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Specialty Courses

SSI offers a large variety of Specialty Courses as a basis for Continuing Education Ratings. You have the choice which programs you want to go for in order to reach your personal goals in diving.

It does not matter whether you prefer to dive on holiday or at home – SSI offers the right program for everybody!

How Far Do You Want to go?

To be a diver that is completely prepared for any diving situation that may occur, you will need the experience and training gained from SSI Specialty Courses. Taking our courses is your chance to begin a journey that explores beyond the surface of diving.

Each course will provide you with the proper knowledge and skills to truly consider yourself an experienced diver. Our goal is to prepare you for the adventure that lies ahead, as well as make sure you have a good time doing it!

Taking a specific number of specialties and continuing your pursuit of dives allows you to earn higher levels of diver ratings. SSI’s ratings are the only ratings in the industry that combine training and experience requirements, proving that SSI ratings are truly earned.

See below for a list of Specialty Courses offered.

“Depth attracts a lot of divers as deep dives provide this certain kick.”

Dive in places where only a few have explored before! Get the experience of diving on a wreck below 100 feet/30 metres! To do these dives safely, you need the right skills and the right knowledge and that is exactly what DEEP DIVING provides you.

Without proper training this kind of diving is an uncontrollable safety risk. To plan your dives properly you must first know about all of the potential risks involved in DEEP DIVING. SSI’s DEEP DIVING course will provide you with the skills, knowledge and experience required to make these types of dives safely and comfortably.

If you want to learn more about DEEP DIVING, you can buy the manual or the DVD even if you don’t want to sign up for the course.

DEEP DIVING SPECIALTY COURSE Content:

* Your Total Diving System & Deep Diving
* Planning Your Deep Dive
* Your Deep Dive
* Potential Hazards
* Repetitive Deep Diving

The primary goal of any SSI Specialty course is to teach you important skills in a fun environment. All courses are taught using home study, short academic sessions, and in-water training.

Combine other specialties while taking the DEEP DIVING course! WRECK DIVING or PERFECT BUOYANCY are great add ons – both courses will be used in your deep diving adventures. The possibilities are limitless!

“When the shows become longer, the days shorter and the water gets colder – then the time for Dry Suit Diving has come.”

If you want to dive during the fall and winter in the colder climates, DRY SUIT DIVING is the course you should take. Visibility at these times of the year is usually excellent so it’s a great time to get out there.

In your DRY SUIT DIVING program you will learn about the advantages of dry suit diving, different suits, valves, underwear and dry suit accessories. During the 2 mandatory dives you will apply correct dry diving techniques and demonstrate the correct care and maintenance of a dry suit.

If you want to learn more about DRY SUIT DIVING, you can buy the manual or the DVD even if you don’t want to sign up for the course.

DRY SUIT DIVING SPECIALTY COURSE Content:

* Why Dry Suits?
* Types of Dry Suits
* Dry Suit Valves
* Underwear Selection
* Dry Suit Accessories
* Dry Suit Techniques
* Maintenance of Dry Suits
* Dry Suit Repairs

The primary goal of any SSI Specialty course is to teach you important skills in a fun environment. All courses are taught using home study, short academic sessions, and in-water training.

Combine other specialties while taking the DRY SUIT DIVING course! EQUIPMENT TECHNIQUES or WRECK DIVING are great add ons. The possibilities are limitless!

Computer Diving

“Have you ever been standing at the dive site asking yourself how to correctly set your brand new computer?”

A lot of divers have been in this situation and would have done anything to avoid it. This is exactly why COMPUTER DIVING is such an important course. It is your chance to learn and understand diving computers.

Learning how to plan your dive with a table is extremely important. It is how you develop an understanding of the decompression theory. But in real life, divers do not dive a table profile. The modern diver does multi-level diving which means that the dive incorporates different depth levels. These kind of dives can only be planned with a special type of table or a dive computer. Dive computers make diving safer and easier if you know how to set and use it correctly.

COMPUTER DIVING SPECIALTY COURSE Content:

* The equipment and preparation for multi-level-dives
* Medical aspects of multi-level-dives
* Dive Computers in comparison to dive tables
* Emergency management and procedures in multi-level-diving

The primary goal of any SSI Specialty course is to teach you important skills in a fun environment. All courses are taught using home study, short academic sessions, and in-water training.

Combine other specialties while taking the COMPUTER DIVING course! ENRICHED AIR NITROX or EQUIPMENT TECHNIQUES are great add ons. The possibilities are limitless!

“Your Total Diving System is like a buddy underwater who you need to be able to rely on at any time!”

Diving is more fun and more comfortable in your own equipment . The EQUIPMENT TECHNIQUES program teaches you how to choose the right equipment for your needs. You will learn how to fit, adjust , maintain and make small repairs right on the spot.

