Quick Details
Scuba diving is a way to explore the underwater world in new and different ways. PADI Specialty Diver courses teach you new techniques and give you the tools to enhance your exploration. If you have taken the PADI Advanced Open Water Course, you have been introduced to 5 of the specialties. There are so many more you can choose from and at Low Key Watersports, we can offer many of them.
Each specialty has different required learning objectives and different dive options. If you don’t find what you are looking for here or if you need more details, email our in-house PADI Course Director to discuss course details or for help setting up a plan to continue your diving education.
Standard Specialties Available at Low Key
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Learn about the advantages and ease of diving from a boat. You’ll practice boat diving techniques and learn:
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- Boat terminology
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- Boat diving procedures and etiquette, including how to enter and exit, and where to stow your gear
- Boating safety, including how to locate safety equipment
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Explore deeper dive sites with confidence at depths down to 40 meters/130 ft. Learn to manage your gas supply, go over buddy contact procedures, and buoyancy control.
The lure of the deep. There’s something exciting and mysterious about exploring deeper dive sites while scuba diving. Sometimes it’s a wreck that attracts you below 18 meters/60 feet, and on wall dives, it may be a giant fan or sponge. Whatever it is, to scuba dive with confidence at depths down to 40 meters/130 feet, you should take the PADI Deep Diver Specialty course.
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Many divers wouldn’t think of diving without carrying a delayed surface marker buoy (DSMB), and in some locations it’s considered required safety equipment. Knowing how to properly deploy and manage a DSMB are valuable skills learned in this course.
Boats and currents are two common factors associated with many dive sites. Boaters don’t always recognize that divers are in the area and current can carry you further than expected. Launching a delayed surface marker buoy (DSMB) before your surface can alert others to your location in advance of your ascent. Adding another layer of safety, you can also use the DSMB line to complete your safety stop, which is advantageous in a current or when there are no other visual references. Take this course to learn about all the beneficial uses of a DSMB.
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Underwater photography is one of the most popular diving specialties, and with so many underwater cameras to choose from, it has become easier and more fun than ever to capture images of your underwater scuba adventures. The PADI Digital Underwater Photographer course gets you going quickly, whether you use a point-and-shoot camera or a sophisticated dSLR like the pros.
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If scuba diving is like taking a scenic stroll around a park, a Diver Propulsion Vehicle (DPV) is like exploring a neighborhood on an (electric) bicycle.
DPVs, also called underwater scooters, allow you to see more, conserve air, and get from one place to another faster – with a huge smile on your face.
Please Note: We offer this course at Low Key Watersports but currently you must bring your own DPV!
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The underwater world changes as day creatures retire & nocturnal organisms emerge. If you’ve wondered what happens underwater after the sun goes down, enroll in the PADI Night Diver Specialty course.
The thought of dipping below the surface at night seems mysterious, yet so alluring. Although you’ve been scuba diving at a site many times before, at night you drop into a whole new world and watch it come to life under the glow of your dive light. The scene changes as day creatures retire and nocturnal organisms emerge. If you’ve wondered what happens underwater after the sun goes down, sign up for the PADI Night Diver Specialty course.
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Observe aquatic life without disturbing its surroundings. Improve the buoyancy skills you learned as a new diver and elevate them to the next level.
Excellent buoyancy control is what defines skilled scuba divers. You’ve seen them underwater. They glide effortlessly, use less air and ascend, descend or hover almost as if by thought. They more easily observe aquatic life without disturbing their surroundings. You can achieve this, too. The PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty course improves the buoyancy skills you learned as a new diver and elevates them to the next level.
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Retrieve lost items that have fallen overboard or over a dock. Learn effective swimming patterns and using a lift bag for heavy objects.
It happens: People accidentally drop things from docks, off boats or even while scuba diving. If you’ve ever lost something in the water and wanted to go find it, then the PADI Search and Recovery Diver Specialty course is for you. There are effective ways to search for objects underwater that increase your chances of success. And there are good and better methods to bring up small, large or just awkward items. Search and recovery can be challenging, but a whole lot of fun.
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Fine-tune your underwater observation skills and learn to use your compass more accurately. This course may count towards college credit, ask your instructor.
