When researching certifications, always know what you’re signing up for. If you want to be able to dive without a scuba instructor, you NEED to be Open Water Certified. Don’t pay for general scuba certifications that don’t qualify you for your diving needs.

Open Water Diver Certification

The SDI Open Water Diver Certification is the most comprehensive certification to allow you to dive anywhere in the world. At Channel Islands Scuba, we provide personalized training to make sure you are truly comfortable underwater with the necessary skills and equipment. This is your first and most important step to becoming a diver.

Your Open Water Scuba Diver Course will be completed in three stages:

Part One: You will complete the SDI E-Learning Program at home at your own pace. We find the majority of our divers will complete this in 6-8 hours.

Part Two: You will join us in our shop for your Confined Water portion of the class. We will complete a total of 16 hours of classroom and pool time with a minimum of 12 hours of that being in water time. 

Part Three: We finally hit the Ocean! We will do a total of 5 dives with an instructor. Three dives will be off of one of our local charter boats, diving in Channel Islands National Park. Two dives will be at one of SoCal’s many fantastic beaches.

At Channel Islands Scuba we guarantee you will have included in your class:

• The smallest class sizes (maximum 4 students)
• The most confined water time with your instructor (compared to the industry standard of 8 hours)
• The most Open Water Dives with your instructor (compared to the industry standard of 4 Open Water Dives)
• No hidden fees! All certification, e-learning, rental equipment, charter boat tickets, and Instructor fees are included in tuition.

Please note that we do require to have all of our students purchase their own personal equipment which is not included in the price of the course. We require all students to have their own:

• Scuba Mask and Snorkel
• Fins appropriate for California Diving with Booties

Many of our students will also opt to get their own optional but recommended equipment:

• Dive Computer
• Hood
• Gloves
• SMB (Surface Marker Buoy)
• Whistle
• Cutting Device
• Dive Flash Light
• Mesh Gear Bag

Any equipment that you will need to purchase can be done during your course with your dive instructors guidance. We also have discounts and packages only available to our Open Water Students.

Private Open Water Scuba Diver Courses Available

Are you interested in starting your underwater journey but live a lifestyle that makes twisting your life to our schedule difficult. Maybe you just want the premium experience of having your own dedicated instructor. 

We offer our premium facility and instructors on a private basis. For only an additional $600 we can pair you with one of our instructors and together you can work out a schedule that will work best for you!

Groups of 2-3 can spilt this private fee so you and your friends can share in the premium experience.

Groups of 4 or more can inquire about getting a free Private Course Upgrade to have 1 or even multiple dedicated instructors to your group.

*** New private bookings have been suspended until mid summer 2024 due to the popularity of this course. Please feel free to book any of our group courses or inquire about booking you course out a few months from now.

Scuba Discovery Experience

If you’re not sure that you’re ready for the full Open Water Certification, you can take this introduction to scuba diving. A brief academic session, followed by some basic skills and fun in our on-site pool in full equipment (provided) will let you know whether you’re ready to take the plunge!

After Open Water Diver, there is still more to learn about SCUBA. ConEd allows you to add additional knowledge and skills to prepare you for the type of diving you want to do, whether at night, on wrecks, or beyond.

Deep Diving

Many exciting dive sites are located in deeper water. Without proper training, this kind of diving puts you at risk. The SDI Deep Diving Specialty will give you the ability to safely and comfortably plan and conduct dives beyond 60 feet, and is a prerequisite for some advanced training.

Dry Suit Diving

This program provides the skills and concepts required to safely and comfortably dive while using a dry suit. You will learn the special requirements for dry suit diving, how to use your new equipment, the benefits of a dry suit, and how to deal with emergency situations that are unique to dry suit diving.

Enriched Air Nitrox

The SDI Computer Nitrox program will teach you how to safely plan and dive with enriched air mixtures of up to 40% oxygen. Diving with enriched air can increase your no-decompression limits, increase your safety, and reduce the required length of your surface intervals when compared to air.

All Nitrox courses are private courses that do not require any dives. Get started on your E-Learning today and schedule your 2 hour private classroom session at your convenience. 