If you want to know more about EQUIPMENT TECHNIQUES, you can buy the manual or the DVD even without signing up for the course.

EQUIPMENT TECHNIQUES SPECIALTY COURSE Content:

* Your Total Diving System: The Basics
* Your Total Diving System: Scuba Equipment
* Your Total Diving System: Specialty Training and Accessory System
* Traveling With Your Total Diving System

The primary goal of any SSI Specialty course is to teach you important skills in a fun environment. All courses are taught using home study, short academic sessions, and in-water training.

Combine other specialties while taking the EQUIPMENT TECHNIQUES course! DRYSUIT DIVING or PERFECT BUOYANCY are great add ons. The possibilities are limitless!

Marine Life Fish ID

Those are really cool looking fish, I wonder what they are?

One very common reason for diving is to enjoy the marine life that we get to visit. This specialty will help you to recognize the most common marine life that you might encounter no matter where you choose to dive.

The MARINE LIFE FISH ID Program will teach you to identify the most common marine life. The program is specialized for different areas of the world. Some areas will focus only on the fish, others on both fish and invertebrates.

MARINE LIFE FISH ID areas:

* Pacific Northwest Fish
* Pacific Northwest Invertebrates
* California Fish
* California Invertebrates and Algae
* Hawaii Fish
* Tropical Eastern Pacific (Baja to Galapagos) Fish
* Tropical Western Atlantic (Florida to Caribbean) Fish
* Northeast Fish

Text modified by Tim Renz.
The primary goal of any SSI Specialty course is to teach you important skills in a fun environment. These courses are taught using the Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) teaching modules are taught using academic sessions and optional in-water training.

Combine other specialties while taking the MARINE LIFE FISH ID course! UNDERWATER DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY or PERFECT BUOYANCY are great add ons – both courses will help you with your fish ID skills. The possibilities are limitless!

Have you ever asked yourself, “How does my instructor manage to find the way back to the exit point or to the boat?”

If so, the NAVIGATION Program is what you need to learn this skill for yourself.

The NAVIGATION Program will teach you to navigate with a compass and how to apply natural navigation skills. You will also learn to estimate distances, navigate different search patterns, find your way to different marking points, and be able to get back to the exit point at any time.

If you want to know more about NAVIGATION, you can buy the manual or the DVD even without signing up for the course. ……

NAVIGATION SPECIALTY COURSE Content:

* Natural Navigation
* Compass Navigation
* Combining Natural and Compass Navigation
* Special Navigation Situations
* The Sport of Navigation

The primary goal of any SSI Specialty course is to teach you important skills in a fun environment. All courses are taught using home study, short academic sessions, and in-water training.

Combine other specialties while taking the NAVIGATION course! NIGHT/LIMITED VISIBILITY or SEARCH AND RECOVERY are great add ons – both courses put your navigation skills to the test. The possibilities are limitless!

“Diving at night means excitement, adventure and fascination all at the same time!”

The underwater world is a new and mystical world for us. While diving at night you can discover a different side of this world and you can experience it from a completely different view.

It is an unbelievable feeling to discover the mysteries held underwater when the sun goes down. With the right equipment and a powerful torch there is a lot to discover. Night diving is a whole new way to experience the underwater world.

If you want to learn more about NIGHT AND LIMITED VISIBILITY, you can buy the manual or the DVD even if you don’t want to sign up for the course.

NIGHT / LIMITED VISIBILITY SPECIALTY COURSE Content:

* Night vs. Limited Visibility Diving
* Special Equipment
* Preparing For The Dive
* The Dive
* Advanced Techniques

The primary goal of any SSI Specialty course is to teach you important skills in a fun environment. All courses are taught using home study, short academic sessions, and in-water training.

Combine other specialties while taking the NIGHT AND LIMITED VISIBILITY course! NAVIGATION or SEARCH AND RECOVERY are great add ons. The possibilities are limitless!

“Finding treasure is something every diver thinks of more than once in his/her diving career.”

Whether it’s the gold of a sunken ship, a lost ring or simply the your buddy’s dive light accidentally lost, there are times in which the appropriate training to search for lost objects underwater would be beneficial.

SSI offers a structured program for SEARCH AND RECOVERY where you will learn to perform different search patterns with the help of ropes and compasses, and to plan search and recovery operations in a team. You will also learn the correct handling of one or more lifting bags in order to bring heavy objects securely to the surface.

If you want to learn more about SEARCH AND RECOVERY, you can buy the manual or the DVD even if you don’t want to sign up for the course.

SEARCH AND RECOVERY SPECIALTY COURSE Content:

* Factors That Affect Your Search and Recovery Operation
* Planning and Organizing Your Search and Recovery Operation
* Your Search Techniques
* Your Recovery Techniques

The primary goal of any SSI Specialty course is to teach you important skills in a fun environment. All courses are taught using home study, short academic sessions, and in-water training.

