4 Evenings over two weeks and one weekendCourse Length
Monday & Wednesday *7:00pm (*5:30 July & Aug Dates) - Saturday and Sunday 8:00 amStart Time
12+Age Requirement
BeginnerCourse Difficulty
Self Study, ECourse, Pool, OceanWater time
Course overview
The Basic Open Water Course is the gateway to what is often a life changing experience. Explore more of the world by diving into the underwater realm for some adventure. Your adventure begins sooner than you think: register for a comprehensive, personal PADI Open Water course and be certified in less than two weeks.
You will receive a pass to the eLearning portion of your course to do some knowledge development at your pace with text, videos and graphics available to aid your learning online. After this you’ll join us for 4 one hour pool session. After completing the confined pool sessions you apply these skills in the real world. We head to the ocean and students show their ability to take the skills they learned in the pool and use them in the ocean with an instructor.
We are fortunate enough to have world-class scuba diving in Vancouver and are eager to introduce new divers to what’s available in our own backyard. We visit Whytecliff Park, a Marine Protected Area near Horseshoe Bay during the course. Alternatively, if you have a trip planned to warmer climates you can complete your training here so you don’t have to spend your vacation time studying. The PADI Open Water certification is recognized worldwide as a valid scuba diving license. This will permit you to rent dive gear and book dive trips almost anywhere on the planet.
Scuba diving is accessible to most people; a small amount of comfort in the water is a prerequisite. A basic swimming level is required you will have to demonstrate water-skill comfort by having to: swim 200 metres/yards and preform afloat or tread in water for 10 minutes, again using any methods that you want. We’ll teach you all the skills you’ll need for the underwater world. The course begins with academics and pool training for students to develop their knowledge and skills at a comfortable, progressive pace before some ocean dives.
At IDC we value safety above all else and are proud to keep our student to instructor ratios well below industry standards allowing for more personal attention and supervision. Along with the required course materials, which are quite comprehensive on their own, we provide some classroom sessions with an instructor before your pool dives. This develops a better understanding of our unique environment and some of the techniques and knowledge that applies best to BC diving.
Did you know that at IDC we do not charge extra for personal gear rentals? Our Open Water course includes rentals, eLearning, certification, etc. Everything you need to complete your course is included. We are the most affordable Open Water course in the lower mainland when all is said and done.
We Supply
All rental equipment, including wetsuit/drysuit*, fins & dive computer.
Rental Fee for your Fins & Gloves. ($50.00 value you can get back ask staff for details)
*50% off gear rental to be redeemed after certification
You Supply
You will need to have your own Mask, Snorkel & Mouth Piece (these items can be purchased from IDC any day before the course)
Bathing suit, towel
Transportation (Rideshare available)
A completed Diver Medical Questionnaire (and a physician’s clearance before the first day of your scheduled course if you have any ‘YES’ answers)
Be ready by completing your E Learning course work.
Sense of adventure
Curriculum
Knowledge Development
Once you purchase this course you will receive an email with an IDC Online Learning Agreement Form and other important forms you must complete before you will be registered into the program.
After you complete this eForm you will then be registered and will receive an email within 1 business day from PADI to start your eLearning portion of the course; you will need to complete this PADI eLearning as instructed in your registration email prior to the first day of the course.
You will be required to complete the Diver Medical Questionnaire (download link to review in advance) and obtain Physician’s clearance if necessary before the first day of your scheduled course
PADI eLearning is self-paced learning (approximately 8 – 10 hours in total consisting of knowledge reviews, quizzes and exams)
Review knowledge development with a PADI instructor in the class prior to pool dives.
Briefings and debriefings bring the classroom to the poolside and shore.
Orientation
PADI elearning online training is to be done as instructed in your registration email and those specified modules completed by the Sunday before pool session on the Monday.
This is a certification program so please show up on time and be prepared as per the course requirements for the times and dates you registered for.
Pool Training
On deck for gear assembly, briefings. Please be changed and ready on the pool deck as per instructed in the registration email and classroom briefings. (9:10pm regular months and 7:40pm in July and August)
9:30 pm – in water for pool training (July & Aug 8:00pm Pool Time)
Pool dives are for skill introduction and development and to gain familiarity and comfort with the equipment involved in scuba diving. We keep our student to instructor ratios low to ensure that all students are able to progress at a steady but comfortable rate with plenty of feedback.
The pool is a heated, indoor pool with changing facilities, parking and showers.
Ocean Dives at Whytecliff Park
Friday 12:30pm-6:30pm – Prior to the ocean dive weekend of the course all students are responsible for checking over & picking up their rental gear (including tanks and weights).
