Deep Diving

The SSI Freediver course opens the door to freediving activities around the world. Learning to freedive with SSI is easier than you think. This program combines online training, pool and open water dives to make you a confident and safe freediver in no time. Once certified, you can dive with a buddy in open water to a depth of 20 meters and explore a variety of breathtaking underwater ecosystems around the world. Start online today. Schedule: Friday 6pm - 10:30pm theory & pool Saturday, 11am - 4pm onsite at the lake, Sunday 10am - 5pm onsite at the lake.

Take an Enriched Air Nitrox Specialty course if you want to shorten your surface intervals and extend your dive time. You'll spend more time exploring your favorite dive sites instead of waiting! With the course you will expand your diving knowledge to plan safe dives with enriched air mixtures up to 40% oxygen. After completing the course, you will receive an SSI Enriched Air Nitrox certification for 32% or 40%.

The SSI Science of Diving Specialty course provides you with a comprehensive understanding of the underwater world and its effects on the human body. The course is the foundation for most SSI Professional courses and some Extended Range courses and is an essential part of deepening your diving knowledge. You can complete your SSI Science of Diving Specialty certification online from the comfort of your own home. Upon completion of the course, you will be halfway to the coveted SSI Divemaster and receive your Science of Diving certification.

The SSI Perfect Buoyancy Specialty course is the best way to improve your buoyancy and experience perfect dives. Buoyancy control is one of the most important diving skills, but as any experienced diver will tell you, it takes time to perfect. In this course, you will learn advanced buoyancy skills and techniques to help you master your buoyancy faster. By improving your water position and optimizing your buoyancy control, you can reduce your air consumption and increase your bottom times. In this fascinating course, you will also learn new skills to protect the underwater world, which can always be used. At the end of the course you will receive the SSI Perfect Buoyancy Specialty certification. Well-balanced, you will soon be gliding calmly through the water, taking the underwater photos you've always dreamed of or simply enjoying the weightlessness.

In this sidemount diving course, you'll learn everything you need for recreational sidemount diving with one or two scuba tanks to a maximum depth of 30 meters or to your certification depth, whichever is deeper. Sidemount diving is already a common practice for wreck, mine and cave divers, but now more and more recreational divers are discovering its benefits. You don't carry a heavy tank on your back, feel more comfortable in the water and improve your water resistance and trim. You use less energy, can reduce your gas consumption and thus make the most of your diving time. With better buoyancy control, easier access to valves and more redundancy, sidemount diving offers safety and satisfaction. This is the best sidemount diving course to discover and enjoy the enticing benefits of this style of diving. You will learn all the skills and knowledge you need to dive safely and comfortably with single or twin cylinder sidemount equipment.

The Divemaster program is the first step on an exciting journey. Earn the respect of your dive buddies and become an ambassador for diving by completing the Divemaster program. All you need is 40 verified dives and certifications in Deep Diving, Navigation, Night & Limited Visibility or at least 5 verified dives in each area plus Diver Stress & Rescue. Upon successful completion of the Divemaster program, you will be certified as a Dive Guide. If you want to turn your passion into a profession by guiding certified divers, teaching Ecology programs, assisting instructors or even becoming an instructor yourself, your next step is the Divemaster upgrade with at least 60 logged/verified dives. You can upgrade to Divemaster immediately or later by studying the Science of Diving materials yourself and passing the Digital Final Exam, which makes you an SSI Professional. There are thousands of job opportunities worldwide for the next generation of highly qualified divers.

This specialty course provides you with the knowledge and advanced skills you need to navigate safely and confidently underwater. You will learn the correct use of the compass, natural navigation techniques, estimating distances, leaving and returning to a given point and simple navigation patterns. You will also learn how to combine navigation techniques to optimize your diving experience. All of this will sharpen your underwater observation skills, increase your diving safety and help you get the most out of every dive. Upon completion of the course, you will receive the SSI Navigation Specialty certification.

This certification is recognized worldwide and is the best way to become a qualified diver on an adventure that will last a lifetime. The combination of personalized instruction and practical training sessions ensures that you gain the skills and experience of a confident, safe diver. At the end of the course you will receive the SSI Open Water Diver certification.

The SSI Diver Stress and Rescue Specialty course is the best course to learn how to protect yourself and other divers. You will learn how to recognize stress, avoid accidents and apply practical techniques for performing rescues and emergency care. With a combination of pool and open water training, you will be well and safely prepared to deal with emergency and rescue situations. After completing the course, you will receive the SSI Diver Stress & Rescue Specialty certification.

With proper training, attitude and equipment, an experienced diver can dive responsibly without a buddy. Diving without a buddy involves certain additional risks that only come into question from a certain level of experience and is not suitable for everyone, but this type of diving also has its place, for example as an underwater photographer, safety diver or on small rescue missions. If you have the mental discipline and are prepared to learn the techniques required for this type of diving, you can develop the skills and the necessary self-confidence for this in the Independent Diving course. As a solo diver, you should have good judgment and be confident in your dive planning. You will learn self-rescue procedures, improve your diving skills and gain more independence and confidence in yourself and your abilities as a diver. During the cold season, the course is only conducted in a dry suit.

