This course is exciting because it’s never quite the same. Practical skills are gained by diving in a variety of locations around Seattle. You’ll learn Occupational SCUBA, as well as practice using NDT (non-destructive testing) methods.
Watch: SCUBA Dive Training – Alki Lake, Seattle
“The Puget Sound is one of the most complex and diverse venue that SCUBA diving has to offer. It is also one of the top dive destinations on the planet. People than are trained here are well versed in diving and I would submit able to dive anywhere in the world.”
– Dan Henderson, SCUBA instructor
You’ll gain experience with practical applications off campus. Instructors plan a variety of projects throughout Seattle and in the Puget Sound. A few examples include: video inspections on a pier, visually inspecting the bottom of a boat in the water, removing obstructions from a boat’s propeller, or changing the buoyancy of a dock.
You’ll learn about safety in different conditions, and how tides affect different locations. Students practice diving in the Puget Sound, which is tidal. You’ll gain first hand experience learning how to plan ahead and dive successfully in water that is ebbing or flooding.
Gear:
You’ll get used to using standard SCUBA gear, including full-face masks (FFM’s) to complete your commercial SCUBA training.
Dan Henderson, Instructor
Occupational SCUBA is all about problem solving. As instructor, I present the student with a problem set underwater and show them how to work and solve the problem. This builds confidence, proficiency, and makes them assets when they enter the workforce.
Course Program:
| Week 1: | NAUI SCUBA Certification and Full Face Mask (FFM) training. Begins in the swimming pool. |
|---|---|
| Week 2: | Continuing NAUI SCUBA Certification. Open water SCUBA and FFM diving and projects in the Puget Sound and other locations. |
| Week 3: | Inland Diving. Surface-supplied and Occupational SCUBA dives. |
| Week 4: | Inland Diving. Surface-supplied and Occupational SCUBA dives. |
Instructor Insight
“They learn about different locations, how tides can change things. If we go to the Sound, we might have a different entry and exit point. At school here all the barges are the same, the water level stays the same, there's no surf or surge. When we're off campus sometimes, I tell them they can't tie up a ladder on a location, they don't really get it and every now and then somebody will tie up a ladder and then when the tide drops their ladder breaks in half because the bottoms not moving but the float that we are on is moving up and down. And there's pilings that float up and down and their air hose can get stuck on that if they're not being careful. They learn more about what they've heard about in the classroom but they see it in real life. They see the dive site actually changing between 8 in the morning and 1 in the afternoon. Everything can be completely different.”
“I’d say the first day that we go into the Sound. Because even the certified SCUBA divers, even they might not have dove in the Puget Sound. The first day of diving in salt water is the funnest.”
“Every day be ready for something different. Be on time and be ready for anything.”
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