Combine other specialties while taking the SEARCH AND RECOVERY course! NIGHT/LIMITED VISIBILITY or NAVIGATION are great add ons. The possibilities are limitless!

Spearfishing

The spearfishing course is designed to assist you in expanding your horizons as you apply your current diving skills to an additional aspect of diving. Spearfishing combines the excitement of diving under the surface of the worlds oceans, lakes and rivers with the challenge of hunting. It rewards your efforts with fresh food.

To become a successful underwater hunter, you must become one with the underwater environment. You must think in terms of: Where do edible fish live? At what depths do they live? Do they stay in one place or do they migrate? Are fish frightened by a divers presence? What do fish do when they become frightened? What other fish hunt them? Do they hunt other fish? Do they react to differences in weather or water conditions? How will the presence of other divers affect your spearfishing strategy? You will find that there is much more to spearfishing than just jumping off of a boat, aiming a gun at a fish and pulling the trigger!

During this course, you will learn the answers to these questions and many, many more. You will also develop a profound respect for underwater marine life and the environment in which they live.

The course consists of one classroom session and two dives. Upon successful completion of the course, you will be eligible for an SSI Spearfishing Certification!

Topics Covered…

Diving Skill and Experience

* Basic/Advanced Diving Skills
* Free Diving

Dive Gear Considerations

* Snorkeling Equipment
* Scuba Equipment

Spearguns

* Operation
* Construction

Hawaiian Slings & Pole Spears Special Equipment

* Shafts and Tips
* Stringers and Reeks

Technique

* Locating Fish
* Kill Shots and Cleaning

Spearfishing Safety

* Speargun Handling & Maintenance
* Dangerous Marine Life

After the Course

* Dive Site Location
* Laws, Rules and Regulations

Text from Coral Reef Scuba

“Be prepared for those unexpected emergencies.”

Stress is a major contributor to rescue situations and diving accidents. Through this course you will learn accident prevention, as well as how to handle problem situations if they occur.

The program is about avoiding, recognizing and solving problems on the surface and under water. The course runs two – four days in which you will participate in academic and in-water sessions in the pool and in the open water. As a prerequisite for certification you need to have a valid CPR & First Aid certificate.

If you want to learn more about DIVER STRESS & RESCUE, you can buy the manual or the DVD even if you don’t want to sign up for the course.

DIVER STRESS & RESCUE SPECIALTY COURSE Content:

* What Is Stress?
* Stress In Diving:Causes And Prevention
* Detecting And Dealing With Stress
* Accident Management
* Skills Needed To Deal With Panic And Rescues
* Conditions That Complicate Rescues

The primary goal of any SSI Specialty course is to teach you important skills in a fun environment. All courses are taught using home study, short academic sessions, and in-water training.

Combine other specialties while taking the DIVER STRESS & RESCUE course! NAVIGATION or SEARCH AND RECOVERY are great add ons. The possibilities are limitless!

“By the time diving was difficult, photography was also difficult.”

Today these facts have changed completely. Now diving and photography with a digital camera system have become very easy.

Many of you may already have a digital camera system and a proper underwater housing. As such, it’s likely you are asking yourself how to take better pictures. Now a structured program is available to answer your digital underwater photography questions which means more fun and satisfaction in diving.

The DIGITAL UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY Program can be learned in the pool/confined water or directly in the open water. This makes this a perfect “winter specialty” which can be done just before your diving holiday starts.

If you want to learn more about DIGITAL UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY, you can buy the manual or the DVD even if you don’t want to sign up for the course.

DIGITAL UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY SPECIALTY COURSE Content:

* Your Entry to the Underwater Photography
* Your Digital Camera System
* Using your Camera System
* Taking digital pictures under water
* Composition of your underwater pictures
* Editing your digital pictures

The primary goal of any SSI Specialty course is to teach you important skills in a fun environment. All courses are taught using home study, short academic sessions, and in-water training.

Combine other specialties while taking the DIGITAL UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY course! PERFECT BUOYANCY or SHARK DIVER are great add ons. The possibilities are limitless!

Waves, Tides and Currents

“Have you ever dreamed of gliding with the current and watching sharks or dolphins at the same time?“

Adequate training in current diving is they key to this kind of experiences and therefore WAVES, TIDES & CURRENTS is a must for any ambitious diver.

Anybody who wants to dive on holiday at the top spots should understand and know how to handle water movements. This can be the waves when entering from shore, or the rip current in a channel next to an island, or just the current on a dive.

