Boat Diver Specialty (SPE201)

Prerequisites: Open Water Diver Course or equivalent.

Overview: SCUBA Diving from a boat is a fact of life. If your dive experience has always been doing shore dives, you will find boat diving a very different experience. In fact when you take your first warm water trip, you will most certainly be doing boat dives. Boat diving can be some of the most spectacular diving you do for lot's of reasons. Boats get you to locations you can not typically get to from the shore. The dives tend to be deeper and in areas that are not traveled as frequently as are shore dives , therefore you are likely to see things that you do not on you normal shore diving experience. Unless you are terrified of boats, sooner or later you will most likely be introduced to boat diving particularly if you will be diving in a warm ocean like the Caribbean.

Training Program: This specialty course teaches you how to get the most out of your boat diving. It covers skills such as entries and exits, maneuvering in surface currents, ascents and descents with and without anchor lines, hang lines, planning dives, different kinds of boats, and boat etiquette.

CPR/First Aid Specialty (SPE202)

Prerequisites: None

Overview: The more you extend your diving experiences, the chances are that you will expand your diving to more and more remote locations and more and more potentially hazardous access areas because that is where the best dive sites are found. This same reason is also why it's a good idea to know basic first aid CPR techniques.

Our CPR/First Aid course will provide you with a level of knowledge that is quite appropriate to manage most medical emergencies confidently and competently prior to the arrival of the local EMS personnel on the scene. The course is taught by specially-trained instructors and will provide you with a "first responder" level of medical ability and knowledge similar to the skills used EMTs and paramedics. The course consists of several classroom sessions, video presentations and a number of practical skills sessions. Also, it meets or exceeds all current First Aid/ CPR standards published by the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Training Program: This course is definitely NOT a "Diver Only" course. ANYONE desiring to know about first aid and CPR is welcome to participate in this course. After the successful completion of our First Aid/CPR course, you will be presented with a certification in first aid and CPR that is rated among the most comprehensive available and is valid for two years.

Dive Computer Specialty (SPE203)

Prerequisites: Open Water Diver Course or equivalent.

Overview: With the introduction of dive computers some 10 years ago, recreational diving has been completely transformed into what recreational diving is today. By constantly monitoring your depth and time during the entire dive, and comparing the actual to the mathematical model in the computer, it has actually allowed safer and longer bottom time than were capable using the traditional dive tables to "calculate" the bottom time of the dive.

Training Program: In this course, we will cover the wide range of different types of computers, the different mathematical models used and their general operation. If you own a dive computer or plan to buy one in the near future, this is the course for you. It will provide you with the knowledge and skills to get the most out of these wonderful diving tools.

Deep Diver Specialty (SPE204)

Prerequisites: Advanced Open Water Diver or equivalent.

Overview: The deep diver specialty at United Divers is one of the most popular courses offered by United Divers. We believe this course is ideal for the student just finishing their Advanced Open Water course, while the deep diving part of the advanced course is still fresh in your mind. It is also good for the "experienced or veteran" diver as well. Of course, wreck diving can not be left out in a topic deep diving. Most of the local Wrecks are in "deep" as defined by recreational diving. No deep diving course would be complete without a discussion of Wrecks.

Training Program: This course covers the physiology of deep diving, the effects of diving at depth, simulated decompression diving, introduction to computer diving and much more. Also covered in the course is a fairly indepth discussion of some of the strange and curious things to discover at the greater depths. Of course, you will be expected to participate in a number of local dives both shore and boat to depths greater than 60 feet which is the definition for recreational deep diving. Deep diving in cold water has particular risks and circumstances that you will not normally experience in the more tropical diving environments. These topics will be covered very thoroughly as well as some tips on staying warm, recognizing nitrogen narcosis, and exploring the marine environments at greater depths.

Drift Diver Specialty (SPE205)

Prerequisites: Open Water Diver Course or equivalent.

Overview: Many of the more spectacular dive sites in the world can be loosely to strictly defined as drift dives. One site in British Vancouver called Seymour Inlet has a 22 knot current and a twenty minute slack tide which is the only window of opportunity to dive this site. The marine life at this site is spectacular and prolific because of the currents. Some of the life here reach colossal size compared to the same species observed in dive sites that have no such current.

