Advanced Diver
The Advanced Diver course further develops your knowledge and skills. You will gain experience in planning and organising dives at different sites and under different circumstances.
Additional experience will be gained in using small boats, chartwork. navigation and many other related skills. The BSAC consider this grade a fully trained diver.
Course Outline
The Advanced Diver Course consists of the following elements:
- Four classroom lessons
- Theory assessment
- Two dry practical lessons
- Two open water lessons
- Twenty dives (which may include the open water lessons), in a range of conditions, since qualifying as a Dive Leader
Dive Leader training supplemented 'formal' lessons with a more extensive broadening of divers experience. This is further extended in the Advanced Diver course, which has relatively few 'formal' practical lessons and is much more heavily based on a further structured broadening of experience. The definitions of the qualifying dives given below therefore ensure not just a broadening of experience, but sufficient consolidation of that experience.
Where additional considerations apply, for instance for those classroom lessons involving skill practice, the appropriate ratios are detailed in the relevant lesson notes.
Advanced Diver Theory Lessons
The following lessons are structured to ensure a balanced build-up of knowledge and skills relative to the student's increasing diving experience and, to provide a variety between theory and practical lessons.
AT1 The Role of the Advanced Diver
AT2 Advanced Diving
AT3 Organising Diving from Different Platforms
AT4 Review of Diving Conditions and on-site First Aid
Advanced Diver Dry Practical Lessons
These lessons build on the experience of the student to provide link to practical diving for a range of sites.
AP1 Expedition planning
AP2 Dive Planning and Management
Advanced Diver Open Water Lessons
The purpose of the Open Water dives in the Advanced Diver course are to ensure that the student's skills and knowledge are of the standard required of an experienced diver at this grade.
AO1 Diving and Rescue Skills Review
AO2 Rescue Skill & Management Review
Experience dives
The Advanced Diver syllabus includes open water lessons and experience dives which should total a minimum of 20 dives and 600 mins underwater time since qualifying as a Dive Leader. To ensure that students receive experience in a range of conditions, the open water dives must include the conditions in the following list. To ensure consolidation of the experience requirements, each of the conditions should be experienced on at least three dives:
- planned decompression dive - dive involving at least two planned decompression stops, of a total of at least 6 mins., using an appropriate equipment configuration and decompression technique
- dive in tidal waters - dive involving a direct descent following a shot line, to dive on a specific site in a slack water window. Ascent either via shot line or under DSMB as appropriate to tidal conditions at end of dive
- drift dive - dive to a minimum depth of 15m in water moving at a speed which precludes a return to the point of entry
Only one of the above conditions may be logged per dive. In addition to the above, a further six dives should include at least three of the following conditions:
- navigation dive - dive requiring navigation around a site, involving multiple changes of direction throughout and returning to the entry point. Compass and/or pilotage/and/ or distance line techniques used as appropriate. Minimum duration 30mins.
- search dive - A dive involving the utilisation of underwater search techniques.
- no clear surface dive - A dive involving no clear surface, either cavern, wreck penetration or ice diving.
- mixed gas dive - A dive involving use of mixed gas, either closed circuit rebreather or open circuit.
- advanced decompression dive - A dive involving advanced decompression techniques and emergency gas deployment using decompression trapeze or lazy shot.
- surface location dive - A dive involving the surface location of an unknown site using surface searching techniques, followed by suitable precautions when diving an unknown site.
Of the twenty dives:
- at least ten should be carried out from boats. Of these, at least three should be carried out from boats of at least 9m in length, and at sites in exposed locations with surface water conditions producing significant boat motion
- on at least ten the student should act as dive leader
- at least six should show depth experience greater than 30m
- on at least five occasions the student should act as Dive Manager (including taking responsibility for carrying out all planning activities):
- at least two should be full day diving activities, to sites which are unknown to the student Dive Manager (Note; Practical lesson AP2 may qualify as one of these)
- at least one should be for a duration of at least two days, involving the need for organising logistics and suitable accommodation, as well as planning and management of the diving activities, including site location. (Note: this should follow after completion of practical lesson AP1)
- the remaining two may be to either known or unknown sites