Rideshare is available at $15 per day, with a limited number of seats available, and must meet at the IDC Shop for 6:45am each dive day. Gear confirmation on the Friday is still required.
8am – Saturday & Sunday – The ocean weekend features 4 ocean dives: 2 Saturday & 2 Sunday. Students must arrive on time at Whytecliff Park with all gear and complete all dives in sequential order to progress through the course & gain certification.
2pm – Courses are usually returning to IDC around 2pm each day of ocean dives. Students must return Saturday to get tanks filled. Debriefings may be conducted at the store or at the dive site. Sunday Students must return to IDC to return gear and complete certification process.
The ocean dives are where rubber meets road. These dives are to get acquainted with the ocean environment, to put the skills you learned in the pool to the test in the ocean and to discover what diving really is. But be warned, once you try diving in the ocean, you may be hooked!
The PADI Open Water course includes 4 instructional training dives in the ocean. These dives are meant to acquaint divers with the marine environment here in Vancouver and its unique challenges. These dives are a lot more dynamic of a learning experience than the pool. If we are fortunate classes may encounter some of the diversity of wildlife that inhabit our waters as they finish their course. Seastars, sole, various crabs, tubeworms, anemones, tunicates, sea cucumbers and a variety of other fish and invertebrates make regular appearances on Open Water courses. If we are very lucky we may even find a curious seal or octopus.
The dives themselves are approximately 30 minutes long and do not exceed 60 feet/18 metres (or 40 feet/12 metres for the Junior Open Water). The days begin early so we can be assured parking at the popular marine protected areas. A site orientation is provided to familiarize divers with the facilities, points of interest and potential hazards of the dive site. Each dive is briefed and debriefed and logged. Students will be assembling and disassembling their own equipment before, after and between dives. The day is usually wrapping up by mid afternoon.
* You will need to provide a deposit for equipment you will be taking to the ocean. A credit card number is more than sufficient. This is a deposit only and will only be applied to broken or missing equipment. If a credit card number is not an option, a cash deposit may be substituted in special circumstances. Students are responsible for the equipment they use – any loss or damage will be assessed and charged.
Students are responsible for picking up and transporting their rental equipment for the ocean dives on the Friday before their ocean weekend. We will pack it for you and show you how to check over rental equipment to ensure it is complete and in working order. This is good practice whenever renting gear.
Also note that transportation is not included in the course. Students are responsible for their own transportation to and from the dive site. If you require carpooling or transportation please check with your classmates.
IDC’s 5th Dive
In addition to the course training IDC’s Open Water course includes a “5th Dive” which is a 50% rental of equipment for a 24 hour period, including one tank, to use once within 3 months of your Open Water course. If you opt for the drysuit upgrade in your Open Water course your 50% equipment rental will include a drysuit upgrade with the package. Any additions, like a second tank, may also be added for a fee. We encourage you to get out and keep your skills fresh. You are welcome to join us on one of our organized fun dives. Please note: fun dive or boat dive fees are not covered by this, only the equipment rental itself is.
*Drysuit Upgrade and Advanced Open Water
It is highly recommended to upgrade to the drysuit upgrade for students that get cold easily or diving in January to March and October to December. When you opt to do the Open Water course in a drysuit you get a confined pool session and ocean training in a drysuit. To honour this additional training and the $99.95 upgrade fee (this is an entirely optional, but highly recommended upgrade) we offer Open Water students a special offer on the Advanced Open Water course in a drysuit: If taken within 3 months of an Open Water course, students receive DrySuit Speciality certification after completing the Advanced Open Water course for only $100.00.
*Drysuit Upgrade and Drysuit Specialty Course
If you like to upgrade to Drysuit Specialty Course we offer this for only $200.00 more on top of the $99.95 you paid for the Dry Suit Upgrade.
Course Extras
1 50% off 24-hour Equipment Rental: to be used within 3 months of course completion date. Students are encouraged to get out diving once they’re certified. This rental includes all essential gear, including 1 tank. If students opt for drysuit upgrade during the Open Water course, a drysuit is included in this rental. The value of this rental is over $100.
Student Discount: 10-15% off regular priced, in-stock merchandise. Discounted or sale items, fair market price items (prices set by manufacturers), books, camera equipment and services (rentals, equipment service, courses, trips, etc) are excluded.
Once certified refer a friend for $25 gift certificate to IDC. After you’ve completed your course, refer a friend to us to do theirs and you receive a $25 gift certificate to IDC as a thank you from us.