SSI Basic Diver

Overview

Basic Diver is a one-day introduction to scuba diving in the Red Sea, designed for people with no previous experience who want to dive in the sea rather than a pool. After a short briefing and a shallow-water skills session, you dive with your instructor to a maximum depth of twelve metres. The day includes two dives. There is no exam, no homework and no swimming test, and you are not committing to a full certification course. Your instructor stays with you throughout and the group is limited to four people, so the attention is genuinely individual. Dahab is well suited to this: entries are calm, the reef starts close to shore, and visibility is generally good year round. Participants must be at least ten years old. All equipment, learning materials and your digital recognition card are included in the price. On completion you receive the SSI Basic Diver rating, which allows you to keep diving with an SSI Open Water Instructor for the following six months. If you want the full certification, Basic Diver credits toward the Open Water Diver course.

Description

Basic Diver sits between a pool try dive and a full certification course. You dive in the open sea, to real depth, on a real reef, but without the theory sessions, exams and multi-day commitment of the Open Water Diver program. What the day involves Your instructor starts with a briefing covering how scuba equipment works, ear equalisation, underwater hand signals and the safety rules that apply to every dive. You are then fitted with equipment and move into shallow water to practise the essential skills: breathing through the regulator, clearing your mask, and recovering the regulator if it leaves your mouth. Each skill is introduced individually and repeated until you are comfortable. Once your instructor is satisfied, you dive. The maximum depth for this program is twelve metres, though you go only as deep as you want to. Your instructor stays with you at all times and is close enough to make physical contact throughout, which is a requirement of the SSI standard rather than a courtesy. The course includes two dives. There is no minimum performance you need to reach and nothing is graded. Why Dahab suits a first sea dive Most training here takes place from shore rather than from a boat, which removes a variable that first-time divers often find stressful. Entries are calm, the reef begins within swimming distance of the shore, and water temperatures stay comfortable across the year. Visibility is typically good. For a beginner, these are unusually forgiving conditions. How this compares to the alternatives If you would rather stay in a pool for a first attempt, Try Scuba is the shorter and cheaper option, and it accepts children from age eight. If you already know you want to certify, going straight into Open Water Diver is more economical than doing both. Basic Diver is the middle path: a genuine sea dive experience, in one day, with no commitment. What the rating gives you You receive the SSI Basic Diver digital recognition card. This is not an entry-level certification and it does not allow you to dive independently or with a non-professional buddy. What it does allow is diving under the direct supervision of an SSI Open Water Instructor, in conditions equivalent to your training and within the depth limits, for six months from the date you complete the program. After six months the rating lapses, and you would need to repeat Basic Diver or enrol in a Scuba Diver or Open Water Diver course to continue. This six-month window is worth knowing about if you are travelling. Many people use Basic Diver on one trip and complete their Open Water certification on the next. Requirements No certification, no previous diving experience and no swimming test. The minimum age is ten. You should be in reasonable general health. You will complete a medical statement and a liability release before entering the water. If you answer yes to any question on the medical statement, written approval from a physician is required beforehand, so please mention any relevant condition when you book. What is included Full scuba equipment, SSI digital learning materials, your instructor, and the SSI Basic Diver digital recognition card.