 Master
Scuba Diver Program
Rick's
Dive 'N Travel Center is your passport to diving adventure into the new millennium. Learning
more about diving is not only fun, exciting, and healthy, but when you
become a MASTER SCUBA DIVER, the excitement is endless. All of the
Specialty Diver Courses listed here will expand and enhance your
knowledge and skills in variours areas of interest. The Master Scuba
Diver rating is the highest non-instructional rating in our PADI
program, which denotes an expert diver classification. This rating
requires certification as an Open Water, Advanced Open Water, & Rescue
Diver plus your choice of any FIVE "Specialty Ratings" listed
below. "This IS our Black belt of Sport Diving". Certification
to this level entitles you to a special Rick's Master Scuba
Diver award in recognition of this accomplishment.
Wear
your MSD Jacket proudly, as this can only be earned........not bought!!
Be
sure to check our link to "class calendar" on our web
site or call one of our friendly staff members for all course dates,
times and tuition.
PICK
ANY FIVE OF OUR SELECTED SPECIALTIES
AND SAVE UP over $75.00 ON OUR MASTER SCUBA DIVER PROGRAM
Underwater Photography
One of
our most requested Specialty Courses. Underwater Photography is a must
before you dive Florida or the Caribbean destinations. If not before, you
will certainly see why when you return. This course will allow you to
capture underwater memories you can share forever when you understand the
basic concepts of, techniques, lighting, film types, composition and
handling. After a few class and pool sessions in our indoor heated pool,
and a couple of open water dives with your instructor, you'll be on your
way to sharing what most people may never see, the true hidden beauty of
the underwater world. Open Water training is usually conducted on one of
our regular Florida or Caribbean dive trips.
Click here for Photography Tips
Underwater Videography
Underwater
Videography allows you to share and re-live all the excitement and beauty
of your dive vacation with all your family and friends for years to come.
Our Video pros will enlighten you on general information such as format
selection, styles and types of video systems available, contrast, depth of
field, focus, color resolution, in camera editing as well as basic
underwater video techniques. Soon you will be amazed how easy it is to
become an underwater video pro. The best part about U/W Video is, if you
don't like what you took video of....erase it.... and start over. Bring
your video system or we will provide a system for you and a video of your
production.
Click here for Videography Tips
Equipment
Specialist Course
If
you have ever had to abort a dive because of equipment malfunction, you
may have wished you had the knowledge gained in our Equipment Specialist
Course. The class covers "hands-on" field and beach maintenance,
plus problem shooting procedures for minor repairs of sport diving
equipment including, regulators, valves, and power inflators. this course
will definitely give you a better understanding of the way your equipment
functions and the proper procedures for taking care of it. Enroll in our
next Equipment Specialist Course. You'll be glad you did.
Search
& Recovery Course
Our
Search & Recovery course covers the technique and application of
different search and recovery methods. Planning, organization, procedures,
problems, and hazards of search and recovery diving are just a few of the
topics. You will also enjoy a better understanding of Navigation, limited
visibility diving, object location and salvage methods. Rick's Search
& Recovery Course will offer you practical skills in how to set up an
organized search pattern typical of our local. This course is one of the
top selected courses for Police and Fire Department Rescue Teams. You may
never know when these skills might come in handy. Prerequisite is Advanced
Open Water.
Research
Diver Course
Year
after year, our most requested specialty. Our Research Diver Course covers
the history of the formation of Lake Ouachita which many of you know as
our summer training location. We concentrate on accessible sunken islands
for mapping and researching. Some of the skills and topics include
navigation, building and submerging various projects and fish habitats,
mapping, object relocation, planning and organization. This course is
loads of diving fun, including studying and capture of the "Freshwater
Jelly Fish" in Lake Ouachita. This class is so popular that we
usually have as many Divemasters as students so they have the fun all over
again. Offered in the Fall, but you must sign up early to get in this
class!
Night
Diver Course
If
you ask most divers, diving at night is a thrilling and enjoyable
experience. A totally different marine environment comes out after dark.
