ADVANCED CLASSES & WORKSHOPS

  ADVANCED OPEN WATER COURSE

What most instructors call, “The Fun Class of SCUBA Diving”

This course is a continuing education certification course for certified divers. It is an enjoyable program of continued supervised experience designed to introduce divers to a variety of diving activities and to be taught entirely in an open water setting. Upon successful completion of this course, graduates are considered competent to engage in open water diving activities and the areas dived approximate those of training.

Get credit! Each Adventure Dive may credit toward the first dive of the corresponding PADI Specialty Diver Course. If you’ve already taken a specialty diver course, ask your instructor if you’ve earned credit for an Adventure Dive.

Junior Open Water Divers who are at least 12 years old are ready to step up and enroll in an Advanced Open Water Diver course. Young divers may only participate in certain Adventures Dives – check with your Ocean Gear Scuba Instructor.

If you’re already an Adventure Diver, you only need to complete two more Adventure Dives to earn the Advanced Open Water Diver certification.

This course is always appropriate for divers who:

• Desire additional training.

• Are looking to refresh their Scuba skills after a long hiatus
• Have moved from one diving area to another and desire local orientation.
• Desire orientation to a variety of diving sites and conditions.

Prerequisites for the Advanced Certification Course:

Minimum Age is 15 years (Junior certification for ages 12- 14 years is allowed.)

Scuba Certification from a recognized agency is required. The instructor will carefully screen and evaluate all prospective students to assure that they understand diving safety and possess the necessary skills to participate.

Curriculum and skills from other courses shall be used to evaluate and improve the diver’s knowledge and proficiency if necessary.

Required Equipment – Students shall furnish and be responsible for the care and maintenance of their own diving equipment. The instructor shall initially assist the student in checking all student gear to insure it is adequate and in proper working order. Some equipment rental is available. Some equipment must be owned by diver. Check for details.

Training Fees

  • PADI Advanced Open Water eLearning Code – $190.00*; or NAUI Advanced Open Water eLearning Code – $100.00*
  • Course Training Fees – $250.00*
  • Island Diving Fee – TBA

*These fees are necessary to register for the course. Boat Trip dates can be arranged once we return to a more normal schedule.

DIVING ACTIVITIES

The required dive topic areas listed represents three separate dives of the minimum six required. The remaining dives can be combined or split as needed to fit the situation and meet student needs provided at least six separate dives are made.
Required Dives
Navigation
Deep diving ( 130 feet maximum)
Elective Dives

Night or Limited Visibility Diving Search and Recovery
Boat diving
Light salvage
Hunting and collecting
Exploration and underwater mapping
Non-penetration wreck diving
Observation and data collection
Diving in surf or currents
Shore diving
Diving for photos or videos
Using dive computer

Your eLearning code is a separate charge and is determined by the agency you select (NAUI or PADI) for your class.  Please call us to assist you: 1-714-375-0595

Upcoming Course Dates

2023

February

– Class Sessions: 1st and 15th from 6:00 – 8:00pm via ZOOM

– Ocean Sessions:

    • Beach Dives – Saturday February 18, 2023
    • Catalina Dive – TBD

April

– Class Sessions: 19th & 26th fro 6:00 – 8:00pm via ZOOM

– Ocean Sessions

    • Beach Dives – Sunday, April 23
    • Catalina Dive – TBD

 

RESCUE DIVER TECHNIQUES

“THEY WHO HELP EACH OTHER, HELP THEMSELVES….”

Course Tuition ~ $450.00

eLearning Module ~ $100.00

OVERVIEW AND QUALIFICATIONS

The course trains divers in the knowledge and skills needed to manage risks and effectively handle limited in-water problems and diving emergencies. Included are: assists, transports, surface rescues and rescues from depth involving both boat- and shore-based skin and scuba divers. This course meets the prerequisite rescue training for NAUI Skin Diving Instructor, NAUI Assistant Instructor, NAUI Divemaster and NAUI Instructor certifications. This course also meets the pre-requisite requirement for the Aquarium of the Pacific.  Note: Adult CPR training (approximately four hours) meets the requirement for Rescue Scuba Diver certification. However additional CPR training that includes two-person CPR and the use of  rescue breathing barrier devices, e.g., pocket mask, face shield, is required to meet the requirements for NAUI leadership certification.

• Graduates are considered competent to perform assists and rescues in open water provided the diving site and diving situations approximate those of the course.

• Graduates may use this certification to meet the prerequisite for the NAUI Training Assistant specialty course, NAUI leadership courses and NAUI Instructor course.

