Dive Training

Get your feet wet with our Discover Scuba class. If you want to know what it feels like to breath underwater, you’ll want to sign up for Discover Scuba. After a brief introduction of the equipment and a discussion of safety rules, you’ll be ready to jump in the pool and experience the thrill of scuba diving. All you need to do is show up – we’ll supply the water, equipment, and the fun.

Don’t wait another day – sign up today and start your diving adventure!

Discover the fun, discover the beauty, discover the adventure, discover the most popular dive program in the world. The PADI Open Water Diver course sets the standards in the global diving community. If you can swim and you are reasonably fit – you can dive.

In this course, you will learn the fundamentals of scuba diving using state-of-the-art training materials, independent study, multi-media presentation, and practical application. After you are certified, you have the freedom to dive with a buddy anywhere in the world without the need of a diving professional. The course is divided into 3 parts:

• Academic: In these classroom and independent study sessions you will learn the fundamentals of diving and diving theory
• Confined water: This section of the course is taught in our heated indoor pool. Here you will learn basic diving skills in a safe, comfortable environment.
• Open water: The open water sessions allow you to practice and demonstrate the skills you learned in the confined water sessions. You are required to complete 4 open water dives over 2 days to complete your Open Water certification.

If you are planning a dive trip in the near future and prefer to complete your open water dives in a warm(er) environment, you can take advantage of our referral program. This options allows you to complete the academic and confined water training locally and fulfill the open water requirements with an affiliated PADI training dive organization. Call or stop in for details about this program.

And don’t worry, if you want to go diving after completing the training but don’t have a full set of equipment,  we have all the equipment you need or you can choose to rent your equipment taking advantage of our equipment rental packages. 

* For kids/teens between the ages of 10-14 who want to get certified, PADI offers the Junior Scuba Diver certification program.

Continue the adventure… The Advanced Open Water training program will broaden your knowledge, allowing you to experience another level of diving. This course is designed to reinforce the skills you learned in the Open Water training course and introduce you to specialty courses that will enhance your diving experience. No classroom sessions are necessary for this program, only self-study and open water diving. The focus of this class to learn new diving skills while exploring your specific interests in a safe, controlled environment.

The Advanced Open Water program allows you to customize the training based upon your individual interests. The course consists of 5 specialty classes – 2 required and 3 optional.

The 2 required classes include:

• Navigation
• Deep Diving

You can select 3 classes from the list below:

• Night Diving
• Boat Diving
• Search & Recovery
• Underwater Photography
• Wall Diving
• Wreck Diving
• Ask about other available  classes

Could you save your buddy’s life in a dive emergency? Staying calm and responding quickly can make the difference between a close call and serious injury.

Using a combination of independent study, classroom sessions, and open water exercises, PADI’s Rescue Diver course provides the information and skills you need for preventing and handling dive emergencies.

The PADI Rescue Diver program will teach you:

• Self-rescue and diver stress
• Diving first aid
• Emergency management and equipment consideration
• Missing diver procedures
• In-water artificial respiration

The Emergency First Response class is designed to teach you techniques for handling both diving and non-diving emergencies.

In this course you will learn how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and emergency care. You will also learn primary care, secondary care and treatments following national guidelines. This class is recommended for any level diver and is required to complete the PADI Rescue Diver certification.

Go Pro! Go Divemaster! If you have excellent diving skills, leadership qualities and a commitment to high standards, you have what it takes to be a PADI diving professional. And PADI professionals are the most sought after dive leaders in the world.

As a certified Divemaster, you’ll be qualified to:

• Guide underwater tours for certified divers
• Supervise and assist both training and non-training dive activities
• Conduct Scuba Review programs for certified divers
• Enroll in instructional level courses

Working closely with a PADI instructor, you’ll expand your dive knowledge and hone your skills to the professional level. You’ll use state-of-the-art training materials, independent study, classroom sessions and practical application to acquire the knowledge and skills required to attain this prestigious position.

In addition to the requirements outlined below, you must have logged at least 20 open water dives prior to entry and have completed and logged at least 60 open water dives by the completion of the course to qualify for this program.

If your child is at least 8 years old, they can experience the thrill of scuba diving through our Bubblemaker course. In this course, your child will have the opportunity to use scuba equipment in a safe pool environment under the supervision of our experienced diving professionals. After an overview of the equipment and discussion of safety rules, your child will jump in and start making bubbles underwater.

The Bubblemaker class is the perfect way to introduce your child to the exciting world of scuba diving.

The PADI Seal Team program is designed to introduce basic diving skills young divers and then reinforce these skills in a fun and challenging environment. The program is built around “AquaMissions” – underwater pool adventures designed to teach scuba skills.

In addition to the pool sessions, the Seal Team program uses video, training manual and classroom sessions to teach kids the information they need to dive safely.

The Seal Team program is divided into two parts. Part I teaches basics skills like:

• breathing underwater
• buoyancy control
• mask clearing
• regulator recovery

Part II continues to build on the fundaments and helps kids pursue their personal interests through specialty AquaMissions like:

• Creature ID Specialist
• Environmental Specialist
• Inner Space Specialist
• Navigation Specialist

There’s no better way to introduce your kids to the thrills and adventure of diving than PADI’s Seal Team.

If you’re between the ages of 10-14, in good health, and know how to swim, grab your parents and dive in! You are eligible to become a certified Junior Open Water Diver.

