SCUBA Diver
Become the underwater explorer that you've always wanted to be, with the confidence of having a PADI Professional by your side whenever you dive.
The SCUBA Diver course is a great stepping stone towards the Open Water Diver course for those that need that extra confidence boost.
The SCUBA Diver course is also a great way to spread the cost of learning to dive by splitting the Open Water Diver course in 2. It is also a useful pathway for those with learning difficulties as it splits the vast amount of content from the Open Water Diver course across 2 courses in easier to manage chucks.
Booking
Step one is to book your course, select a date on our bookings page or contact us to see if we can offer a different date/location. Feel free to contact us if you would like pricing/dates for a group booking. Once you have booked or we have agreed dates via email, we will send a payment link.
E-Learning
Before your course date, once you have paid, we will send a link for your e-learning and digital forms. You'll receive the Open Water Diver e-learning in an email from PADI, But will only need to complete the sections 1-3 (Plus 'Start Here" and "Introduction"for the SCUBA Diver course. You will also find that PADI will send you a email with some digital forms attached for you to complete online. You'll also have a short in person quick review exam on your final day of the course (psst.... Don't worry it's multiple choice).
If you already have the PADI Open Water Diver e-learning or physical manual, please contact us a head of booking and we can organise a discount.
Confined Water Dives
You'll start off the practical side of your course by doing some training sessions in the swimming pool or confined water (we have some sea/quarry based sites that fit this requirement). In these sessions you will start to learn some of the basic skills like gear assembly, buoyancy control, regulator use and mask clearing plus more. The 3 confined sessions may be run all in one day or split over the course of 3 evenings (feel free to contact us if you have a preference). The sessions will start with a briefing from your instructor before gear assembly and buddy checks (don't worry our team will teach you how to do these). Once all the checks are done, it's into the water to start learning the skills. Our experienced instructors will first demonstrate the skill before getting you to repeat, if the skill needs any work or improvement our patient team is there ready to help you master the skills. You'll also do a 10 minute treading water in water too deep in which to stand.
Open Water Dives
Once you completed your confined dives it's onto the open water which will likely be a shore based location in the sea or in a recreational diving quarry. For the SCUBA Diver course you have 2 open water dives to complete which can be done all in one day or over the course of 2 evenings. In the open water sessions each dive will start with a briefing from your instructor before gear assembly and buddy checks (progressively you'll require less and less instructor input for gear assembly and buddy checks). Once in the water you'll get to go for a swim and practice your buoyancy control whilst you take in the wondrous things around you. You'll also get the chance to repeat many of the skills from the pool but this time your instructor won't demonstrate first, although they will still help you if you're not quite there with a skill.
Prerequisites and Prices
Prerequisites
Age: 15+ (10-14 for Junior SCUBA Diver)
Qualification Level: None
Swimming Ability: Able to swim or float for 10 minutes in water too deep to stand.
You must be able to complete the PADI medical questionnaire or have a GP/Diving Doctor sign you off as fit to dive in order to participate in this course.
Once completed you'll be able to...
Dive to the maximum depth of 12m but only under the supervision of a in status PADI Professional (PADI Divemaster, PADI Assistant Instructor or PADI Instructor)
Prices
£450 for confined & open water sessions in the sea (Class size of 2-3)
£500 for confined sessions in the pool & open water sessions in the sea (Class size of 2-3)
£650 for confined & open water sessions in the sea (Class size of 1)
£700 for confined sessions in the pool & open water sessions in the sea (Class size of 1)
Contact below for one to one dates or for dates and prices for group bookings
FAQs
Please reach us at info@parrottfishscuba.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.
-
If you are joining us for a pool session please bring your swimwear plus a t-shirt or rash vest that you don't mind getting wet. We also recommend bringing a towel, dry cloths, a drink and a snack for afterwards. If you already own any of your own mask, snorkel, fins etc; please feel free to bring them but if not don't worry as we will also provide these items free of charge.
If you are joining us for a session in the sea please bring whatever you wish to wear under your wetsuit (we recommend swimwear and a rash vest, we also recommend bringing a towel, dry cloths, a drink and a snack for afterwards. If you already own any of your own mask, snorkel, fins, wetsuit (at least 5mm in summer and 7mm in winter) etc; please feel free to bring them but if not don't worry as we will also provide these items free of charge. You may also need to bring money for parking (cash, card and phone are excepted at the sites we use).
-
After your course we will certify you though the PADI website, and you will receive an electronic certification card (or e-card) that you can access though the PADI app or website (It will go on the same account as your e-learning was activated on).
For an additional £7.50 you can also receive a Parrottfish SCUBA A4 certificate of completion. Or for an extra £15 you can get a official PADI SCUBA Diver A4 certificate of completion.
For a minimum of £60 extra you can get a physical PADI certification card. This price is for the standard card, photo cards and project aware cards are available for extra- please contact the dive centre for prices.
If you would like any of these upgrades please let us know at the time of booking or let your instructor know on your course.
-
The next thing you probably want to do is go diving, whether it's here or away we would strongly encourage you to explore the amazing waters around you. If you would like to enjoy some of our local waters here in Devon and Cornwall feel free to book yourself on a Discover Local Diving with Parrottfish SCUBA.
Should progressing to the next course be what you're interested in he Open Water Diver course is foryou. There are no minimum number of dives to complete between the courses, so you can feel free to book on straight away. Plus as here at Parrottfish SCUBA we offer a specific SCUBA Diver to Open Water Diver upgrade course.
Should you not pass the course we will offer 1 additional day of training free of charge and then an additional 3 days of training at £160 per day. After that you are eligible to rebook the SCUBA Diver course with a discount for already having e-learning materials.
-
The team at Parrottfish SCUBA may have to postpone or change the location of your course due to the weather or other conditions outside of our control (e.g. pollution events, breakdowns, etc..). Should this happen we will give you as much notice as possible and we will work with you to book a new date that works for both parties. Should you not be able to make the new date or location we can offer a refund less the value of your e-learning which is yours and can be transferred to another dive centre. The e-learning has no expiry date.
Should you wish to cancel or change your booking there is a 14 day cooling off period where changes can be made free of charge (if you have registered your e-learning already, the value of the e-learning will be deducted from your refund), unless their is less than 14 days before the course start date, in which case the cooling off period lasts until the start of the standard cancilation periods. The standard cancelation periods are as follows: to cancel your course 1 week before it is due to start you will receive a refund equal to 50% of the total paid less the value of the e-learning (for example, if the e-learning is valued at £20 and you paid £120 you would receive £50 in refund). At 48 hours notice or less unfortunately we cannot offer any refund. Cancellations before the 1 week period and after your 14 day cooling off period can be made and you will receive a full refund less the value of your e-learning and a £25 cancelation fee.
For changes to your booking date made by yourself (including if you miss your course and wish to rebook, or if you don't complete e-learning and/or medical/waiver forms) fees are as follows. More than 72 hours notice £25 rebooking fee, 72-24 hours notice £50 rebooking fee, less than 24hrs notice 50% of course value (less the value of e-learning materials).
For this course e-learning materials are valued at £150.
-
Unfortunately we do not have the capacity or facility to provide transport to the dive site. Some of our dive sites can be reached via a short walk from the city centre whilst others cannot, likewise public transport has a good connection to some sites but not others. If transport is an issue please let us know at the time of booking so we can arrange a site that works well for you.
We also do not cover the cost of parking at dive sites so please bear this in mind when driving to the site.
“The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.”
— Jacques-Yves Cousteau