This specialty will offer you supervision designed not only to prepare you
to dive safely at night, but also techniques useful for limited visibility
dives. Included in the course information are guidelines for preparing for
night dives, selecting appropriate lights and specialty equipment. This
course like many others are offered in conjunction with most of our
Florida and Caribbean dive vacations. Don't miss this exciting specialty.
Underwater
Gourmet
 "A PADI Distinctive Specialty"
Don't
let the name fool you. To the delight of all who love to eat, this
distinctive specialty course is designed to learn special methods of
preparing fish from our local lakes, the ocean, or the fish market. This
culinary delight covers several techniques of preparation and special
delights prepared by you and your instructor. Several types of seafood and
trimmings are prepared and enjoyed by all students. Have fun learning a
new way to prepare your next catch in our Underwater Gourmet Course.
Marine
Life Awareness Course
Many
divers have had the opportunity to travel with Rick's over the years to
many areas of the Caribbean and out of the way places to the South
Pacific, but still are unable to identify the marine life they encounter.
You will have an opportunity to learn more about the underwater
environment and activities of our reef community. Learn the secret of
Symbiosis, various types of hard and soft corals, varieties of fishes and
how they attempt to protect themselves. Expand your knowledge of the ocean
environment as done by many of our veteran divers who travel on a regular
basis. You'll get more out of your trip after completing our Marine Life
Awareness Course.
Gas Blender
 In today's world, more people are learning the benefits of diving
with enriched air, but there is a lack of facilities that offer alternate
breathing gases. But NOT at Ricks. The DSAT Gas Blender course will train
you to become a competent and qualified gas blender, allowing you to
provide gas mixes to appropriately certified consumers. You will learn the
physical properties of oxygen, its associated hazards, handling
requirements and what cleaning equipment is necessary. Finally, you will
learn the five methods of obtaining the desired enriched air nitrox mix
and the various methods used to obtain proper helium mixes.
To enroll in the DSAT Gas Blender course, you must:
-
Be at least 18 years old.
-
Be certified as a PADI Enriched Air Diver or hold a qualifying enriched air certification from another certification organization.
Be certified as a PADI Enriched Air Diver or hold a qualifying enriched
air certification from another certification organization.
Tec Deep Diver
The DSAT Tec Deep Diver course will train you to conduct
gas-switch extended no-decompression dives, decompression dives and
accelerated decompression dives using air and enriched air to a depth of
50 meters/165 feet. This course also covers information on the hazards and
risks involved in technical diving, as well as techniques and methods on
preparing for and responding to reasonably foreseeable emergencies that
may occur in technical diving.
To enroll in the Tec Deep Diver course, you must:
-
Be certified as a PADI Advanced Open Water
Diver or equivalent.
-
Be certified as a PADI Rescue Diver or
equivalent.
-
Be certified as a PADI Enriched Air Diver
or equivalent.
-
Be certified as a PADI Deep Diver or
equivalent.
Have a minimum of 100 logged dives of which
20 must be enriched air dives, 25 dives must be deeper than 18 meters/60
feet and at least 15 dives must be deeper than 30 meters/100 feet.
Apprentice Tec Deep Diver
If you are interested in technical diving, but don't have the
certification or experience for the Tec Deep Diver course, the DSAT
Apprentice Tec Diver course is a sub course within the Tec Deep Diver
course just for you. This course teaches you to make gas switch, extended
no-decompression dives using air and enriched air to 40 metres/130 feet.
Additionally, it trains you to prepare for and respond to foreseeable
emergencies that may occur in technical diving. Since it's part of the Tec
Deep Diver course, your training credits toward the DSAT Tec Deep Diver
course.
To enroll in the Apprentice Tec Diver course, you must:
-
Be certified as PADI Advanced Open Water Diver or equivalent.
-
Be certified as a PADI Enriched Air Diver or equivalent.
-
Be certified as a PADI Deep Diver or equivalent.
-
Be 18 years of age.
-
Have a minimum of 50 logged dives of which at least 10 must be enriched
air dives, 12 dives must be deeper than 18 meters/60 feet and at least six
dives must be deeper than 30 meters/100 feet.
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