On Saturday, September 6, 2008, PEAK, in conjunction with Columbia SCUBA, LLC, offered an introductory dive event called Discover SCUBA. Over 30 new SCUBA enthusiasts participated in this event!
Fledgling divers were given a brief introduction to SCUBA diving and then were encouraged to don SCUBA gear, including a mask, fins, a buoyancy compensation vest, regulator, and air tank, and swim to the bottom of the pool. This event offered hands on experience for individuals who were interested in learning about SCUBA diving by allowing participants to experience a dive in the safety of a pool with instruction from certified SCUBA Instructors.
Participants who now have been bitten by the diving bug are encourage to make plans to obtain their Open Water Dive (OWD) certification which offers basic instruction and training for beginning divers so that they can experience the underwater world as a recreational diver.
An OWD dive certification class is being offered for the Heathwood community on the evenings of September 23-25 and the following weekend, September 27 and 28. Obtaining OWD certification is a 3-step process: there is a classroom component, a confined water (pool) dive component, and an open water (lake, spring, ocean) dive component. After an initial investment in skin diving gear (mask, fins, snorkel, dive booties and a dive computer), cost for the course is $375.
Call Lucy Kreiling at Columbia SCUBA, LLC at 788-9166 for more information about SCUBA diving opportunities and for registration in the OWD course in September.
There is a PEAK SCUBA dive opportunity on the calendar for October 10-13 in the Florida Keys. Information and registration for this event is available at http://www.heathwood.org/peak/scuba.htm.