WHAT DOES YOUR OPEN WATER CERTIFICATION ACTUALLY MEAN?

Once you earn your PADI Open Water Diver certification, you are trained to plan and conduct dives with a buddy to a maximum depth of 60 ft / 18 m, in conditions equal to or better than those you were trained in.

That last part matters.

PRIVATE TRAINING. YOUR SCHEDULE. YOUR PACE.

All of our diving courses are taught privately and scheduled around you.

We don't believe every student should be squeezed into the same timetable.

Some people pick up a new skill almost immediately. Others need to do it a few more times before it clicks.

Who cares?

The important thing is that you get it.

Our training is performance-based. You move forward when you're comfortable and you've demonstrated the skills, not because the clock says it's time for the class to move on.

That's also why we don't think the goal of an Open Water course should simply be getting a certification card.

The certification is important.

But the whole damn point is learning how to dive.

When we're finished, we want you to have the skills, knowledge and confidence to grab your buddy, plan a dive and actually go diving.

Because that's when the real adventure starts.

You aren't paying us for a certification card.

You're paying us to teach you how to dive.

Conditions equal to or better than those you were trained in.

So what does that mean for you?

At UB Diving we train right here in British Columbia. We train in dry suits, cold water, with hoods, gloves and significantly more lead than you would normally use somewhere warm.

Why?

Because this is where we dive.

BC has some of the best diving on the planet, but if you want to enjoy it, you need to be comfortable diving in BC conditions.

The actual scuba skills taught in warm water are basically the same. The environment isn't.

Someone can take an Open Water course in Mexico, spend the whole course in warm, clear water wearing a thin wetsuit and very little weight, and walk away with the exact same certification card.

Does that mean they're ready to jump into BC waters in a dry suit, hood and thick gloves with a bunch more lead strapped to them?

Not necessarily.

Turn it around, though, and it's a completely different story.

Learn to dive here. Get comfortable in a dry suit. Learn buoyancy control with the additional equipment and weight. Get comfortable in cold water and real BC diving conditions.

Then go to Mexico.

You're probably going to think it's pretty damn easy but I can tell you I'm much warmer here in in December in my dry suit during hours of dives than I even am in Mexico diving wet. 

Train here and the world becomes your playground.

WHO TEACHES YOU MATTERS TOO

There is another part of dive training that we think gets overlooked way too often.

Who is actually teaching you?

Our instructors come with real-world diving experience that goes well beyond the PADI system.

Some are professional commercial divers. Others have backgrounds in Military, Search and Rescue and Technical Diving.

They didn't just graduate from some cushy warm-water instructor mill, put on an instructor shirt and start pumping out certification cards.

These are people who actually dive.

They've worked underwater. They've dived from boats. They've dealt with current, cold water, limited visibility, heavy equipment and real-world situations where being a competent diver actually matters.

Does that replace the PADI system?

Absolutely not.

We teach the PADI program and we teach it properly.

But our instructors also bring something else to the table — experience.

They can give you the straight goods. Not just what the book says, but the practical knowledge that comes from actually doing this stuff.