Navigation

This program provides the skills and concepts required to safely and comfortably navigate underwater during a dive. You will learn how to use a compass and natural navigation techniques, estimate distance, basic navigation patterns and how to leave and return to a designated point.

Night / Limited Visibility Diving

This program provides the skills and concepts required to safely and comfortably dive at night or in limited visibility conditions. Some of the ocean’s most amazing creatures only come out at night, so your dive doesn’t have to end when the sun goes down. You will learn how to enter and exit the water, use specialized equipment, and how to communicate and dive with a buddy at night or in limited visibility.

Advanced Buoyancy Control

Do you want to increase your buoyancy control, minimize your breathing gas consumption, or move effortlessly above the ocean floor? The SDI Advanced Buoyancy Control program teaches you the skills and techniques needed to maximize your dive experience, increase your comfort in the water, and get the most from your equipment.

Photo and Video

This program teaches you the skills needed to dive with an underwater camera, and provides the in-depth knowledge and experience required to properly use, maintain and store your equipment. Our goal is help you capture your amazing underwater experiences.

Search and Recovery

This program provides the skills and concepts required to safely plan and conduct search and recovery dives. You will learn about search patterns, specialized dive plans, underwater communication, and how to recover small to medium-sized objects using specialized equipment like lift bags.

Wreck Diving

Many of the ocean’s best dive sites have artificial reefs, or wrecks that have sunk through the ages. This program gives you the skills and knowledge required to safely scuba dive above and around these underwater treasures.

Advanced Diver Course

The SDI Advanced Diver program is a fully customizable program geared towards your interest as a diver. 

Unlike the often marketed “Advanced” Adventure Diver Speciality Course which is only 5 additional dives with an instructor. The SDI Advanced diver ensures your skills are up to an advanced level. No one becomes a black belt after 5 sparing sessions and we want to bring you to the black belt diver level.

To earn your Advanced Diver Certification you will need to complete at minimum:

• 4 Specialty Courses
  • Choose from wide selection of options best suited to your needs as a diver
  • You will complete 9-15 dives with an instructor based on the courses you select.
  • Most students will have 6-16 hours of instruction in Confined Water/ classroom time.
  • dedicated E-Learning courses
• 25 dives outside of a class
• Approval from one of our instructors ensuring your skills are to an advanced level.

To begin your Advanced Diver program you can register for any of our Specialty courses or meet with one of our instructors and we will plan a complementary training program for you.

Rescue Diver 

This course teaches divers how to avoid, recognize, and solve problems both on the surface and underwater. As a prerequisite for certification, you need to have a valid CPR / First Aid certificate.

PFI Freediver

This program teaches fundamental freediving techniques for comfortable enjoyment in the aquatic world to depths of 20m/66ft. You will also practice Static Apnea to help develop your breath-holding abilities and in-water comfort.

Students will complete the course with the knowledge to handle all common freediving injuries including shallow water blackouts. In addition most students will be successful in reaching 20m (66ft) in the ocean and completing a 3 min static breath hold in confined water.

There are two E-Learning courses required to be completed prior to the beginning of your in class session. One E-Learning will be from PFI and will cover a wide range of information and is required for certification from PFI. The second online course is an Equalization course from Immersion Freediving. This course will set you up for success on freediving specific equalization techniques. Even if you can freedive to shallow depths or scuba dive this will be a new skill that takes several weeks to master. As such we recommend signing up for a class weeks in advance, not days.

This is a 2 weekend course held on back to back Saturday and Sundays. Our first weekend will be held at Channel Islands Scuba and will run from 8am to 2pm. Our second weekend will be at Catalina Island.

Ferry tickets to Catalina Island are included in the cost of this course. There will also be a group room available for all students to share if they wish. This room is not in a 5 star hotel and some will find themselves on a couch, but it is the most inexpensive trip you will find to Catalina.

Equipment is not included in the course and is required for all students. Required equipment includes freediving quality;

• Low Volume Mask
• Freediving Fins
• J- type Snorkel
• 5mm Wetsuit or thicker, Open Cell, 2 piece is recommended 
• Weight Belt, rubber style belt with hard weights is recommended

Equipment will be available to purchase on your first class session with your instructors guidance.

