Instructors with Urban Manta treat Open Water with the same approach as any technical level class. Classes are kept small. Students are required to perform skills neutrally buoyant. Buoyancy, trim, team awareness and no silt propulsion techniques are taught. This is NOT taught in the majority of Open Water classes because most Open Water instructors are not Technical Diving Instructors and cannot dive or teach cleanly. The majority of OW instructors have little or none technical dive training, and therefore cannot pass on those skills to you as a student. Beware of discount scuba classes.
Urban Manta graduates are safer, more aware and more in control divers. The difference is easily seen in video and photo review during class. The quality of world class training far exceeds the quality of low priced cattle call classes. Beware of cheap priced scuba classes; your life is worth the investment in a good instructor.
The Open Water Diver course consists of 2 parts: eLearning & the pool followed by 4 open water dives or 5 in a drysuit.
Begin your scuba adventure with a pool session, eLearning at your own pace, and 4 open water dives at Dutch Springs, Miami or elsewhere in the world. Skills practiced include buoyancy, proper weighting, equipment assembly, hand signals, and dive planning. Learn about equipment maintenance, physiology and the marine environment.
* Minimum age 10
* Must bring signed doctor’s note to classroom session if any questions are answered with a yes.
* Must pass a swim test. You can’t take a scuba class if you can’t swim.
OPEN WATER PART 1: ELEARNING & POOL
$139.95 for RAID or SDI eLearning & $450 for class & pool; eLearning purchased online is more expensive than emailing me.
Why waste vacation time taking exams? Learn in the comfort of your own home with a home study option. Learn how to setup scuba gear in the Urban Manta classroom.
Email me for a discounted eLearning code. If you buy it off the internet, I charge an additional $50 for c card and classroom fees. IF YOU EMAIL ME FOR eLEARNING CODES YOU SAVE MONEY, because I pass my discount on to you. Why buy off the internet?
Please read carefully because we MUST GO OVER EVERY SINGLE MISSED QUESTION. Speed reading is great if you want to spend all night in the classroom session.
The pool sessions cost $450. You must know how to swim. We start off with a swim test. Google “SDI Open Water standards and procedures” for details.
OPEN WATER PART 2: OPEN WATER CHECKOUT DIVES
The 4 open water dives cost $700 (not including wetsuit rental) or $800 for 5 dives in a drysuit (including drysuit rental).
You can do them here or I can issue a referral and you can do them on vacation. Enjoy a weekend at the lake completing your Open Water certification. 4 dives over 2 days exploring sunken boats, airplanes, a helicopter, a fire truck, a schoolbus, a trolley, etc in the local underwater training lake Dutch Springs. Camp out on the lake and wake up and dive!
OPEN WATER REQUIREMENTS
In terms of gear people are required to buy their personal gear which consists of a mask, snorkel, fins & booties for the pool. Wetsuits can either be rented or bought. This is true of all shops in the northeast. Urban Manta has a full stock of gear available for purchase and can fit you for the correct sizes. Scuba is a gear intensive sport and proper fitting gear is required for your comfort under water. It is recommended that you purchase quality gear from Urban Manta as not all gear is created equal. You don’t want a leaky mask or non-hydrodynamic fins! BCs, regulators, tanks and weights are included for the pool sessions.
For the open water checkout dives most students rent the Buoyancy Compensator Device, regulators, drysuit and drysuit underwear. (The drysuit class is recommended and costs an additional $100 with the Open Water course or $350 as a separate class. A 7mm wetsuit can be rented instead.) Tanks and weights are free for students. I have some tanks pre-filled with air and we will re-fill as needed at the local lake in Pennsylvania Dutch Springs. It takes 2 days to do the 4 open water dives at the lake. We camp out at Dutch Springs or there are hotels nearby.
Looking forward to getting you in the water!