OVERVIEW AND QUALIFICATIONS

The purpose of this course is to train divers with the necessary procedures, knowledge and skills to safely dive with a full-face mask (FFM). Upon successful completion of this course, graduates are considered competent to engage in open water diving activities with a full-face mask providing the activities and the areas dived approximate those of training.

Prerequisites

• Age. Minimum age is 15. (Junior certification for ages 10-14 years is allowed. Talk to one of our instructors about Junior Certification.”)

• Certification/Experience/Knowledge. NAUI Open Water SCUBA Diver or equivalent.

REQUIREMENTS – ACADEMIC

• Applied Sciences. Physics, physiology and medical aspects as they relate to a diver’s performance and safety in the water. Emphasis is to be placed on physical fitness, diving hazards, personal limitation, and the behavior needed to minimize the risks of diving. Material is to be presented in terms of qualitative, practical application. Topics include: gases, pressure, volume, temperature, density, buoyancy, vision, and acoustics. Also, to be included are the definition, cause, prevention, symptoms, and first aid for nitrogen narcosis, shallow water blackout, squeezes, overexertion, overexposure, decompression illness, i.e., decompression sickness, and air embolism, and related injuries. Repetitive dive tables are to be covered to the extent required for students to be able to plan repetitive dives not requiring staged decompression. It is acceptable for students to be instructed in the use of personally-owned dive computers in lieu of using dive tables for dive planning.

• Diving Equipment. Purpose, features, types and uses of FFM scuba equipment. The student is to be able to select, assemble, use, and care for the FFM system and any other basic equipment dictated by the local diving conditions.

• Diving Safety. Aspects that impact upon a diver’s safety. Topics are to include emergency procedures, rescue as applied to FFM diving, underwater communications, dive planning, and safety measures. Rescue is to address problem prevention and recognition, panic, self-rescue, and retrieval from depth.

• Diving Environment. Physical and biological aspects of the environment where training is conducted. The student shall be reminded to recognize potential hazards before entering the water. The instructor is to nurture student awareness of the importance of conservation and the kinds of both negative and positive impact divers can have on the environment. Regulations, conservation principles, and other pertinent laws are to be addressed where appropriate.

• Diving Activities. The how, who, when, where, what, and why of FFM diving. Emphasis shall be placed upon continued education through NAUI training courses.

• Continuing Education. Limitations as new FFM divers and the importance of additional training. An awareness of personal ability shall be emphasized. Specific information on continuing education courses, workshops, and conferences are to be provided. The importance of logbook use shall be emphasized. Students are to appreciate the need to reevaluate their physical condition and diving competence before resuming open water diving after periods of inactivity or prior to embarking on dives beyond their current level of training.

REQUIREMENTS – SKILLS

• Full Face Mask Diving (confined and open water). Following initial evaluation, dive activity should be tailored to participant needs in terms of current proficiency vs. projected diving activities with the emphasis is to be given to skills, knowledge and techniques applicable to the area to be dived.

• The participant is to demonstrate Full Face Mask diving skill proficiency by satisfactorily performing all of the following: (Skills marked with an asterisk “*” must be introduced in confined water.)

  PRE AND POST DIVE SKILLS.

  • Assembly of the FFM system

  • Check integrity and functionality of the Surface Breathing Valve (SBV)

  • *Select, check, assemble, adjust and don Full Face Mask equipment; perform pre-dive gear check for self and buddy; defog masks; after diving, doff, rinse and care for gear.

  • *Perform surface buoyancy/weighting check and make adjustments as needed to hover at diving depth.

  • Correctly give and recognize surface communications for divers.

  DESCENT/ASCENT SKILLS.

  • *Control pressure in air spaces for comfortable, controlled descents and ascents.

  • *Descend feet first with a minimum of hand or fin movement, using breath control or BC to control rate of descent.

  • At the end of a dive, ascend at a controlled steady rate of 9m (30 ft.) or less per minute and hover at a depth of approximately 4.6m (15 ft.) for three minutes.

  UNDERWATER SKILLS.

  • Give, recognize and respond appropriately to common underwater communications.

  • *Mask clearing, including removal and replacement.

  • *Locating and utilizing alternate air source.

  • *Hover without support or significant movement.

  • *If wearing a standard buckle type weight belt and submerged in a prone position at the bottom or while hovering, adjust the position of the weight system so that the ballast is evenly distributed.

  • *If wearing a weight-integrated weight system, and submerged in a prone position at the bottom or while hovering, remove and replace at least one weight pocket, if permitted by the weight system. If necessary, assistance is allowed to replace the weight pocket.

  • Use the buddy system for scuba diving, remaining within 3m (10 ft.), or less if required by conditions, of buddy.

  • Monitor air supply and communicate amount remaining upon request and manage air supply so as to surface with a pre-planned minimum amount of air.

  Emergency/Rescue/Problem Solving.

  • *In a stationary position in confined water and at a minimum depth of 4.6m (15 ft.) in open water, share air in a controlled manner with another diver, be both the donor of air and receiver of air.

  • *Share air as both a donor and a receiver from an octopus or alternate breathing source (not buddy breathing) during ascents in confined water and from a minimum depth of 4.6m (15 ft.) to the surface in open water.

  • *Bring a diver simulating unconsciousness to the surface from a depth of approximately 10 feet

SOS-ER Requirements

• The class sessions (in addition to eLearning) will consist of

  • A Minimum of 1 virtual or in person classroom session.

  • A Minimum of 1 confined water session with the instructors.

  • A Minimum of 2 open water dives with the instructors.

  • The maximum depth for any open water dive during this course is 66 feet (20 m). No dives are to require actual staged decompression. However, simulated staged decompression may be added to the ascent of a no-required-stop dive. Any simulated decompression time spent deeper than 7.6m (25 ft.) must be included in the actual dive time.

Provided Gear

• We can provide buoyancy compensator (BC), regulator sets, cylinders (tanks), as well as air fills for the course.

Students must provide their own:

• Mask, snorkels, fins, dive boots, weight belts, and soft weights (we will assist in where to obtain this gear).

• Wetsuit or any other rental gear.

• Open water Checkout Dive options:

  • Local Quarry check out dive fees (usually a daily fee per diver) are not included in the cost of the course.