Adaptive Diver

The Diveheart Adaptive Diver certification course is geared towards children, adults, and veterans with disabilities that want to gain an internationally recognized scuba diving certification. This course will be taken in conjunction with all other training required by the Diveheart Adaptive Scuba Instructor’s professional certification agency. These courses are frequently one-on-one courses with tailored pacing.

The Diveheart Adaptive Diver eLearning course introduces Adaptive Diving to anyone interested in learning about diving with a disability. There is no exam, and everyone is welcome to take it and learn about adaptive diving and Diveheart! An Adaptive Diver Candidate seeking certification is required to take this course and read the Diveheart Adaptive Diver Manual.

Must have a current RSTC approved Medical, signed by the candidate’s primary physician, clearing them to dive.

Adaptive Dive Buddy

This course introduces Adaptive Diving to certified divers interested in working with adaptive divers (individuals with disabilities)! This is Diveheart’s entry-level Buddy Course. Upon earning their certification, Adaptive Dive Buddies will have the ability to participate on Diveheart Adaptive Dive Teams!

Adaptive Dive Buddy Candidates must:

• Certified Open Water diver, or equivalent, with at least 20 logged dives
• Been diving, or taken a refresher course, in the past two years
• Have current CPR/First Aid/AED training (must be good through the entire course)
• Comfortable performing all of Diveheart’s Buddy Tune-Up Skills PRIOR to attending the practical portion of the course. This is often overlooked as buddies must have above average skills in order to be able to buddy with Adaptive Divers.
• Proficient in scuba skills including buoyancy control (RECOMMENDED that candidate has completed an Advanced Buoyancy Control Course)

Advanced Adaptive Dive Buddy

This course builds on Diveheart’s Adaptive Dive Buddy Course, introducing advanced skills, techniques, and protocols used when working with adaptive divers that require a higher degree of assistance while diving. Advanced Adaptive Dive Buddy candidates will also use and become familiar with more specialized adaptive diving equipment, such as full face masks. Upon earning their certification, Advanced Adaptive Dive Buddies will have the ability to lead Diveheart Adaptive Dive Teams!

When a candidate with no experiences diving with adaptive divers finishes the Advanced Adaptive Dive Buddy or Adaptive Scuba Instructor course they will have earned a Diveheart Adaptive Dive Buddy certification. But, they will have the knowledge and training of an Advanced Adaptive Buddy or Adaptive Scuba Instructor. This allows the candidate to function as a more qualified and safer team member on Adaptive Dive Teams as they complete their 30 experiences diving with adaptive divers.

Advanced Adaptive Dive Buddy Candidates must:

• Minimum of Certified Rescue Diver, or equivalent, with at least 40 logged dives
• Been diving, or taken a refresher course, in the past two years
• Have current CPR/First Aid/AED training (must be good through the entire course)
• Comfortable performing all of Diveheart’s Buddy Tune-Up Skills PRIOR to attending the practical portion of the course. This is often overlooked as advanced buddies must have well above average skills in order to be able to buddy with Adaptive Divers.
• RECOMMENDED that candidate has a Full Face Mask Certification
• *Pre-requisite to certification: 30 experiences working with adaptive divers underwater, a minimum of 15 having taken place in open water environments. See Above for more information.

Buddy Tune-Up Skills Primer

All Dive Buddy candidates must have above average skills in order to be able to care for Adaptive divers on a buddy team. In order to ensure your skills are to this level every candidate must be able to preform their Buddy Tune-Up Skills PRIOR to starting their Buddy Program.

These skills include:

• Weight Check
• 3 Minute Hover
• Remove and Replace Mask – while hovering
• Regulator Recovery – while hovering
• Breath From a Freeflowing Regulator- while hovering
• Remove Replace BCD Underwater – while hovering
  • This skill can be particularly challenging as Open Water classes typically do not teach you how to do this in neutral buoyancy. Make sure the first time you preform this is not during your Adaptive Buddy Course.
• Out of Air Emergency – Using a buddy’s alternate air, swim a circuit, hover 3 mins, ascend, and orally inflate bcd.
• Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent (CESA)
• Buddy Breathing – Buddies share the same regulator for 3 mins

Channel Islands Scuba offers their Buddy Diver Tune-Up Primer course to be done prior to the start of your Adaptive Buddy or Advanced Buddy Diver Course. 