There are many things to learn about currents such as: If the current is blowing against the diver, how much current can a diver deal with? How does the diver move effectively in the current? How can somebody determine the strength of a current and plan the dive accordingly? WAVES, TIDES & CURRENTS can help you answer all of these questions. It is taught in conjunction with a minimum of 2 open water dives.

WAVES, TIDES & CURRENTS SPECIALTY COURSE Content:

* Equipment for Waves, Tides and Currents
* Basics of Waves, Tides and Currents
* Procedures for Shore Dives
* Procedures for Boat Dives

The primary goal of any SSI Specialty course is to teach you important skills in a fun environment. All courses are taught using home study, short academic sessions, and in-water training.

Combine other specialties while taking the WAVES, TIDES & CURRENTS course! BOAT DIVING or SHARK DIVER are great add ons. The possibilities are limitless!

“Diving on wrecks means diving in the past – and it is always related with a certain thrill…”

It is an unbelievable experience to see a big ship from a bird’s perspective and to glide towards the captain`s bridge. But there are also tragedies related to wrecks. Diving on wrecks is exciting and there are some potential risks too, but with the right training WRECK DIVING will become a great adventure.

During the WRECK DIVING SPECIALTY COURSE you will learn where and how to get background information on wrecks, how to locate wrecks and how to prepare for a wreck dive. During the 2 mandatory dives you will apply the correct wreck diving techniques, as well as, evaluate and avoid the potential risks while diving on wrecks.

If you want to learn more about WRECK DIVING, you can buy the manual or the DVD even if you don’t want to sign up for the course.

WRECK DIVING SPECIALTY COURSE Content:

* Selecting a Wreck
* Wreck Diving Equipment
* Locating the Wreck
* Diving the Wreck
* Advanced Wreck Diving

The primary goal of any SSI Specialty course is to teach you important skills in a fun environment. All courses are taught using home study, short academic sessions, and in-water training.

Combine other specialties while taking the WRECK DIVING course! UNDERWATER DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY or DEEP DIVING are great add ons. The possibilities are limitless!

Perfect Buoyancy

“Every diver wants to be a “good diver” – Perfect buoyancy control is the first step in this direction.”

Improving your buoyancy control skills is highly recommended. Every diver who wants to improve diving skills and at the same time wants to perform active environmental protection should take a PERFECT BUOYANCY course.

Nearly every diver who wants to dive on great spots on holiday is requested to do a Check-Dive and buoyancy control is one of the essential skills that has to be performed. This isn’t done to stress you out at the start of your vacation. It is done to protect the reefs you will be diving around. The destruction and harm caused by divers with weak buoyancy skills is having an impact on reefs worldwide. Additionally, perfect buoyancy control is a prerequisite for nearly all Specialty Courses.

PERFECT BUOYANCY SPECIALTY COURSE Content:

* The Equipment for Buoyancy Control
* The Basic Knowledge of Buoyancy
* Controlling your Buoyancy in the Water
* Perfect Buoyancy Control as an Active Contribution to the Underwater World

The primary goal of any SSI Specialty course is to teach you important skills in a fun environment. All courses are taught using home study, short academic sessions, and in-water training.

Combine other specialties while taking the PERFECT BUOYANCY course! DIGITAL UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY or WAVES, TIDES & CURRENTS are great add ons. The possibilities are limitless!

Have you ever dreamed of having longer no-decompression limits to take pictures or explore a wreck? Did you ever want to be safer while diving concerning the potential risk of decompression sickness?

Nitrox is the key. Due to the reduced fraction of nitrogen in your breathing gas, your body will have less work and the desaturation times will be reduced.

In your ENRICHED AIR NITROX program you will learn all the necessary rules for planning dives with Nitrox and using Nitrox in a safe way. An important key point in the entire program is analyzing your own tank prior to any Nitrox dive.

“Nitrox for free“ is a slogan in a lot of resorts. This means that you do not have to pay a surcharge for Nitrox, but all diving operators will want to see a valid Nitrox certificate before you can dive.

ENRICHED AIR NITROX contains optional dives and therefore it is a perfect “Winter Specialty” before your diving holiday starts. This will allow you to go diving immediately and enjoy the advantages of diving with Nitrox.

If you want to learn more about ENRICHED AIR NITROX, you can buy the manual or the DVD even if you don’t want to sign up for the course.

ENRICHED AIR NITROX SPECIALTY COURSE Content:

* Introduction to Nitrox
* Nitrox, Your Body and the Underwater World
* Your Total Diving System and Nitrox
* Planning Your Nitrox Dives

The primary goal of any SSI Specialty course is to teach you important skills in a fun environment. All courses are taught using home study, short academic sessions, and in-water training.

Combine other specialties while taking the ENRICHED AIR NITROX course! WRECK DIVING or DEEP DIVING are great add ons. The possibilities are limitless!

Text descriptions for specialties are from SSI, unless otherwise noted.