Needless to say, we don't have any thing like that in New England, but we do have some drift diving sites in this are that are very interesting. One of the better drift dives in this area is off Provincetown. Other sites we have in the area are in Rhodes Island on the Front Wall of Fort Wetherill in Jametown. Other sites, such are Cathedral Rocks in Rockport are not technically drift diving but have enough current to present a challenge to the diver.

Training Program: Our specialty course offers a combination of shore dives and local boat dives to some of the more interesting sites available to us in the locale. Helpful tips about drift diving techniques are useful and valuable no matter where you do your drift diving.

Drysuit Diver Specialty (SPE206)

Prerequisites: Open Water Diver Course or equivalent.

Overview: Our Drysuit Specialty at United Divers is ideally suited for the person who has recently purchased a drysuit, is thinking about buying a drysuit, or someone who simply desires to know about drysuit diving.

If you have recently purchased a drysuit, we enthusiastically recommend this course because of the heavy focus on diving safely with the drysuit. Drysuit diving requires very specific knowledge that is not required in other forms of diving. All manufacturer recommended safety techniques are covered in the course including flooding, how to control your buoyancy, what to do in drysuit emergencies and other important drysuit diving situations.

Training Program: In the past, we have negotiated with various drysuit vendors to borrow some of their suit for a nominal rental fee which is included in the cost of the course. This has been an early Spring or Late Fall activity and pre-registration is require in order for us to know how many suits are needed for the course.

Eco Diver Specialty (SPE207)

Prerequisites: None.

Overview: At United Divers, we enthusiastically support environmental issues. We believe that we need to do our part to protect and educate the divers we serve. In the past we have participated in efforts to clean up the areas we dive in and we strongly emphasize in our curriculum, the concept of "think environment" in all of our diving education and practice. This seminar is aimed toward all recreational divers of all levels. We believe that "actions" really do speak louder than words, so part of the seminar involves a local beach or pond clean up, both in the water and on the beach.

Training Program: Taking this seminar will help you to become more environmentally conscious about local dive sites, will educate you about what to do if you should happen to "bump" into a suspicious looking object in the water, and above, it all will promote a "safety first" stance in addressing environmental issues as a ecologically sound SCUBA diver.

Among other things, this course covers, you, the diver, how do you dive, what kind of equipment do you use, how do you use it, how is your buoyancy control, what can you do to improve you diving skills, how does your diving impact the environment. Lots of topics to discuss, lots of ideas to think about and, as usual, lots of dives to do.

Equipment Specialty (SPE208)

Prerequisites: Open Water Diver Course or equivalent.

Overview: At United Divers, we believe that our Equipment Specialty course is among the finest the SCUBA industry has to offer. The course is structured, such that, every piece of equipment you have is inspected and evaluated to make suggestions about what you can do to keep you gear in tip top shape. You will receive instructions on the latest maintenance concepts, techniques in preventive maintenance, and how to prolong the life of your valuable investment.

If you do not currently own any equipment, this course is also for you. You get a first hand education about what is good, not so good, what to look for when purchasing your new equipment, and what to beware of when looking for the "right" gear for you. Our expert staff will address any and all questions you have been thinking about and give you the latest state of the art view of the world of SCUBA diving equipment A to Z. Even if you are new to diving, this course will save you time and money.

Training Program: The Scope of this course is on routine maintenance intended to focus on the kinds of things an owner /user needs to know about SCUBA equipment. We will show you how a regulator works. care and maintenance of a BCD, Wetsuit, Tanks, Consoles, Gages, and other equipment. You will also have an opportunity to tour our state of the art retail facility as part of the Q&A session and be introduced to some of the latest additions to the SCUBA diving technology.

Ice Diver Specialty (SPE209)

Prerequisites: Advanced Open Water or Equivalent, United Divers' Medical Statement (in advance please), and 10 prior drysuit dives if currently using one.

