Phase 3 - Module 7

"Technical Diving" has developed itself in the last years as an activity for few - a niche market. However - it is a highly visible niche market with a lot of attention in the diving press. You can be sure to come in a situation where you have to answer questions on the subject and it is also likely that you will work at some point in a dive center catering for certified technical divers. Chances that you will ever teach a course in the subject are more limited. Bad tongues claim that there are more instructors for technical diving around than that there are technical divers trained. This is not completely accurate, but it is not far from the truth either.

As a VIP Instructor you do need a working knowledge of the subject. This is why we will cover one day to inform you on all the types of diving there are and on the problems, possibilities and hazards related to each individual activity.

The next days are meant to give you some first hand experience. We do this by training you as a rebreather instructor. This will give you a thorough knowledge of all the aspects involved. At the end you can then decide for yourself if you want to be certified as a rebreather instructor. That would involve making another 17 dives with a rebreather after your VIP course is finished. You will receive the paperwork and can then just send it in to PADI the moment you fulfill the experience requirement.

The last part of the course is dedicated to deep diving and gives you the option to become a dry suit specialty instructor. The dry suit part is not a required part of the VIP, as it would hardly make any sense to have this certification if you are planning to find a job in a tropical area. However - your students in a tropical area will go back home after their vacation and might wonder how it is to dive in cold water. When you have personal experience with a dry suit, you can inform them more accurate.

During this week a representative from the research and development department from Aqualung will visit to give an explanation on technical diving and the consideration involved in that from an equipment point of view. Bernard Giai-Checa is a specialist in cave and technical diving and the candidates will definitely benefit from his explanations and advice.

At the end of this module you will receive the following credentials: Deep Diver Specialty Instructor, a certificate of participation and the prepared paperwork to apply for your Rebreather Specialty Instructor once you have completed the required additional dives after the course. Those who opted for the Dry Suit Training can also apply for Dry Suit specialty Instructor once they have an experience of 10 Dry Suit dives.