, you need to make proper planning with the instructor for your next dive. The following are the important key points for a safe and successful dive.

Pre-dive safety check
Entry and exit methods cum points
Controlled descent
Regular equalization to release squeeze discomfort
Repeat signals
Controlled ascent
Emergency procedure
Continues emphasis on slow, steady, and deep breathing
Safety stop
Keep an eye on weather conditions

You have to execute the above-mentioned skills for your 4th dive. All the skills are mandatory to get your open water certification. Your instructor will insist you perform some more skills such as neutral buoyancy, weight belt removal & replacement, and mask clearing to access them as per course requirements. You have to complete your dive safely and perform the skills carefully. After the dive, your instructor will debrief the skills and dive done by you.

Day three

Our dive instructor will provide you with a short briefing and draw a schedule for the next 2 open water dives. You may also go for some skills (In case not performed satisfactorily). Before going to the ocean, you have to check all types of equipment, and their sizes, assemble the gear and perform a pre-dive safety check to ensure everything is working well.

Confined water session

You need to go for a confined water session if the instructor thinks you have not performed any of the skills satisfactorily during your day 1 or day 2 dive.

5 and 6 open water dives

We arrange your 2 dives at the best dive sites in Havelock to enjoy the fullest. The balance two dives are fun dives for your open water course in Andaman. It is a must to plan your dive according to learned skills and under the guidance or assistance of your instructor. We do recommend an emergency air-sharing accent during your 5th dive.

We expect you to use all the learned skills while diving underwater and the important tricks that you learn on each dive. Manage and maintain your underwater navigation and not hurry for things. Don’t forget to take a safety stop for 3 minutes at the depth of 5 meters.

On the last 6th dive, Your instructor will provide a dive computer along with the required knowledge to use it while diving underwater. Listen to the instructions carefully to use a dive computer so that you can get benefitted from it while diving underwater.

We do recommend respecting marine life while diving even after becoming a confident open water diver. On completion of your last dive, the dive crew and your instructor will congratulate you as an open water diver. Finally, you have to pass a written exam and complete some paperwork and log your dives in a customized log book provided by us. You will be issued an SSI scuba diving certification and now you are eligible for fun dives up to 18 meters deep. Thank you for your valuable time.

SSI night diving course, 2 divers underwater

August 31, 2022

SSI Night Diving Course & Limited Visibility Specialty

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Summary: In this blog, we will discuss the SSI night diving course & limited visibility, theory and practical exercises, night dive skills, eligibility, course price and duration.

The diving sessions don’t end when the sun goes down. You should pick the SSI Night diving course to witness the incredible marine life that comes out only at night for hunting. SSI night dive & limited visibility program is specially designed to increase your knowledge base, learn different skills, and of course experience different marine life.

Multiple species of sea animals keep themselves hidden in corals during the day and are active when it’s getting dark. Some ocean creatures begin their hunting during the night such as lobsters, octopuses, morays, rays, and species of barracudas or sharks. You need to learn different skills along with equipped specific types of equipment to dive at night or in limited visibility conditions.

Diving into the deep black water during the night is a completely unique experience. It may be unfamiliar or a bit difficult during the first-night dive, but you will get used to it and love it after a couple of dives.

Limited visibility is another important factor that may severely affect your dive experience or mislead you. High water currents and sea waves usually disrupt the sand which leads to low visibility. The visibility may go down for a few meters or even centimeters. In such situations, it is essential to move on the right path and communicate or react with your buddy.

The night diving and limited visibility specialty course are basically divided into two parts.

Theoretical training sessions
Practical training sessions

Theoretical training sessions

A diver must have to prepare theory lessons before starting a night scuba dive specialty course. Theoretical case studies are online available and after registration, you can get access to it. It is the best way to prepare your course theory before visiting your diving destination. It is useful to save time for limited-time travelers.

Required Skillset for night diving or limited visibility course

Underwater Navigation

It is an important diving skill and helps you to navigate in the right direction underwater. A dive compass is helpful to measure your direction during sea navigation. A dive computer is useful to measure your underwater dive depth. Perfect underwater navigation skill matters while diving in a no-visibility environment. It saves you from getting lost in the water and assists you in showing the exact path. Underwater navigation is an important skill for your SSI night diving course to perfectly navigate in night dive conditions.

Perfect Buoyancy

It is another important diving skill to manage your body weight perfectly underwater. BCD & Weight belts are useful pieces of equipment to maintain your buoyancy. A diver’s body must be in proper horizontal position and his knees must bend 90 degrees and his fins must point backward. During buoyancy, it is a must to balance your weight and center gravity around your navel. It will help you to don’t let your knees down and prevent your head from pointing downwards.