In this course you will spend 6 hours in the water with a Diveheart Adaptive Diver Instructor where they will give you tools and practice time to master your Buddy Diver Tune-Up skills.

Interested in exploring beyond the limits of recreational SCUBA?

Divemaster

The SDI Divemaster Course is the first professional level certification. During the course you will learn how to work with divers, lead certified divers, and act as a dive guide showing divers underwater dive sites and the marine life that inhabits those dives sites. You will increase your knowledge about physics and physiology as well as increase your proficiency with your scuba and snorkeling skills.

Assistant Instructor

The SDI Assistant Instructor Course is designed to build on the SDI Divemaster Program by gaining practical teaching experience, learning to prepare lesson plans, and give academic presentations. You will work with an instructor to gain experience teaching before moving on to the SDI Open Water Scuba Diver Instructor level. Once you complete the Specialty Instructor training with a qualified SDI Instructor Trainer, you can become qualified to teach several SDI Specialty Diver courses.

Open Water Instructor

The SDI Open Water Scuba Diver Instructor (OWSDI) course is designed to teach current Divemasters or Assistant Instructors certified with a recognized dive training organization the knowledge to effectively function as an open water scuba diver instructor. This program is divided into two sections, an instructor development course (IDC) and an instructor evaluation course (IEC).

As a Diver’s Alert Network (DAN) Affiliated and Trained Dive Shop, we can provide you with key skills for helping in diving emergencies.

Your first step is becoming a DAN member. DAN provides members with top-notch dive safety education. Join today by clicking the image, and get great benefits such as AlertDiver magazine, and the option to sign up for Dive Insurance. This is invaluable in the event of an unforeseen dive emergency.

Now that you have taken care of that, you are ready for some great dive safety and treatment courses…

Diving First Aid for Professional Divers

DFA Pro is comprised of information from the Emergency Oxygen for Scuba Diving Injuries, Neurological Assessment, First Aid for Hazardous Marine Life Injuries and CPR HCP courses.

Diving Emergency Management Provider

The DEMP Program combines the knowledge and skills from the following courses into a single approach to managing diving emergencies: Basic Life Support: CPR and First Aid, Neurological Assessment, Emergency Oxygen for Scuba Diving Injuries and First Aid for Hazardous Marine Life Injuries.

Emergency Oxygen for Scuba Diving Injuries

This course will teach you the techniques of emergency oxygen administration for suspected diving injuries and nonfatal drowning. You will learn the fundamentals of recognizing dive-injuries along with response and management.

First Aid for Hazardous Marine Life Injuries

This course teaches divers how to identify and avoid potentially harmful marine life. It also provides first aid skills to minimize these injuries and reduce discomfort.

Nuerological Assessments

Learn how to obtain essential information about an individual involved in a dive emergency or suspected of having a stroke and what information to relay to EMS.

Basic Life Support: CPR & First Aid

You will learn how to perform CPR, use an automated external defibrillator (AED) and become familiar with the signs and symptoms associated with heart attacks and respiratory arrest.

CPR Health Care Provider with First Aid

Learn to recognize the signs and symptoms associated with cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and respiratory arrest and proper methods of shock and wound management.

What is Open Water Diver Certification?

Open Water Diver Certification is a program for those people who are ready to become full, autonomous Scuba Divers. This means being able to dive without the assistance of a Dive Professional. This course is not intended to determine if you would like Scuba Diving. It is a full training program involving multiple class and pool sessions, as well as verification of skill competency in an ocean setting over five dives at the beach and on a boat. If you are unsure if Scuba Diving is for you, we recommend signing up for a Scuba Discovery course instead. This is a one-day course that introduces you to the basics of Scuba in a class and pool session – understanding the basic theory of diving, as well as familiarity with the gear, watermanship, and skills that will be required to complete your Certification course. If you enjoy that, and are comfortable with the environment, then you know you’re ready for full Certification.

What are the requirements to receive my Open Water Diver Certification?