Overview: Our Ice Diver is not for the faint of heart. and it is an extremely challenging course offered to those interested in a completely different kind of diving. As far as recreational diving is concerned , Ice Diving is considered a novelty in our local area, however, in many inland geographical areas Ice Diving is a major activity. We have several ponds and lakes that are ideal ice diving candidates and in fact are frequent dive sites for cold water rescue courses etc.

Training Program: The course work includes handling ropes, hand and rope signals used for communicating with the surface team, in depth discussions about risk factors, and a comprehensive discussions about safety procedures used during the typical ice diving experience. You will be surprised how many interesting things you will see and collect during some of the open water dives you will do to complete this certification.

Underwater Navigator Specialty (SPE210)

Prerequisites: Open Water Diver Course or equivalent.

Overview: One of the things that frequently frustrates beginning divers is their lack of navigation skills and not knowing where they are at any give part of the dive for sure. By the time you finish this course, you should never worry about where the boat is again because you will know where it is.

Training Program: After taking the United Divers Navigation Specialty course, not only will you know you are, but you will also be able to get back to the same site whenever you want. We incorporate many different kinds of geometric patterns in the exercises conducted in the open water so that you will not only be comfortable with your navigation skill, you will have a lot of fun doing it. Part of the course involved underwater map making, placing and retrieving articles in the open water using only your navigation skills.

Night Diver Specialty (SPE211)

Prerequisites: Open Water Diver Course or equivalent (Advanced Open Water is recommended).

Overview: Perhaps the most exciting and mysterious experience we have as divers is the Night dive. We learned in our Advanced Open Water course that night dives are not full of goblins and monsters. In fact, night dives are frequently far more interesting and exciting because of the vast number of creatures that we never see during daylight hours. They are so well hidden by day that we never notice they are even there but freely come out at night to feed, mate and go about their nocturnal business, usually without any notice whatever.

Training Program: During the Night Diver Specialty course, you will have several opportunities to participate in different night diving environments and will be amazed at the different scenes you will observe that in the daylight seem fairly void of marine life and at night will be teeming with all sorts of new and strange creatures that you did not know were even in these waters.

Nitrox Diver Specialty (SPE212)

Prerequisites: Open Water Diver Course or equivalent.

Overview: Our Nitrox Diver Specialty at United Divers is ideally suited for the person who has recently purchased a nitrox system, is thinking about buying a nitrox system, or someone who simply desires to know about nitrox diving.

If you have recently purchased a nitrox system, we enthusiastically recommend this course because of the heavy focus on diving safely with nitrox. Nitrox diving requires very specific knowledge that is not required in other forms of diving. All manufacturer recommended safety techniques are covered in the course including flooding, how to control your buoyancy, what to do in nitrox emergencies and other important nitrox diving situations.

Training Program: In the past, we have negotiated with various nitrox vendors to borrow some of their systems for a nominal rental fee which is included in the cost of the course. This has been an early Spring or Late Fall activity and pre-registration is require in order for us to know how many systems are needed for the course.

Oxygen Management Specialty (SPE213)

Prerequisites: Open Water Diver Course or equivalent.

Overview: The recommended treatment for serious diving accidents is the immediate administration of emergency oxygen. Administration of emergency oxygen is highly recommended in CPR efforts as well.
In conjunction with the National Safety Council, United Divers Inc. offers an Oxygen Administration course. The program is a hands on program in addition to lectures. The topics covered include oxygen equipment and use, legal issues, equipment characteristics, selecting and maintaining oxygen equipment.

Training Program: Proper use of medical equipment requires more than a lecture. Students will assemble, operate, and feel comfortable with the mechanical aspects of oxygen units.

DAN certification in addition to NSC is available for divers oxygen units are used in this course.

Diver Stress & Rescue Course (SPE214)

Prerequisites: Open Water Diver Course or equivalent (Advanced Open Water recommended), and your own equipment (subject to Instructor approval). Candidates who do not have these specific certification levels may still participate in the program while working on the prerequisites.

Overview: At United Divers our Rescue Diver course is primarily intended to provide a training program for the average diver to be able to manage a typical diving emergency in a timely and competent manner. The course is not intended to supersede or replace the local recognized Emergency Medical System. It does provide enough information and practical training to make a difference in a real medical dive emergency.