Tips to improve your underwater buoyancy

Measure and weight yourself correctly
Adjust weight according to dive equipment and conditions
Keep your body in perfect positioning
Introduce yourself with your BCD
Practice breath control skills
Don’t use your hands while underwater buoyancy

Torch signals

During your night dive, you have to carry two torches for safety purposes and keep your main torch turned on before entering the water. you have to light your torch downwards while descending and light the torch upwards while ascending to make sure there is no obstacle below or above you. You can move the direction of the torch towards your chest to see the darkness underwater.

Practical training sessions

After completion of the theory part, now starts the practical part which is definitely the most fun part of the course. After a brief discussion of your theoretical knowledge, it’s time to get into the water to practice your theory sessions. The course includes 2-night dives, it’s going to be a crazy feeling at first dive and you will get used to it after a while.

It is important to find your buddy when the torch is switched off during the session of your night dive. One of the instructors will swim a few meters away from you. You have to find the instructor while pointing the direction of the torch towards your chest. The exercise is easy to complete and is intended to find your buddy in case the torch is switched off. Torch beam will be helpful to find your buddy provided you swim in range.

Equipments and Precautions for night diving

A diver must have proper dive lights for night diving and adequate protection from body exposure. A night diver must carry two dive lights (primary and backup), a compass, a marker buoy, a slate, and other devices. Underwater navigation, perfect buoyancy, and torch signals are essential skills for the night diving specialty program.

A night diver must adhere to extra precautions and skills for night dives including:

It is a good practice to avoid shining the torchlight in other diver’s eyes.
A night diver must be aware of surface light signals and use bearings or illuminated shotline buoy.
A surface marker buoy with an attached strobe light or cyalume stick is useful to indicate divers position to the surface team.
There is the potential risk using a strobe light by a diver underwater can damage the night vision of other divers.

Possible hazards of night diving

Scuba diving at night inherent additional risks, challenges, and skills compared to diving during the day. Failure of dive lights, disorientation, limited visibility, and encounters with nocturnal marine life might make night diving more challenging. A night diver can avoid potential night diving risks and find it a more rewarding and exhilarating experience by practicing proper training, equipment, and preparation.

1. Failure of dive light

Failure of the dive light is the major night diving hazard when diving in darkness. Subsequently, it might result in losing vertical visual references and being unable to control depth or buoyancy. It further disrupts reading instruments such as dive computers, compass, and dive cylinder contents gauge, and risk of separation from the rest of the diving group, boat, or shore cover. Backup lights are always recommended to avoid such circumstances.

2. Limited visibility

Limited visibility plays a significant role during night dives which makes it harder to navigate or communicate with your dive buddy. It is essential to maintain close proximity with your dive buddy and use proper dive lights to avoid the risk of getting separated.

3. Marine life behavior

Some Nocturnal marine animals become more active at night such as octopuses, lobsters, Bluntnose stingrays, and certain types of fish. It is a good opportunity to witness the behavior of Nocturnal marine animals but the proximity of unpredictable encounters can’t be sidelined. This is because some marine animals might be more defensive or territorial at night. It is a good practice to maintain extra precautions and respect their space.

4. Disorientation

There is a potential risk of disorientation during night dives or limited visibility conditions especially if you heavily rely on visual references. It is easier to become disoriented and lose your sense of direction while diving into unfamiliar landmarks or clear visual cues. The risk of disorientation can be avoided by the application of good navigation skills, use of a compass, and other navigation tools.

5. Increased risk of entanglement

Night diving makes it more difficult to identify potential hazards such as ropes, fishing nets, or lines that increase the risk of entanglement. It is a good practice to stay aware of your surroundings, maintain good buoyancy control, and avoid touching or disturbing the marine environment.

6. Equipment failure

Equipment malfunctions can happen at any time whether you’re diving in a day or night but addressing the issue might be more challenging in the darkness. It is essential to use well-maintained or functioning diving gear, pre-dive safety checks, and use of reliable dive lights.

Eligibility criteria for SSI night diving specialty

A person must be at least 12 years old and have completed an open water certification program to join the Night diving & limited visibility specialty course. The person must be physically and mentally fit enough to dive and know basic swimming.

Suggested Read: Wreck Diving Specialty Course

Price and duration of the program

Course fees

Night dive specialty course fees depend on the location wise where you dive in. The course fee for the night diving program in Andaman is INR 14000 (excluding tax) per person for 2 consecutive night dives. Pick-up and drop-off facilities are complementary by non-AC cars.

Duration

A night diver student must spend at least 2 full days completing his/her night diving specialty program. The actual dive time per night dive is 45 minutes underwater and Nemo Reef is the dedicated dive site for night dives in Havelock Island. The estimated time per night dive (including theory & practical sessions) is 3-4 hours. Practical night dive sessions start as soon as the sun goes down and the maximum allowable depth is 8-12 meters.