​When scuba divers socialise and the talk turns to big, high-adventure dives, you can count on deep diving to come up. Take the challenge and add some depth to your underwater adventures!

 

Picture this scenario: you and our buddy jump in to better than 30 meters of viz. in the waters surrounding a deep water submerged pinnacle and descend through schools of unicorn fish and surgeon fish to a ledge near 35 meters. You are both trained in deep diving.

From your vantage point you can see all the way down to the sandy bottom 15 meters below and the surface, shimmering overhead. After a moment to fine tune your buoyancy and adjust your DPVs (dive propulsion vehicle scooters), you take off in a staggered formation, scootering all the way around the pinnacle, following a gradually ascending profile. Giant trevally rush about you as you fly through the crystal-clear water; a school of blacktail barracuda check you out before spiralling away in to the blue.

You reach our safety stop as planned, and hang out for 5 minutes, watching in awe as a manta ray glides past, feeding near the surface. You clamber back on board the dive boat elated. It's one of those memorable moments of diving when the conditions, gear and companionship come together for an amazing experience.

PADI's Deep Diver programme offers you a thrilling adventure of a lifetime - going deep to see things others only dream about. 'Thrill' is a word with many meanings. A thrill can be the excitement that comes with doing something challenging, but in a way that responsibly manages the risk. On the other hand, it can mean sticking your neck out irresponsibly and recklessly, purely for a rush. If that's your idea of fun then you'll truly make a poor dive buddy.

If the idea of deep diving excites you then take the PADI Deep Diver Specialty course. You'll learn how to manage the added risk that comes with going deep, and how to be prepared for emergencies and errors that can happen. You're likely to find it a rewarding challenge that helps you grow as a scuba diver. And, that's a thrill - the good kind!

The programme includes 4 open water dives, which are conducted over at least 2 days. All your dives will be conducted within the no-decompression limits. During your programme, you'll cover the knowledge, skills and techniques needed to dive deep. Topics covered include:

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• Planning, organisation, procedures, 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 to recompression chambers.​

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