Course Format

  • 2 Evening Discussion Sessions
  • 2 Weekend Days at the Beach
  • 1 Pool Training Session (optional at instructor’s discretion)

 Course Schedule

March: 

    • Class Sessions: March 1, 9, 15 & 23 from 6:00 – 8:00pm via ZOOM
    • Ocean Sessions: March 18 & 25 from 8:00 – 11:30am

 

MASTER SCUBA DIVER COURSE

THE “MACGYVER” COURSE OF SCUBA DIVING

Training Fees:

  • Course Tuition – $495.00
  • NAUI Master Scuba Diver eLearning Module – $100.00

 

OVERVIEW

Join the best of the best in recreational scuba diving and live the dive life as an Ocean Gear Master Scuba Diver. The Master Scuba Diver rating places you in an elite group of respected divers who have earned this rating through both significant experience and scuba training. Fewer than two percent of divers ever achieve this rating. When you flash your Master Scuba Diver card, people know that you’ve spent time underwater in a variety of environments and had your share of dive adventures.

This course is unlike any other course offered by any other agency.  More than the experience of diving, we get into depth (pun intended) about “all things diving”.  It’s often hard to describe; however, if you love diving, you will go “off the deep end” (I did it again) over Ocean Gear’s Master Scuba Diver Course.  This course is an absolute must if you want to pursue diving leadership to any level.

The course may be divided and taught in sections with the student’s Diving/Training Log being signed off for each activity until all requirements are met.  Upon successful completion of this course, graduates are considered competent to engage in open water diving activities without supervision, provided the diving activities and the areas dived approximate those of training.

Course Format

  • 6 Evening Class Sessions – online programs for distance learning available
  • 8 Ocean Dives
    • Deep Dive
    • Night Dive
    • Search & Light Salvage
    • Navigation
    • 4 other dives

Course Schedule – Subject to Change

February 2023

 – Class Sessions:  February 7, 9, 15, 21, 23 & 28

– Ocean Sessions:  Februray – To Be Determined 

POLICIES APPLYING TO SPECIALTY DIVER COURSES

OVERVIEW

NAUI Specialty Diver Courses are either introductions to or are more detailed treatments of the respective areas of specialized diving. Accordingly, some specialty courses are designed to provide more detailed training and result in additional qualifications. In these instances the qualifications are described in
the respective specialty course standard. Specialty courses provide divers the opportunity to enjoy organized diving which yields experience and documents training in specialized diving activities.

QUALIFICATION OF GRADUATES

Graduates of a specialty course are considered competent to participate in the respective specialty activities without supervision, provided the activities engaged in and the areas dived approximate those in which the diver was trained.

GENERAL PREREQUISITES

Screening ~ In a pre-course session using selected skills, the instructor screen and evaluate all students to ensure that they possess the necessary diving skills to minimize risk. This is not required when the students’ diving proficiencies are well known to the instructor. Also the instructor is to verify that the student has the prerequisite diver certification. Specialty courses with prerequisite certifications that are higher than Scuba Diver are listed in the respective course standard.
Equipment ~ Students shall furnish and be responsible for the care and maintenance of their own diving equipment. The instructor shall initially assist the student in checking all student gear to ensure it is adequate and in proper working order.
Open Water Dives ~ Required open water dives dedicated to the specialty activity vary for each course. One open water dive (which does not count toward the minimum number of dives required for a given course) is to be used as a screening and evaluation dive to determine the readiness of the students to perform the skills and activities appropriate for the particular specialty. This is not required when the students’ diving proficiencies are well known to the instructor. Some courses, because of their complexity of the training or the skills involved, have a higher minimum number of dives designated. If more than three dives on a single day is planned the following factors shall be considered: student’s physical and mental stamina, motivation, readiness to learn and be evaluated, residual nitrogen levels, hydration levels, as well as environmental conditions, dive planning, i.e., surface intervals, flying or ascending to altitude after diving.

NIGHT DIVER PROGRAM

Course Tuition ~ $200

OVERVIEW

This course is to provide the diver with the skills and knowledge needed to minimize the risks of diving at night.

ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS

Coverage is to include planning and preparation, night diving equipment, procedures, problems, hazards, navigation and buddy system techniques.

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT

You will be required to own a Primary Dive Light, a Back-up Dive Light and a Marker Beacon. These should be purchased at Ocean Gear SCUBA Center when you come in to pick up your gear for the evening, or, through our online store.

Course Dates – Call 714-375-0595 to reserve

  • October (Did someone say lobster??)
  • November
  • December

PADI is the default selection for your Nitrox Course.

A NAUI course is always an acceptable alternative if you wish to choose something other than PADI.