Open Water Diver Certification requires you to complete an at home E-Learning program, two 8hr pool/ classroom sessions, and completion of five dives in the ocean – two completed on one of our local beaches and an additional three on one of our local affiliated dive boats. There are a set of skills that are taught that each student must demonstrate adequate mastery of to their instructor to ensure they will be safe, competent divers after Certification. The vast majority of people are able to do so over the course of the standard program, but please keep in mind that this is a Certification. Attendance at the required sessions does not guarantee Certification – adequate mastery must be demonstrated, and, if it is not, additional sessions may be required in order to complete the course. Skills include clearing water from the diver’s mask while underwater, retrieval of lost regulators underwater, adequate buoyancy control, and ability to maintain depth during a safety stop, to name a few.

Why does your Certification include Beach and Boat Dives?

We utilize Beach and Boat dives to ensure our divers experience the most common diving environments and challenges local to our area, and are prepared to manage them following Certification. In the long run, this maximizes our divers’ ability to dive where and when they want to do so, safely and confidently.

I’m interested in Scuba Diving, but not sure I will like it. Is Open Water Diver for me?

Open Water Diver Certification is a Certification course. We have to assume that each of our students in the course is committed to learning to be a diver, and that they’ve already made up their mind that they are going to do so. If you are unsure if this is for you, it is much better to enroll in a Scuba Discovery course, determine if you’re comfortable in the water and with the equipment, and, if so, move into full Certification.

What is the minimum age to learn how to dive?

SDI allows divers as young as 8 to take part in their Future Buddies Scuba Program which will teach our young divers about the aquatic world in the safety of our pool. Divers 10-14 can participate in their Jr Open Water Scuba Diver Certification. Students in their Jr Open Water Scuba course must be able to meet the same standards as all other divers, but once the are certified they are limited to dive with their certified parent/ legal guardian or a dive professional only. To keep our instructor ratio even lower and to set our Jr Open Water Scuba Divers for success in their course, we do require that they register in a Private Open Water course and either have a parent or legal guardian get certified in the course with us or already be an active diver who will be present for all ocean dives. 

Why do I have to purchase my Personal Scuba Gear?

That question is a bit complicated.

Our students need their Personal Scuba Gear – mask, snorkel, fins, gloves, boots, dive bag, and surface marker.

First, Scuba Diving is an equipment intensive sport. We have learned that the safest and most comfortable way for a person to learn to dive is in equipment that has been personally fitted to them, that performs well, and that they are comfortable with. If you are comfortable in the water, you will get more out of the instruction, becoming a better diver at the end of your course.

Second, we’ve all been there. If you want to participate in an activity, but the first stop in performing that activity is going someplace else to get something, we will find excuses not to do so. Divers who have more gear dive more often – they don’t need to go rent gear in order to go diving. They just go. And because of that they go more often, becoming better divers more quickly.

Third, keep in mind that this type of gear isn’t always available for rent. Some places will provide you with basic gear during your certification (and charge you more for the class because of it). When you’re done with your course, you may not be able to rent it, and now have to buy the gear anyway if you want to go diving. We prefer to be up front with our customers – we keep the cost of our course as low as possible, get you in to your own gear, and you walk out with your certification, your gear, and the ability to dive for the same prices some charge just for the course itself.

Fourth, remember, humans are not designed to live 60 feet under the water. It may not seem like it, but everything we put on to go diving is life support equipment. Your safety depends on the performance of your gear. Our students are paying to learn Scuba, but also to do it in a safe fashion. If the gear you try to use doesn’t meet safety standards, we cannot accept the liability of taking you in the water, knowing that so much is riding on how that gear performs.

Finally, trust that Scuba gear is durable. Well maintained gear lasts almost a life time. Your fins should last over 10 years. A mask, if it isn’t lost or broken (watch where you set your tanks!), can last 20 years. Getting set up with your own gear costs very little over the life of that gear. You could pay far more for it in the long run by continually renting.

Ultimately, we want to ensure you are safe, comfortable, and confident during your diving experiences with us, all at the best possible value, short and long term, for you.

How expensive is Scuba Diving?

