Scuba Diver

The Open Water Diver course is the most popular, fun and safe way to learn to dive. Through a mix of online learning, the vast knowledge of your Wraysbury Dive Centre Instructor, in-water skills sessions and Open Water dives, we will help you to become a safe, competent and confident diver. The entirety of this four day course takes place at Wraysbury Dive Centre where we have our own Lake. This enables us to spend lots of time in the water with you to help you reach your full diving capabilities. Beginning your underwater adventures should be a fun, exciting and rewarding experience. At Wraysbury Dive Centre you will be taught by experienced, fun and safe instructors who actually love going diving. We want to ensure that by the end of your course you do too. If you have any questions before you sign up, we are always on the end of the phone and our door is always open – 7 days a week!

Do you want to make your UK underwater adventures last all year but at the same time remain warm?  If your answer to this question is ’yes’ then a drysuit is probably for you.  In order to make drysuit diving comfortable, safe and fun, use of it requires special techniques which you will be taught during your Drysuit Speciality course.

The SSI Perfect Buoyancy specialty is the best way to improve your buoyancy and get the most from every dive. Buoyancy is an essential dive skill, but any diver will tell you it takes time to perfect. The Perfect Buoyancy specialty will teach you advanced buoyancy skills and techniques, so you can master your buoyancy more quickly and enjoy more relaxed dive adventures. In this fascinating program, you will also learn new skills that protect the environment and work in every diving situation. Upon completion, you will earn the SSI Perfect Buoyancy Specialty certification. With better buoyancy skills, you will soon be able to hover with ease and take the underwater photographs you dream of!

The SSI Advanced Open Water Diver consists of five ‘adventure’ dives which are undertaken with your Instructor. The navigation is the only necessary dive for SSI. The remaining four dives are dives of your choosing. Common choices are listed below but chat to your instructor about what choices you are interested in and what is beneficial to you. Deep – The lure of the deep. There’s something exciting and mysterious about exploring deeper dive sites while scuba diving. Sometimes it’s a wreck that attracts you below 18 metres/60 feet, and on wall dives it may be a giant fan or sponge. Undertaking this adventure dive (a dive to a depth in excess of 18 metres but no deeper than 30 metres) under the direct supervision of your Instructor will allow you to extend your adventures that bit further down into the underwater realm. Navigation – Time to enhance your underwater navigation abilities, using both natural and compass aided navigation. Take the next steps to being the diver who knows where they are going. Dry Suit – Doesn’t everyone want to be warmer and dive all year round? This dive introduces you to the correct use of a dry suit, helping you get ready for the fantastic UK dive season ahead. Peak Performance Buoyancy – Good buoyancy skills is the basis of everything a diver does in the water. Be the best and learn how to make diving an art form! You too can look graceful and totally controlled with this dive option. Night – It is just what it says on the page, a dive during the dark hours. It is an opportunity to view the underwater world in a completely different light. Sidemount – This introduction to Sidemount diving helps you to realise you diving isn’t all about walking and swimming with heavy cylinders on your back – there is flexibility and other options. Surface Marker Buoy (SMB) – Being able to deploy an SMB in the water confidently and safely is a core skill for any diver anywhere in the world - you need to be visible by other water users. Learn different methods, practice and make it look effortless! Wreck – Wrecks are not only fascinating windows to the past but also serve as homes to a large amount of life. This dive will give you an insight into how to orientate and dive a wreck safely. At Wraysbury there are a large number of wrecks to choose to dive including our 100+ year old lifeboat, the Elizabeth Austin and our 737 cockpit. Photography – An introduction to one of the most popular underwater activities and opportunity to take a photo of your instructor – smile please. If you cannot decide which specialty programs are the best choice for you, join the SSI Advanced Open Water Diver program! With this program, you can try a variety of specialties before committing to full specialty programs. It is a great way to experience what advanced diver training is all about and how valuable it can be to your diving adventures. With this trial program in specialty diving, you will have total freedom to explore. You can complete the full specialty programs any time in the future and credit your Advanced Open Water Diver training towards them.

The Diver Stress and Rescue course is probably the most fun, rewarding and challenging time you will have in the water! During your Rescue course we will give you the skills to identify, manage and solve problems both in yourself and others. We will take the skills you have already learnt, build on them and provide you with the confidence to make the right decisions to effectively manage diving situations safely and calmly. As previously mentioned, you must also have fun!. You will learn how to identify stress, how to prevent accidents and be taught practical techniques to conduct rescues and provide emergency care. With a combination of pool and open water practice sessions, you will become well prepared and confident at handling emergency and rescue situations. Upon completion, you will earn the SSI Diver Stress and Rescue Specialty certification.