In this course, you will learn the fundamentals of scuba diving using a combination of classroom and supervised pool sessions. In the pool sessions you will learn how to use the scuba equipment, safety techniques and basic diving skills. Finally, you’ll have the opportunity to dive in a nearby lake or quarry and demonstrate your new skills.

To qualify for this class, you must be able to:

• Tread water for 10 minutes
• Swim 300 meters without assistance or stopping using fins, mask and snorkel

Call or stop by the store today to sign up for this exciting class.

Are you an experienced diver who wants to extend your bottom time? Do you run out of no-decompression time before you run out of air? Then diving with enriched air is the answer for you.

Enriched air, or nitrox, uses a higher percentage of oxygen than standard air (32-36% versus 21% with air ). This higher blend of oxygen can significantly increase your bottom time – in some cases up to 85%.

Benefits of diving with enriched air:

• Longer bottom times
• Shorter surface interval
• Longer repetitive dives

While diving with enriched air is easy and safe, there are special considerations divers need to learn before they can dive with this special gas blend. In the PADI Enriched Air Diver course, you learn the theoretical and operational considerations involved with enriched air diving.

Since PADI introduced this specialty course in 1996, the Enriched Air course has become a favorite among serious divers. Stop by Below H2O and to sign up for this course today.

If you live and dive in Illinois, the Wreck Diver specialty course is a must for you. Because of the fresh, cold water of the Great Lakes, many of the shipwrecks are in tact even after being submerged over 100 years. But to dive these and other wrecks safely, you need to know the right techniques and tools. You also need to be aware of the possible hazards associated with wreck diving.

Our Wreck Diver course will teach you the skills you need to penetrate wrecks safely. You will learn limited-visibility diving techniques and emergency procedures. And you will learn about the tools you need when diving wrecks.

It’s easier than you think to capture the beauty and mystery of the underwater world. The Underwater Photography course will teach you the basics of taking pictures underwater.

In the Underwater Photography course you will learn about:

• Light for underwater photography
• Lens openings and shutter speeds
• ISO and other settings for digital underwater photography
• Basic photography techniques
• Composition
• Equipment care

Find out how easy it is to take stunning pictures, even for novice photographers.

After dark, the underwater world takes on a whole new face. Find out what you’re missing after the sun goes down. The Night Diving course gives you the extraordinary opportunity to experience this unique world.

Some of the topics covered in the Night Diving course include:

• Nocturnal aquatic life
• Emergency procedures
• Planning, organization, procedures, problems and hazards of night diving
• Navigating at night

This specialty course is designed to introduce you to boat diving and help you develop the skills and knowledge required for safe boat diving.

This one day course includes 2 open water dives from a boat. Through the self-study and practical application, you will learn about:

• Boat terminology
• Types of boats
• Safety/emergency equipment for boat diving
• Boat diving preparation
• Pre-dive and post-dive procedures

This course is a must for anyone planning to dive from a boat.

You don’t need to travel to Bloody Bay Wall to experience the thrill of wall diving. There are many local diving spots that offer an opportunity to learn how to wall dive in a safe, controlled environment.

Through the Wall Diving course you will learn how to plan and execute a successful wall dive. You will also learn emergencies procedures related to wall diving. Finally, you will have the opportunity to experience the thrill of wall diving at a local dive spot.

Don’t let a little bit of ice stop you from diving. Be among the elite who are trained to dive beneath the ice and you can dive year ’round.

The Ice Diver specialty course covers the proper techniques to dive safely beneath ice. Through this course you will learn:

• Site selection, preparation and hole-cutting procedures
• Special equipment, signals and line securing techniques
• The effects of cold on divers
• Emergency procedures

The class includes 3 ice dives over two days. Classes are subject to weather conditions.

You don’t have to travel far for world-class diving – the Great Lakes are known for some the best wreck diving in the world. But if you’re going to dive in these waters, you’ll need extra protection to keep warm. And there’s no better way to keep warm than diving in a dry suit.

But diving in a dry suit diving requires special skills, knowledge and equipment. In the Dry Suit Diver course you will learn the operation principles, care and techniques of using a dry suit. In addition, the following topics are covered in the course:

• Site selection, preparation and hole-cutting procedures
• Special equipment, signals and line securing techniques
• The effects of cold on divers
• Emergency procedures

Sign up today and begin exploring the treasures in your own back yard.

Looking for buried treasure? Or did you lose your GoPro? Then PADI’s Search & Recovery specialty course is a must for you. In this course you will learn effective ways to locate items underwater. Using both theory and practical application, you will learn a variety of methods for the search and recovery of lost items. You will also learn:

• Planning, organization, techniques and hazards of search and recovery diving
• Underwater navigation in limited visibility
• Search patterns
• Equipment
• Techniques and safety considerations for recovery of objects using lifting devices

Are you a certified diver looking to refresh your scuba skills? Do you have a a dive trip scheduled, but you’ve been out of the water for awhile?

PADI’s Scuba Review may be perfect for you. This course provides a safe, relaxing environment to tune-up your scuba skills or learn about the latest changes in diving equipment. The Knowledge Review section of the course covers the basic information from the PADI Open Water or other entry-level course. The Confined Water Skills Review gives you the opportunity to review and practice your basic diving skills. Finally, you have the option to reinforce your skills in a supervised open water environment.

If you’re a little rusty on your diving skills, this class will help you feel safer and more relaxed on your next dive.  And don’t worry, if you want to go diving after completing the training but don’t have a full set of equipment,  we have all the equipment you need or you can choose to rent your equipment taking advantage of our equipment rental packages.