Training Program: As a United Divers Rescue Diver Candidate, you will attend 5 academic sessions covering but not limited to Self Rescue, Dive Physiology of Stress, Psychology factors concerning stress, Dive Equipment considerations, Dive First Aid, Dive Emergency Management, Dive Planning, and much more. You will also participate in an intensive weekend of open water diving and experience, first hand, many dive accident scenarios, role plays, and practice in emergency prevention and management. This course is particularly recommended for couples, people who dive together, and candidates for upper level Dive Courses, such as Divemaster, Divecons, and Master Diver programs.

Search & Recovery Specialty (SPE215)

Prerequisites: Advanced Open Water Diver or equivalent.

Overview: Next to Buoyancy Control and Navigation, this is one of the most useful skills you can have in diving. In this course, you will be able to to find and recover almost anything related to recreational diving in an underwater condition. You will be able to re-locate objects, take bearings on objects, and use search and recovery tool such as liftbags, search patterns and wreck reels.

Training Program: We'll cover many different types of search patterns and the "how to's " about bringing your recovered items back to the surface safely. Why you may even find sunken treasure on your Search and Recovery check out dives. At the very minimum, you may never lose a weight belt or other valuable piece of equipment having taken this course.

Underwater Naturalist Specialty (SPE216)

Prerequisites: Open Water Diver Course or equivalent.

Overview: Here in New England, we have a unique opportunity to see a multitude and variety of cold water creatures that are not seen in any other parts of the world. Our local dive sites are teeming with life everywhere you look. Lobsters, Striped Bass, Sculpins, Moon Snails and some of the most beautiful Anemones in the world lie just off shore for us to see. Taking our Underwater Naturalist course will not only help you identify the various species of marine life we have in our waters, but we will also have slide shows and videos of other parts of the world to give you a more generalized introduction to the topic of marine creature identification. You will have lot's of opportunity to interact with a number of our instructors and divemasters to find out about what really is "down there."

Training Program: Course contains a fair amount of classroom activity and several dives to complete the certification. The goal of the course is to have fun while learning about the marine environment. It has a cold water focus, naturally, because this is the environment in which we live and dive.

Underwater Photography Specialty (SPE217)

Prerequisites: Open Water Diver Course or equivalent and and your own equipment (subject to Instructor approval).

Overview: Learning underwater photography is exciting and fun. U/W photographs are a great way to remember your last dive vacation or weekend dive in New England. Your non-diver friends can even get a grasp of what SCUBA is all about, too!

Training Program: Our program consists of three sessions on Saturday and two Open Water dives on Sunday. During the first session, many topics will be presented including photo fundamentals, camera functions, lenses, strobes, lighting, and composition. Session two is a practice session held in the pool for various photo techniques. The third session will include critique of photos as well as recommendations for the two upcoming dives!

Underwater Videography Specialty (SPE218)

Prerequisites: Open Water Diver Course or equivalent and and your own equipment (subject to Instructor approval).

Overview: Learning underwater videography is exciting and fun. U/W video is a great way to record your last dive vacation or weekend dive in New England. Your non-diver friends can even get a grasp of what SCUBA is all about, too!

Training Program: Our program consists of three sessions on Saturday and two Open Water dives on Sunday. During the first session, many topics will be presented including photo fundamentals, camera functions, lenses, strobes, lighting, and composition. Session two is a practice session held in the pool for various video techniques. The third session will include critique of videos as well as recommendations for the two upcoming dives!

Wreck Diver Specialty (SPE219)

Prerequisites: Open Water Diver Course or equivalent (Advanced Open Water is recommended).

Overview: Perhaps the most exciting and mysterious experience we have as divers is the Wreck dive. We learned in our Advanced Open Water course that wreck dives are not full of goblins and monsters. In fact, wreck dives are frequently far more interesting and exciting because of the vast number of creatures live among the man-made reef environment of a wreck.

Training Program: During the Wreck Diver Specialty course, you will learn safety precautions needed during wreck dives, how to enter and exit from wrecks, and have several opportunities to participate in different wreck dives. You will be amazed at the number of different types of wrecks that lay silent on the ocean floor just off the coast of Rhode Island and Massachusetts.