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Into the blue
Learn to dive in one hour
Even if you don’t know what the acronym SCUBA stands for (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus), you can find out what it means first-hand in almost no time at all.
“You can learn to dive in an hour,” says a spokesperson for Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahamas–the largest diving company in The Bahamas. You can’t become a certified open-water diver in one day but, with a little basic training, you can go diving on a shallow-water reef or wreck.
All you have to do is take a half-day resort course, offered every morning and afternoon at this popular dive company, located on the southwest coast. “This course is a quick and simple learn-to-dive program,” the Stuart Cove’s rep says. “People who have never tried diving before can, in a matter of an hour, be on a boat and enjoying their first scuba experience.”
Schooling begins with a short presentation about diving and some of the basic rules all divers must follow, and then you go to the swimming pool, where an instructor introduces you to the equipment you will use and makes sure you’re comfortable with breathing underwater.
Then you’ll head out to sea for a one-tank dive with an instructor or dive master as your buddy. The excursion takes three hours.
All the necessary equipment is included in the $130 cost of the program. For a small additional fee, divers may opt to use a wetsuit.
Students must be at least 10 years old (accompanied by an adult), have a basic swimming ability and be in good health.
New divers may return for a second day of the course, skip the training session and make a two-tank dive with an instructor.
On the other side of the island, Bahama Divers, located at Nassau Yacht Haven & Marina on East Bay St, offers a similar half-day scuba course for $109 every morning, starting at 10:30. Their certified instructors conduct classes at Paradise Island Harbour Resort and at Comfort Suites on Paradise Island.
“This resort course is for the entire family,” says Tony Lowe.
Students make their first dive on a shallow reef nearby, either at the marine sanctuary at Athol Island or near Rose Island.
You can get an inexpensive bag of fish food, “which really makes the fish interact with you,” Lowe says. Bahama Divers also shoots a keepsake underwater video and delivers the DVD to your hotel the next day.
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Activities_Dive_WTDNJul10
Into the blue
Learn to dive in one hour
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