Improve Your Scuba Skills

You’ve done it! You’ve earned your basic scuba certification, gone on a few more dives, and decided scuba diving is a sport you enjoy. So now what? Well, it’s time to up your game.

By now, you’ve probably been able to identify if a particular skill is giving you problems, or if a certain situation makes you anxious. Or perhaps you see other divers doing things you want to do—go deeper, breath nitrox, take photos, explore wrecks. What about wanting to be able to take care of you or your partner in an emergency? Let’s explore the options.

First Up ~ Buoyancy

Newer divers often struggle with their buoyancy, and until it’s mastered, ever other aspect of diving will be harder than it needs to be. Divers who know how to control their buoyancy have better air consumption, don’t damage delicate reefs by crashing into them, and are less inclined to injure themselves with runaway ascents. Buoyancy is also a necessary skill if you are interested in pursuing other specialties—especially photography or wreck diving. Want to learn more? Click here.

Drift

Maybe you learned to dive in an area where boats hooked to mooring balls, but along the Palm Beaches, the dive sites are deeper—and all of the charters are drift dives. So what does that mean? The current does most of the work as it propels you across the reef. It also means you need to learn how to properly deploy a surface marker buoy, maintain contact with your buddy, and how to safely get on and off the boat—an important skill when divers are giant striding into the ocean one right after another.

As mentioned above, the reefs located off the Palm Beaches and Treasure Coasts are deep, which leads us to our next suggestion for improving your underwater experience…

Nitrox

The nitrox – enriched air certification is the most popular specialty certification available. Want to safely extend your no-decompression time and remain underwater longer? How about reducing your surface interval? Nitrox can help you accomplish both! The course is online, no dives are required, and you’ll work with an instructor as you demonstrate your ability to analyze tanks and confirm that you understand depth limitations. That’s it! You can be diving with enriched air your very next dive.

Advanced Scuba Diving

Let’s face it. Earning an advanced scuba certification allows you to explore more ocean while equipping you with the knowledge and skills to do it safely. Bonus, the class is tailored to your interests! Each class includes instruction on deep diving and underwater navigational skills, but then you can discuss the other options available with your instructor. Some of the areas you may want to consider include boat diving, underwater photography, fish identification, night diving, wreck diving and more!

Once you’ve earned your advanced certification, you’re done with skill building, right? Not so fast. Let’s take a quick peek at one of the most important classes you can take.

Rescue

Nothing improves your confidence more than knowing what to do in an emergency—except perhaps knowing how to stop one before it begins. That’s where a rescue class comes in. Divers who have completed a rescue course often claim it’s the most challenging scuba class they’ve ever taken—and the most fun. This class requires an advanced certification and at least 40 dives under your belt. Rescue divers also must have first aid and O2 certifications. Your buddies will thank you.

The above courses are just a few of the many ways to improve your dive skills and enhance your enjoyment of the underwater realm. Diving skills are perishable if they aren’t practiced. Specific skills are best developed with an instructor, but to become an all-around better diver, you need to log dives. And Jupiter Dive Center is here to help.

Click here to review the upcoming schedule or call for your private class.