We’re not going to lie to you. Scuba Diving can be expensive. If you don’t own all of your own gear (and we mean ALL of it – regulators, BCD, wetsuit, etc. – the equipment we provide during training), a day on a boat (usually a three tank dive day) runs about $200, and a day of beach diving (usually a single tank dive) runs $60. This should be factored into your decision on moving forward with this sport. Many people ask why Certification is so expensive. If Certification puts a strain on your budget, be aware that your diving opportunities may be very limited, and you may want to hold off until you are more comfortable with the expense. Remember, Scuba Diving is a very muscle memory intensive sport, much like riding a bike. If you get certified, and then dive only once or twice a year, it will take a long time for you to get really comfortable. You may actually lose ground on your skills. We want our students to be informed, and not get in over their heads with something.

How do the On-Line materials work? Can I get a book if desired?

SDI (our certification agency) has moved to digital materials (e-learning). This means you can access your training materials from any computer or smart device. This provides you with much more flexibility in terms of where and when you complete them, without having to worry about losing a book. If you would prefer printed materials, they are available at an additional cost, but once we see what the digital materials have to offer, we doubt you’ll want to go that route.

Once I’m certified, where can I go to Dive?

The options are really limitless. Open Water Certification qualifies you to dive without a Dive Pro in attendance. That means you can go to a local beach anytime you want to, and hit the water. There are plenty of dive boats in our area that take divers out to hard to reach spots along the coast and out to our very own Channel Islands. And of course there is always international dive travel as well.

I’ve heard a lot about PADI. Why do you use multiple certification agencies?

We get asked that question a lot. First off, be aware that all Scuba Diving standards are set by the World Recreational Scuba Training Commission (WRSTC), an international team that sets the standards for what Scuba Divers need to know / be able to do for all levels of certification. Organizations such as SDI, SSI, PADI, NAUI, etc. take these standards, and develop training materials to meet these standards, while injecting their methodology on how they are to be taught. All of these certifications are recognized the world over.

We utilize the training agency that gives us the best tools to teach the course that you want to take.

SDI in our recreational courses because it allows us as your instructors the time and flexibility to teach you fundamental skill and diving techniques that are often reserved for “higher level” training programs. This means that while we may ask more of you during your class, we want to ensure that you have the skill set and knowledge base to be truly comfortable and confident when you complete your certification.

TDI was one of the first in Tec Diving, overhead exploration, and mixed gases. They have always been on the innovating end of what has been an ever changing segment of diving.

We utilize PFI for our Freediving courses because they were the first certifying agency in the country and has always driven innovation for a sport that is still in its infancy. From being the first to establish recovery protocols to being the driving force behind Hollywood’s blockbuster hits they have always pushed the envelope of breath hold sports.

We teach Diveheart for our adaptive scuba divers because every other adaptive program out there is based on their training and they do not specialize in any specific groups, if you want to go diving they want to make sure anyone of any ability has that opportunity. 

What is your refund Policy on classes?

Putting together a Scuba Class requires a large outlay of resource – instructors, divemasters, learning materials, gear check outs, and boat charters. Once you’ve committed to a course, we commit resources to ensure you will be able to complete it. Those resources don’t have a refund policy for us, thus, once you’ve committed to taking a class, we can’t issue a refund, because we’ve spent that money to secure the resources to complete your course, and we can’t get it back either.

What is your refund Policy on Personal Gear purchased for the class?

When you purchase your Personal Scuba Gear with us, you have some advantages. Try it in your first pool session. If something doesn’t feel right, or you want to try something different, bring it back in at end of day, and we’ll swap it out for you for the day two pool session. Decide which set you prefer, and we’ll settle up any differences. Keep in mind that once the gear has been in the water, we can’t offer a refund but only in store credit. Otherwise, our standard refund policy applies to any gear purchases. Any used (even just in the pool) will not be resold as new due to our post Covid-19 policies.

Do I need to know how to swim to go Scuba diving?

Know how to swim? Absolutely. Be a world class swimmer? Absolutely not. You will need to complete a water comfort evaluation during your Certification – a 200-meter swim (non-stop, no time limit, any stroke) and a 10-minute float (no touching the bottom). This is not a “test,” rather, it is to ensure you are comfortable in the water to begin with, and won’t be liable to panic just because you’re in the water. We have a lot to do to get you Certified, and our students need to be comfortable in the water to begin with so they can focus on what we need to teach them.