Be the scuba diver everyone wants to follow because you know where you are and where you’re going. The PADI Underwater Navigator course fine-tunes your observation skills and teaches you to more accurately use your compass underwater. If you like challenges with big rewards, take this course and have fun finding your way.
Conservation Specialties
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This course helps you appreciate the complexity of coral reef habitats and teaches how you can help conserve these vital systems.
Everyone likes to scuba dive or snorkel in warm, clear water on a vibrant coral reef, yet many people know little about what they’re seeing or the importance of reef ecosystems. The Coral Reef Conservation Specialty course helps you appreciate the complexity of these habitats and teaches you how you can help conserve these vital systems.
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Sharks are an essential part of a healthy ocean. This course explores why they are vulnerable, the importance of a healthy shark population, managing threats and how to take action to protect them.
Love sharks? Scared of sharks? Or do you just want to know more about them? Enroll in an AWARE Shark Conservation Specialty course and discover the value of sharks to marine ecosystems and economies. You’ll learn more about the causes of declining shark populations and the actions you can take to become a knowledgeable and passionate shark defender. By being informed, you can dispel misconceptions and act to protect sharks. Sharks need you!
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This specialty is an introduction to Lionfish Hunting and is to familiarize divers with the skills, knowledge, planning, organization, procedures, techniques, problems, hazards, and enjoyment of Lionfish hunting. It’s intended to serve as a safe and supervised introduction to invasive Lionfish Hunting. Training should emphasize safety and fun.
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Pay the ocean forward by helping clean it up on your next dive. Learn about the problems of marine debris, conducting Dive Against Debris surveys, and how divers are a part of the solution to keeping our oceans clean.Do you want to make a difference on every dive but are not sure where to begin? Gain the knowledge and skills to activate your inner citizen scientist by taking the Dive Against Debris® Specialty. You’ll learn to complete Dive Against Debris surveys under the guidance of a PADI® Professional and help keep you your local dive sites healthier by removing trash.
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Enjoy dives, even more, when you can recognize and identify fish families and their characteristics.“What was that fish?” is a common question heard after a dive. If you want to be the scuba diver with the answers, instead of the one asking the questions, then take the Fish Identification Specialty course. You’ll enjoy your dives, even more, when you recognize the creatures that you see and can identify the main fish families and their characteristics.
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Uniting scuba divers and water enthusiasts to make a difference. By earning this certification, you’ll learn how you can make a difference for ocean protection every time you dive or travel.The Project AWARE Specialty course is an introduction to Project AWARE as a global movement for ocean protection. It focuses and expands on the 10 Tips for Divers to Protect the Ocean Planet. Through interactive discussions, you’ll learn how you can make a difference for ocean protection every time you dive or travel. A dry, ‘fins off’ course, this specialty is ideal for divers and non-drivers alike to gain insight into how decisions above and below the surface impact our water planet.
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Get a better understanding of the local ecosystem and the differences between terrestrial and aquatic worlds. See new things, even in the most familiar dive sites.
Take the PADI Underwater Naturalist Specialty course and you’ll see new things, even on the most familiar scuba diving sites. Why? Because when you know more about symbioses, underwater ecology, and aquatic plant and animal habitats, you notice behaviors and see creatures you may have previously missed. Learn more about the local ecosystem and take a closer look at your next scuba diving adventure.
Dry Specialties
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Immediately recognize scuba diving illnesses treatable with emergency oxygen and be prepared to offer aid. There are no prerequisites or age restrictions. This course is open to everyone.
Knowing how and when to use emergency oxygen is a great skill to have and means you’re ready to help others should the need arise. Becoming a PADI Emergency Oxygen Provider lets you breathe easy knowing that you can recognize scuba diving illnesses treatable with emergency oxygen, and are prepared to offer aid.
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Learn to manage basic scuba diving equipment repairs and adjustments. Understand routine care and maintenance procedures and how dive gear works.
Don’t miss a dive due to minor issues with your scuba diving equipment. Whether it’s a missing o-ring, wetsuit tear or a broken fin strap, the PADI Equipment Specialist course teaches you to manage basic repairs and adjustments. You’ll also learn more about how your gear works, making you more comfortable with it and better prepared to take care of your investment.