PADI ADVANCED OPEN WATER COURSE IN NORTH SULAWESI
ENHANCE YOUR DIVE SKILLS
Get ready to dive into the next chapter of your underwater exploration with the PADI Advanced Open Water course in North Sulawesi. Learn from Murex Resorts‘ experienced instructors who are not only passionate but also dedicated to sharing their knowledge and love for the ocean with you.
THE PADI ADVANCED OPEN WATER COURSE
The PADI Advanced Open Water Course is the next level of diver certification after the Open Water Diver level. The program is designed to enhance your existing dive skills, develop new diving skills in a range of environments and conditions, and to build your confidence underwater.
Once you have completed your Advanced you will be certified to dive to a maximum depth of 30 meters which means you’ll be able to explore more dive sites and take a look at deeper parts of sites you are already familiar with. The PADI Advanced Open Water Course is an exciting program and there are a range of different dives to choose from.
WHAT’S INVOLVED?
The PADI Advanced Open Water course involves five “Adventure Dives” and five corresponding study sessions over 2 – 3 days. The program is not as intensive as the Open Water course and there is no final exam.
Open Water Dives
You are required to make a Deep Dive (up to 30 meters) as well as an Underwater Navigation Dive. The remaining 3 dives are your choice and there are many options to choose from including: Night Diving, Underwater Photography, Peak Performance Buoyancy, Fish Identification, Underwater Naturalist, Drift Diving, Boat Diving, Search and Recovery, Wreck Diving , Enriched Air Diving and Multi Level Diving.
Knowledge Review
There is a chapter in the PADI student manual dedicated to each of these options and you only need to study the chapters that relate to each of five dives you will make. At the end of each chapter there is a “Knowledge Review” which is between 10 and 15 questions long to check your understanding. The rest of the program is diving, exploring, trying out your new skills and enjoying some of the best dive sites in Indonesia.
What Skills Will You Learn in the PADI Advanced Open Water Course?
Take a look at a brief overview of the adventure dives available and what you will learn on each. Remember that there are 2 mandatory adventure dives (deep and navigation) and then 3 optional dives where you can choose the dives you are most interested in learning about.
Deep Diving (Mandatory)
Advanced Open Water Divers are certified to dive to 30 meters/100 feet, so during your course, you’ll need to make a Deep Dive. Diving Bunaken’s walls and Bangka’s coral reefs both offer phenomenal deep diving and as your depth increases, so do your chances of seeing some larger marine species including reef sharks, schooling fish, and eagle rays.
During your deep dive your instructor will be by your side and you’ll learn more about the effects of pressure at depth, and you will carry out checks for nitrogen narcosis.
Underwater Navigation (Mandatory)
We usually conduct navigation dives over a sandy bottom and whether that’s in Bangka or Manado Bay, our sandy sites are never boring. Make sure you stay focused on the task at hand – the unusual critters can be quite distracting!
Drift Diving
Imagine gliding over pristine coral reefs and through clouds of colorful reef fish. Drift diving is one of the easiest ways to dive. Simply relax and literally ‘go with the flow’. You’ll learn how to plan a drift dive, how to make drift diving entries and exits, how to assess currents, techniques for handling currents underwater, and how to deploy a surface marker buoy.
Peak Performance Buoyancy
Do you find yourself going up and down more than you would like to? Do you seem to be constantly adjusting the air in your BCD? The Peak Performance Buoyancy dive will fine-tune your buoyancy skills until you are hovering in mid-water like a pro. Having control over your buoyancy builds confidence, leads to safer and more comfortable dives, improves your air consumption and helps to prevent damage to the underwater environment.
Night Diving
This is a must when you are diving in North Sulawesi!! Rediscover the reef under the cover of darkness. You’ll see an entirely different underwater environment as well as many of North Sulawesi’s rarest and most unusual nocturnal species. You’ll learn how to plan a night dive, night diving equipment requirements, and how to navigate and communicate in the dark – this is a lot of fun!
