Whether you are interested in underwater photography, hunting and
collecting, search and recovery, or expanding your training to include advanced rescue
skills, NAUI has a specialty course for you!
Below are just some of the more popular courses available to you as a
certified scuba diver. Read on...there's bound to be a NAUI course
that's just right for you!
DEEP DIVER
Does the thought of deep diving
fascinate you? If you are at least 18 and have a NAUI Advanced Scuba
Diver certification or the equivalent, you can enroll in a Deep Diver
course where you'll gain the knowledge and skills to plan and make
enjoyable deep dives while minimizing risks of deep diving.
Although this is not a decompression
techniques course, you will learn about decompression procedures
including nitrogen narcosis and decompression sickness, and the use of
dive computers including avoiding the need for stage decompression. Your
course will also include teachings on the purpose, problems, hazards,
planning, preparation, equipment, air supplies, personnel, techniques,
gas management, emergency procedures, and depth limits for recreational
diving. Deep diving is defined as dives made between 60 feet / 18 meters
and 130 feet / 40 meters.
NAUI
RESCUE DIVER
Once you are 15 years of age and a
certified scuba diver, you can expand your diving knowledge with a Scuba
Rescue Diver course. Learn how to manage risks and effectively handle
limited in-water problems and diving emergencies, how to assist and
transport divers, and how to perform surface rescues and rescues from
depth involving both boat and shore based skin and scuba divers.
CPR and First Aid certifications are required to complete this course.
Your Scuba Rescue Diver training moves you on your way to becoming a NAUI Leader, Skin Diving Instructor, Assistant Instructor, Divemaster,
or Instructor.
SEARCH AND RECOVERY
DIVER
At some point in your diving career, you or your
buddy will either loose or find something underwater and the knowledge
and skills you gain in the Search and Recovery Diver course will help
you when you do!
In your Search and Recovery Diver course you'll learn about underwater
navigation using natural and compass techniques; the problems, methods,
equipment, hazards, and safety procedures regarding limited visibility
diving; proper search methods and techniques; and how to handle light
salvage or recovery, including rigging and knot tying.
TRAINING ASSISTANT
If you possess the desire to assist in the
training of other divers, a Training Assistant specialty course might be
for you. This course will qualify you in the skills and knowledge
necessary to perform as a training assistant during diver training
courses overseen by an active-status NAUI Instructor.
As a certified NAUI Training Assistant, you will be qualified to
temporarily directly supervise students while an instructor conducts
skills with other students; escort students on the surface or on
underwater tours; and assist an active-status NAUI Instructor with other
tasks, all under the direction of a NAUI instructor.
Compass navigation; underwater communications; assisting divers with
cramps, anxiety, breathing difficulties, and signs of pre-panic;
escorting a diver to safety; escorting divers during an open water dive;
and performing a scuba diver rescue are just some of the techniques and
skills you will learn during your course.
To enrol in a Training Assistant course, you must be at least 18 years
old, have the training and experience equivalent to at least NAUI
Advanced Diver, have certification in NAUI Scuba Rescue Diver or
equivalent, and have current CPR and First Aid certifications.
While certification as a Training Assistant does not confer any NAUI
Leadership certification, the experience, knowledge and confidence you
gain working as a Training Assistant can help you achieve your goal of
becoming a NAUI member!
UNDERWATER ARCHAEOLOGIST
Qualified divers are essential to collect and
record archaeological data on submerged cultural resources and often
perform invaluable volunteer assistance to accredited archaeologists by
assisting during field work.
In the Underwater Archaeologist course you will learn specific skills
and knowledge that are helpful for wreck diving activities and provide
increased enjoyment when visiting submerged cultural resources. You'll
gain the basic information and skills that are used in underwater
archaeological interpretation of wreck and other sites, as well as
mapping, sketching, and researching techniques.
UNDERWATER ECOLOGIST
As you become more environmentally aware of your
underwater surroundings, you may find yourself particularly interested
in the ecology of oceanic environments, such as Coral Reefs. NAUI
proactively promotes sound environmental diving techniques to help
protect our planet's ecosystems, and teaching divers how to better
interface with the delicate coral environments. Through the Underwater
Ecologist course, you will learn more about our favourite diving
environments.
Coral reefs are primarily found in three major bio
geographic regions of the world: The tropical western Atlantic
(Caribbean), the Red Sea, and the Indo-Pacific region. Coral colonies
are composed of thousands of tiny polyps, each with its own protective
skeleton. The Underwater Ecologist (Coral Reef) specialty course focuses
on the vertebrates and invertebrates of the complex living reef. This
course examines coral zonation, sea grass beds, lagoons, mangroves, and
the common reef algae, invertebrates and reef fishes. Combined with our
knowledge of corel reef aquaristics and scuba diving you will find this
one one the most informative and enjoyable courses.
UNDERWATER ENVIRONMENT
Want to learn more about the underwater
environment in which you dive? Enrol in an Underwater Environment course
and learn about the physical and biological aspects of the diving
environment with emphasis on your local area. You'll study related
sciences, such as oceanography, limnology, geology, biology, and
ecology, and learn about various types of plant and animal life,
conservation and pollution issues, the characteristics of water
movement, shore, bottom and surface conditions, and how to plan dives in
diverse diving locations.
Your course may include trips to aquariums or oceanariums, exposing you
to several diving environments such as lakes or the ocean, rocky reefs,
and sand beaches. Whether you are a skin or scuba diver, an Underwater
Environment course will catch your interest!
Our underwater environment presents divers with
scenes of breathtaking beauty with wild and weird creatures that amaze
and fascinate. How can you possibly remember each one unless you bring
them back through photography?
UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY
In the Underwater Photographer course you will be taught the skills,
techniques, and tricks of underwater photography including lighting, use
of photographic equipment, the fundamentals of photography, underwater
camera techniques, and underwater photo problems. For added interest,
you can combine other diving courses or activities to provide additional
photographic opportunities.
MORE
The courses listed above are only some of the more
popular NAUI Specialty and Recognition courses available. Contact your
local NAUI Dive Centre to learn more about the dozens of specialty
courses that can help you expand your diving experience and enjoyment.