As a dry suit diver you can dive warm and comfortable in cold waters all year round. Only dry suit diving opens up the special underwater landscapes of cold water to you: dives on the icebergs in the remote Arctic or fascinating places teeming with life despite the cold. Dry suits are also great if you dive several times a day. Instead of struggling to get out of the cold, wet wetsuit each time, the dry suit diver simply leaves his suit on. The best way to dry suit dive is the SSI Dry Suit Diver Specialty course. Here you will gain the necessary knowledge and learn all the skills to dive safely and comfortably in a dry suit. This includes how to use the special equipment and how to deal with difficult situations and problems with the dry suit. At the end of the course you will receive the SSI Dry Suit Diving Specialty certification.

React Right is SSI's emergency first responder course and provides the knowledge and practical skills to act as a first responder in a medical emergency. In this flexible course, you can choose your subject areas, such as initial assessment, first aid, CPR and stabilization techniques. You will learn more about administering emergency oxygen and using the defibrillator (AED). With a combination of theory and practical exercise scenarios, this course will give you important tools and the confidence to provide emergency assistance. Once certified, you will be able to act as a first aider, administer first aid and CPR, administer oxygen and provide AED support. Earn your SSI React Right Specialty certification and help other divers in need. Start your SSI React Right Specialty course today!

The SSI Basic Freediver provides the knowledge and training necessary to safely practice freediving with a buddy in the pool/limited open water to a maximum depth of 5 meters.Our professional freediving instructors will accompany you for 2 days on your new adventure.Basic Freediver training includes theoretical preparation through SSI's digital learning system, practical training units on relaxation and breathing techniques, and two freediving sessions in the pool.Upon completion of the program you will receive the SSI Basic Freediving certification.

Found a treasure but can’t retrieve it? Or did you simply accidentally lose your weight belt or mask while exiting the water?The SSI Search and Recovery Program teaches the knowledge and skills necessary to safely plan and conduct search and recovery dives.You’ll work through the theory in advance via online self-study, and we’ll discuss all necessary content before the dives at the lake. In the Open Water Diver course, you’ve already learned how to move in a straight line using a compass. We’ll build on this skill! You will now learn to dive using various search patterns and to select the appropriate one based on the bottom conditions and environmental factors, as well as the objects you are searching for . With the help of natural landmarks, specialized equipment, and distance and depth measurements, you’ll find your way underwater. Handling a lift bag and tying the necessary knots to connect the lines will be practiced in various scenarios .After completing this program, you will be able to locate lost equipment and recover sunken objects, bringing them from the bottom back to the surface.

This route takes us to the southernmost “edge” of Egypt, to the region of the Elba Reefs, which are still largely untouched and are sure to make every diver’s heart race.Part 1: Rocky IslandThe southern marine park surrounding Rocky Island is perfect for an early-morning dive; with a little luck, you can spot hammerhead sharks and manta rays here. The reef wall to the south of the island is crisscrossed by a multitude of small caves and beautifully covered with hard and soft corals. Provided that authorities allow it, we will also visit the even larger and equally beautiful Zabargad Island.Part 2: Elba Reefs The Elba Reefs are located off the Halaib Triangle, which connects Egypt with Sudan . The area consists of several reef formations and thus includes various dive sites. In addition to the wreck of the SS Levanzo, the area offers colorful coral gardens, beautifully overgrown pinnacles, and huge coral towers. The splendor of colors and the diversity of flora and fauna never fail to amaze even the “old hands” on every dive. Only recently have a few safari boats begun visiting this beautiful diving area—so there are still new spots for us to discover as well.Part 3: St. John’s On the way back, the dive sites around St. John’s offer something for everyone: beautiful vegetated steep walls, a high probability of shark encounters, manta ray sightings, and pods of dolphins, as well as diverse marine life for all macro enthusiasts in the colorful coral gardens.Part 4: Fury ShoalsAfter these impressive days of diving, we head north past the dive sites of Ras Banas to the Fury Shoals reefs, which also leave a lasting impression: particularly worth mentioning are the breathtaking hard coral formations, which are unique to the Red Sea and, at some dive sites, form a branched system of so-called caves and a labyrinth of caverns and passages through the reef. Most of the time, you can dive through these “playgrounds” of nature at shallow depths and are rewarded with indescribably vibrant plays of light. Finally, we’ll dive the legendary Elphinstone Reef. The northern tip is ideal in the morning when the current is light—a great time to spend a little while equalizing at a comfortable depth and observing the action in the open water. The rest of the dive along the steep wall on the east side flies by and may even be crowned by a visit from one or two oceanic whitetip sharks.Planned itinerary—for 11 days of diving:• Arrival DayTransfer from the airport to the ship in modern, air-conditioned buses; check-in to cabins; meal(s) depending on the time of day• Day 1Departure after approval from the harbor police at approximately 9:00 a.m., check dive and 1–2 additional dives at various dive sites, overnight crossing to Rocky Island.• Day 22–3 day dives at Rocky Island and (if possible) Zabargad• Days 3–53 daytime dives and 1 night dive in the Elba Reefs area• Days 6 and 73 daily dives each at dive sites north of the Elba Reefs• Day 83 daytime dives and one night dive at the best spots in St. John’s• Day 93 day dives in the Fury Shoals and Wadi Gimal areas and 1 night dive at Wadi Gimal• Day 103 day dives at Sha’ab Sharm, Marsa Alam, or Abu Dabab and 1 night dive• Day 112 dives at Elphinstone, or alternatively at Abu Dabab and El Shouna; arrival in port around 4:00 p.m. or if possible (depending on, for example, transfer arrangements for the day of departure or necessary work on board), we will spend the last night at sea near the harbor as well• Departure dayMeal(s) appropriate for the time of day, transfer from the ship to the airport