BSAC Ocean Diver
BSAC Ocean Diver course is the entry-level course for the BSAC Diver training programme. To enrol in the course students must be 12 years or older and have successfully completed the dive medical form. (12 – 17 year olds need written permission from parents or guardians)
Ocean Diver Course overview
The Ocean Diver course consists of the following elements
• 7 Theory lessons and assessment.
• 5 Sheltered water lessons and swimming assessment
• 5 Open water dives/lessons.
The Ocean diver is usually conducted over 4 days
Theory Lessons
The 7 theory lessons take you through all the basics you need to become a confident diver. The areas covered are as follows:
• Introduction to the Ocean Diver course
• Diving, diving equipment and signals
• The body and the effects of diving
• Planning to go diving
• Going diving
• What happens if?
• Enjoying your diving
Theory assessment
On completion of these theory lessons each student will complete a short Theory assessment. This assessment consists of 30 questions
Swimming assessment
All students will need to complete a 200 metre swimming test. There is no time limit for this test as the test is merely designed to see if the student can complete the specified distance.
Sheltered Water Lessons
The basic diving skills are conducted either in a swimming pool or in sheltered water area with similar conditions to a pool. Usually, all five lessons are conducted together as one lesson, or grouped into two sessions.
Over the five Dive skills lessons the student will be expected to complete the following skills,
• A variety of different entries and exit methods
• The correct fit and use of basic equipment
• Effective buddy check of the scuba equipment
• Surface swimming and correct fining techniques
• Buoyancy check
• Buoyancy skills
• Breathing from the diving regulator
• Breathing from a free flowing regulator
• Regulator clearing and retrieval
• Breathing from a regulator with no mask
• Clearing and removing the mask underwater
• Swimming without the mask
• Weight belt jettison
• Ascending and descending procedures
• Low and out of air skills and procedures
• Removing your scuba and weights on the surface
• Recovering/assisting your buddy to the surface by a rescue lift
• Towing your buddy to the shore or boat
• Snorkel dives
Open water Dives
On completion of the sheltered water lessons the student will again repeat these skills on the 5 open water dives.
The open water dives are aimed at allowing the student to gain diving experience in a realistic diving environment and in varying dive conditions, depth experience and diving as an effective member of a buddy team.
During the open water dives, the dive time will be split into two periods. The first section of the dive will be repeating the skills previously learned in the sheltered water lessons but at gradually increasing depths, the aim of this is to build the students confidence at deeper depths. Then the second half of the dive will be spent exploring the underwater world and all the amazing sights it has to offer. On the final dive of the course the students will be responsible for planning and executing the dive, while under direct supervision of their instructor, so their ability to work as a buddy group can be assessed.
The BSAC Ocean Diver qualification meets International Standards - ISO 24801-2
BSAC is EUF Certified
