Advanced Buoyancy Course -

Advanced Buoyancy Course

Article by Wes Kilgore
Pictures by Ricardo Castillo

Why do Advanced Buoyancy training?

You’ve just gotten done teaching an Open Water Scuba Diver Course. Your students are now as good as you are at buoyancy control, correct? I Didn’t think so. Why would they be? Is it because they have not been able to learn all of the fundamentals of buoyancy? Could it be that the students have not been able to practice these fundamentals after learning them. In either case, it is hard to argue that more advanced education in one of the greatest skills a diver can develop is very beneficial.

Student training and progression from Open Water

When is it appropriate for a student to enroll in an Advanced Buoyancy Course? By now, most of us are introducing neutral buoyancy as the standard of conduct during our Open Water Scuba Diver courses. However, we have a lot to introduce our students to and to most of them the Open Water course is already a lot of information to digest. So, we have the opportunity to spend time with our students developing buoyancy control with them during the Advanced Buoyancy course. During the two-dive specialty, we can focus solely on developing the three stages of buoyancy.

Using Advanced Buoyancy eLearning

In the past, we have had to work off of the SDI Advanced Buoyancy course standard and do briefings for the student to ensure that all knowledge development is completed. This took up valuable time that could best be used in the water doing practical application of this knowledge which is where the real skill is developed. Now, SDI has released an all new eLearning course for your students to be able to complete the knowledge development online so they are ready to do a quick knowledge review with you to make sure that all of the educational goals are understood and any questions they may have missed have been remediated to 100%. But this leaves more time for you to spend developing their skills in the water.

Where can Advanced Buoyancy training be conducted

So now we need to really start developing the students’ skills. So, where should this be done? Let’s think about this critically. The first 33 feet or 10 meters of salt water is where the greatest variation in total pressure change occurs in the water column. So, it is understandable that the hardest portion of the water column to control your buoyancy is that first 33 feet or 10 meters. So, do you really need to use a deep-water location to conduct the training? Did you know that the SDI Advanced Buoyancy course is one of the few courses that standards allow to be conducted entirely in a confined water environment? Why is that? Well, to be perfectly honest, learning to fine tune your buoyancy in 10 feet or 3 meters is challenging and if a diver can master their buoyancy control in a shallower depth, then it is reasonable to believe that a diver will have less difficulty when they are in deeper environments.

If you are not an Advanced Buoyancy Instructor or would like access to demo materials

The next step for you as a diving instructor is to confirm that you are able to teach the course. If you are not already an SDI Advanced Buoyancy instructor, you may login to your TDISDI.com profile and use the Register a Professional tool to submit an upgrade for yourself. Once you are approved to teach the Advanced Buoyancy course, you can begin scheduling courses with your students. Remember also that any instructor that is able to teach the SDI Advanced Buoyancy course may also request a demonstration eLearning code for the new course so that you can see the materials that your students will be using. There is no charge for the demonstration code. Just reach out to us at training@tdisdi.com or worldHQ@tdisdi.com and we will get you a code for your own use.

Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions you may have.