Refresh or ReActivate your Scuba Diving Skills with Aura Divers
Has it been a while since you’ve been diving? Want to get back in the water but don’t know where to start?
PADI offers two different courses to help you refresh your scuba diving knowledge and skills: the PADI ReActivate Course and the PADI Refresher Course. The PADI ReActivate Course is a course for certified divers that want to refresh all the diving skills they learn during the Open Water Course. The course consists of online theory, confined water session and an optional open water session. The Refresher Course can be done in a few hours and before open water dives. It consists of a quiz and practicing in-water skills.
To do a Refresher or ReActivate course, you need to have an entry level certification from any organization. Whether to do a PADI Refresher or ReActive Course depends on how long you’ve been out of the water and your certification level. It’s recommended to do a PADI Refresher if you’ve been out of the water for longer than a year. If it’s been longer than 2 years’, the PADI ReActivate Course is the way to go. If you haven’t been diving since your initial course, it may be better to consider the PADI ReActivate Course. Both of these courses are useful for people that are a bit apprehensive about scuba diving.
PADI ReActivate
The PADI ReActivate Course is part eLearning where you can watch videos on how to perform the necessary diving skills. It helps you relearn dive theory. If you have any questions, write them down and make sure to ask your dive instructor when you see them. You’ll go over the content from your initial course like: dive planning, equipment assembly and safe diving practices. With your instructor, you can do an in-water session in a pool or confined open water. During the in-water session, you’ll go over ALL the skills from your Open Water Course.
PADI Refresher
In comparison, A PADI Refresher Course is slightly different. It goes over basic diving practices, including alternative air source use, how to clear a mask, setting up and disassembling dive gear, and how to recover your regulator. At the start, complete a quiz which you’ll go over with your dive instructor which covers dive theory and safety practices. There is no eLearning as part of this course.
At Aura Divers, we offer both Refresher and ReActivate Courses. Give us a call to discuss which is the best for you!
6 Steps If Separated From Your Dive Buddy
Your dive buddy is your lifeline underwater. They can me a second set of eyes and support if anything goes wrong. But there are occasions where you might lose sight of each other. Say if you get separated during a dive with low visibility, or if you are focused on your compass only to look up and realize that your buddy swam in the other direction.
What should you do if you’re separated from your diving buddies?
1- Establish a lost-buddy pre-dive plan.
Remember to always make a lost-buddy plan part of your pre-dive check, especially when diving with a new buddy or a stranger. Agree on how long you’ll search for each other underwater (usually one minute) and then agree to end the dive (after making your safety stop) and reuniting on the surface.
Remember to arm you and your buddy’s buoyancy compensater (BCD) with the essential emergency gear like SMB and whistle.
2- Stop and slowly turn 360 °
As soon as you notice that you cannot see your dive buddy, stop where you are, establish neutral buoyancy, and do a slow visual 360° spin. Also look both upwards and downwards to check whether they have ascended or descended. Try spotting your buddy’s bubbles, if possible.
3- Use a signaling device
Use your tank-banger or another audio signaling device to get your buddy’s attention. He or she may be able to locate you by following the direction of the sound.
If you have a dive light on you and visibility is low, use the light while doing your slow spin. The light can be used to grab the attention of your buddy who could be behind any underwater features like big rocks.
4- Start Ascent
After the agreed time (around 1 minute), start your ascent while repeating the 1-minute turn with noise and light at every safety stop
5- Deploy your delayed surface marker buoy (DSMB)
While at your safety stop, deploy your delayed surface marker buoy (DSMB) or so that your buddy can easily spot you if he is searching for you at the surface.
If you’re doing a boat dive this will also aid the boat crew in locating you.
6- Wait at the surface
At the surface, wait for your buddy to emerge while continuing to look for the air bubbles or DSMB. If the weather is good chances are you will be able to spot them. However if your buddy is taking too long to surface do not re-descend, instead inform the boat crew or dive center as soon as possible that your buddy is missing.