2023 ENRICHED AIR NITROX

Course Tuition ~ $195.00

eLearning Materials ~ $186.00 PADI nitrox eLearning; or

                                           $100.00 NAUI nitrox eLearning

Ocean Gear is a proud provider of Nitrox training. We pump Nitrox using our membrane compressor system. This means that any diver can immediately begin Nitrox diving without the costly expense of a full Oxygen service overhaul. If you deal with nitrox gas created with partial pressure blending, you may be required to have this service provided. A simple visual inspection of your SCUBA tank is all that is necessary. If your regulator has not been serviced within the past 12 months then a standard overhaul is strongly recommended.

Benefits of Nitrox

  • Extends bottom time
  • Reduces surface interval time
  • Increases number of dives you can make in a day
  • Appears to reduce fatigue of standard SCUBA diving

Benefits of Ocean Gear’s Nitrox course

  • Distance Learning program in your Home (must have internet access)
  • Can be added onto any of our SCUBA Certification programs at a reduced rate
  • Can be combined with ocean dives in most any other training course (no additional dives are required)

OVERVIEW

This course is to provide the diver with the information necessary to utilize EANx as a breathing medium. The course may be taught as a stand-alone specialty course to certified divers or the knowledge and skills training may be integrated into other NAUI certification courses including our Open Water Scuba Diver Course.

QUALIFICATIONS OF GRADUATES

Upon successful completion of this course or program, graduates are considered competent to utilize EANx (up to EAN40) in open water diving activities without direct supervision, provided the diving activities and the areas dived approximate those of training.

COURSE POLICIES

Dives shall not exceed a depth of 110’ or 1.4 atm with 1.6 atm PO2 as a contingency, whichever is less. No planned dives shall require actual decompression stops. This course does not require ocean dives, although 2 repetitive dives can be done to further enhance the program.

SKILL REQUIREMENTS

While always recommended, no ocean dives are required for this course.

ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS

The following topics are to be covered: history of nitrox as a breathing gas; Dalton’s law of partial pressures; physiology of oxygen and nitrogen; depth limits, advantages, disadvantages and risks of nitrox; oxygen toxicity; hazards and precautions of handling oxygen; the concept of Equivalent Air Depth; use of EANx with Standard Air, EANx, RGBM based dive tables, or a personally owned dive computer; appropriate dive planning; common gas mixing procedures; and gas analyzing procedures.

2023 Course Dates (2 Sessions by ZOOM and 1 Final In-house Session):

  • January 17, 24 & 26
  • March 7, 14 & 21

 

Underwater Digital Imagery

Course Tuition ~ $200 & up

OVERVIEW

This course is to provide the diver with the skills and knowledge to enjoy underwater photography while minimizing the risks of such activities. This is a course of underwater camera techniques and underwater photo problems.

ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS

Coverage is to include an overview of underwater photographic equipment, use of digital equipment, photo techniques, lighting techniques, fundamentals of photography, underwater camera techniques and underwater photo problems. No equipment purchases should be made until after your initial class session. Time will be set aside at the end of the class session for you to purchase your equipment.

SKILL REQUIREMENTS

Divers are to actually take underwater photographs and have the results reviewed and critiqued. Activities of other diving courses may be used to provide photographic
opportunities.

Course Dates

  • This course is offered by request.  If you want it, call and request it.  We will set it up for you directly.

UNDERWATER HUNTING & COLLECTING

Course Tuition ~ $200

VALUE OF COURSE:

You will experience unique and fun activity for underwater.

You will learn some techniques for hunting, collecting, local regulations, etc.

The best part of this course is that we get to eat after we catch!!

PREREQUISITES:

Age: Minimum 15yrs with SCUBA Diver Certification, or equivalent

COURSE POLICIES:

Meetings: 12 hours estimated including one Classroom session a couple of extensive “debriefings” at the end of each Openwater session.

OW Dives: Minimum number of dives is Two: One Skin and One SCUBA

Techniques: Use of Spear Gun for game fish and Lobster Hunting (all by hand) will be covered.

EQUIPMENT:

Fishing License w/ Ocean Stamp

Tape measure (Minimum 35”)

Huge Plastic Bag or Huge Plastic Container if you get a huge fish

COST:

Course Fee: $200 + Equipment Rental (Skin $35 and SCUBA $60)

* If students buy a spear gun from us before ocean dive, they will get $50 credit applied towards the purchase price.

Certification: You will earn your Underwater Hunting & Collection Specialty Card

Date: TBA

Our approach is fun with a strong emphasis on safety. Numbers in the class are kept small and staffing is provided to make sure that this activity stays both fun & safe.