AWARE Fish Identification
Located at the heart of the Coral Triangle, North Sulawesi is home to literally hundreds of species of reef fish – there is no better place to practice Fish Identification. You’ll learn from your Instructor how to distinguish between different families of fish, how to effectively use fish identification books, how to record fish sightings, and underwater hand signals for different genera.
Digital Underwater Photographer
When you’re diving North Sulawesi’s world-class reefs you might want to capture some of your memories on camera. Taking pictures underwater has some additional considerations compared to taking images on land. You’ll learn about underwater photography equipment, how to prepare your equipment, how to compensate for light and color loss at depth, white balance, photographic composition and selecting your subjects. For anyone with an interest in photography, this is a must-do dive!
Wreck Diving
In Manado Bay, the Molas wreck was a cargo ship which is thought to date back to World War II. The ship has a steel hull that is still intact and this coral-encrusted wreck is now a thriving living reef. You’ll learn how to plan a wreck dive, safety precautions for wreck diving, how to map points of interest on a wreck, and how to avoid wreck diving related hazards. If you have an interest in maritime history this is a great way to get started in wreck diving, but be warned – it’s addictive!
Search and Recovery
If you’re observant and like using a compass then this one’s for you. You’ll learn how to efficiently search for objects underwater as well as how to ‘rig and lift’ in order to safely bring a negatively buoyant object to the surface using a lift bag.
Boat Diving
Have your dives to date all been from the shore? Do you know your port from your starboard or where to find the stern and the bow? You’ll learn all of these terms and more! You’ll also learn valuable entry and exit techniques for different styles of boats.
Multi-Level and Computer Diving
If you are interested in dive tables, dive computers and decompression theory the computer and multi-level dive allows you to explore these in more depth. This is a great option for anyone who is becoming familiar with their dive computer or who is new to using a dive computer.
The Prerequisites
Any diver who is Open Water certified (through any training organization) can take the PADI Advanced Open Water course. It’s not a problem if your Open Water certification is with NAUI, SSI, BSAC or any other agency. You do not need to be an “advanced” diver to take the Advanced course – the idea is to advance the skills that you have and experience new types of diving through a series of “Adventure Dives”. Some divers take the course directly after their Open Water so that they condense their learning while others prefer to wait until later and enjoy some recreational diving first – there is no right or wrong time to develop your skills.
What Does The Course Cost?
- Including student manual & certification (Fees: Rp7,260,000 / $484 / €454)
- With E-learning & certification – elearning fee to be paid direct to PADI online (Fees: Rp6,045,000 / $403 / €378)
Take the PADI Advanced Open Water Course at Murex Resorts
Here in North Sulawesi we have ideal conditions for the PADI Advanced Open Water course because we have such a variety of dive sites and conditions for you to experience and explore.
Murex Manado
Where better to put your buoyancy skills into practice than around Bunaken Island where you can hover like a weightless astronaut along stunning vertical coral walls? Bunaken has a plethora of marine life ranging from tiny nudibranch and macro crustaceans to huge green turtles and reef sharks which makes your fish identification dive an absolute pleasure.
If photography is where your interests lay then Manado Bay dive sites are home to a wonderful array of weird and unusual macro and critter life and there are incredible night diving opportunities. Our Murex Manado House Reef is the perfect dive site for honing your underwater navigation and search and recovery techniques.
Murex Bangka
Dive sites around Bangka are famous for their healthy and vibrant reefs due to the currents which bring in nutrient rich water. If you are interested in drift diving then Bangka is a great option. There is nothing quite like flying over the reef in an exhilarating drift to get your adrenaline pumping.
Bangka’s sloping reefs and pinnacle dive sites are ideal for multi level and computer diving and if you prefer shooting wide angle photography then the kaleidoscopic soft corals create a colorful canvas.
Are you ready to advance your skills?
If you want to advance your diving skills and become a more confident and capable diver, get in touch and book your PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course with us today.