PADI Open Water Course – What’s Involved?

Congratulations you have now taken the first step into an amazing world that will captivate and excite you. The Stellar Divers Dive Team will be your guides & mentors as you progress through all of the elements of the course. Our goal is to ensure that you are completely happy, have achieved mastery of all of the knowledge, skills and diver etiquette that you need to be a certified PADI Open Water Diver. Of course not forgetting a vital part, we will ensure that you have a lot of fun along the journey. We are excited and looking forward to sharing our knowledge, love of scuba diving and showing you what the oceans have to offer you. Now please watch Drew’s video.  

This page is full of information to answer any questions that you may have about what to expect while you are doing your course. Please read through the sections, if you have any questions at all the Dive Team will be more than happy to answer.  Use the contact button at the bottom of the page to raise a question or just give us a call or pop in to the Hub.

So What Happens Next?

The Induction: This is a very unique experience that we are proud to offer you. We will invite you to come along to the Hub where our full time PADI Course Director will meet you & give you a comprehensive overview of what you can expect from your PADI Open Water Course, Stellar Divers & answer any questions that you may have. You will also be introduced to the Scuba kit you will be using & have a practical hands on session so you become familiar with the equipment you will be using. It is also an opportunity for us to complete the necessary course paperwork and introduce you to the PADI ePortal.

The Contact Consent Form: In order for us to have all of your details and sizes for certification purposes & for kit allocation we ask you to complete our Contact Consent eForm. Your data is held electronically and in line with our data protection policy. If you haven’t already done so please click here and send us your details.

The Course Deposit: This is normally done at the induction however you may have completed this stage before you visit. The course deposit is £75 (Normally paid via BACS @ HSBC Stellar Divers Limited, Sort Code 40-28-20 account Number 23801497. Once we have your details and deposit you are good to go.

The PADI registration & eLearning: We will issue you your PADI Activation Code for the eLearning. You will need to keep an eye out for an email from PADI Support (these sometimes end up in junk mail so check there too) it will have a “Get Started” link in the email. Simply click the link and follow the registration process, create an account, upload a photo of yourself and complete the required eForms “Safe Diving Practices”, “Liability & Assumption of Risk” & the “Medical Form” if you get any problems give us a call or contact PADI directly via email to: customerservices.emea@padi.com

Knowledge Development: Either via your computer desktop or via the PADI Training App (Tablet & Smartphone) Android or iPhone. You will be asked to complete 5 interesting sections each with a knowledge check at the end of the section. On completion of all 5 sections you will be asked to complete a final exam, the pass rate is 75% and if you don’t first succeed you will have a chance to do it again. A small tip for you, please be careful with the questions in the knowledge checks and final exam they may on occasion seem ambiguous, this is not to catch you out, it is simply designed to make you think.

As you progress through the course you are always welcome to email the team at info@stellardivers.co.uk we will give guidance and any coaching you need. You are always welcome to come and see us at any time, there is always a friendly welcome at the Hub and the coffee is always on. We will always be on hand to offer help and guidance.

Once you have successfully completed the final exam we will receive an email telling us of your success, your virtual scorecard will be updated and you are ready to get cracking with the in water part.

Oh all the course materials and resources will be available for the rest of time, so no losing anything, no getting workbooks soggy and the best bit you have a refresh anywhere you want.

Red Sea Stellar Divers, PADI 5 Star Dive & Service Centre PADI Scuba Diving Lincoln, Lincolnshire

Pool Sessions: The pool skills development is split into 5 separate yet interconnected sessions which are spread over five 2 hour pool sessions at Christ’s Hospital School Swimming Pool. We will teach you many scuba diving skills, each skill and set of skills will be explained for you then one of our highly qualified instructors will demonstrate exactly what we want you to do. You will then get plenty of time to practice the skill or set of skills until you and we are happy before moving on to the next. You will master each and every skill at your own pace and there will be plenty of time to put the skills into practice as we always finish the sessions with a dive around the pool to help you consolidate and have some fun. Once you have finished your pool sessions it is then time to go to Open Water.

Stellar Divers PADI 5 Star Dive & service Centre Lincoln

Knowledge Check In & Coffee: We will invite you back to the Hub after one of your pool sessions so your instructor can discuss any questions that you have from the eLearning & so we can get you to complete a small quick quiz. This is to make sure your knowledge is as sharp as possible before we go to the Open Water (and most fun) part.

Open Water: This is where it gets really exciting; if you are finishing the course with us in the UK we will take you to either; 8 AcreStoney Cove or Capernwray. If you have chosen a PADI Open Water Referral you will finish this section at your holiday/travel destination (please seek out a PADI 5 Star IDC Dive Centre like us). Over the two days (either weekend or weekday depending on your flexibility) we will complete four dives, the dives will allow you to expand your skills into the Open Water environment and the best bit, you will actually dive with fish life, see some fantastic wrecks and start to see how amazing diving really is. We will also teach you how to navigate underwater using a compass so you can easily then find fantastic wrecks and points of interest when you dive. At Capernwray for instance there are many interesting things to see; a helicopter, sunken boats, submarine and some great fish life. Incidentally the “interesting” things have been deliberately sunk for your pleasure 🙂 Once you finish the last dive and have visited 18m (12m for juniors) you will then be a fully certified PADI Open Water diver with all of the prestige and opportunities that it brings.

Mark Scuba Diving

Log Book: It is a brilliant idea to keep a record of your diving. If you wish, you can possess a paper log book that you and your instructor complete, it proves your diving experience and lets you keep a diary of your diving experiences. It is something to be very proud of and it’s great to look back on. If you want the paper version then call in at the Hub and treat yourself to one, there are some brilliant PADI binder versions available too.

eLog Book: Of course there is a brilliant electronic log book that comes with the PADI App, simply click the link to download the PADI App. As you progress through your Open Water dives you complete the eLog as you go entering your Instructors number where prompted. Your Instructor will then authorise the dives so you will have a record of your experience.

Certification: Once you have successfully completed the entire course and settled up you will be issued with a PADI eCertification. This will appear on your PADI App under the eCards section. It’s great to see these grow; as an Open Water diver you can go on to do your PADI Advanced Open Water and Diver Specialities like the amazing PADI Wreck Diver who knows you could be one of our future PADI Master Scuba Divers how great would that be! We can make all your scuba diving dreams come true.

Course fees: We will take a £75 deposit from you when you sign up.  We do not expect you to pay anything else until you have finished the pool sessions when we will ask you for the next payment of £195 (for any Open Water Option).  Once you finish your Open Water dives we will require the outstanding balance so we can get you registered and certified with PADI, we will invoice you at this stage.  If you have chosen one of our prestigious packages such as Open Water Premier UK or Premier Holiday edition we will conclude all of the additional specialist training before the final balance is payable. You can of course choose a different payment plan to suit you, just let us know your thoughts.  The only additional expenses you will incur are the entry fees into the dive site where you will qualify (Normally £15 – £25 daily depending on site). For every certification we complete you have an opportunity to make a small donation to receive a very special eCertification card, plus you will be supporting an amazing cause. PADI AWARE is a charity that is dedicated to cleaning and preserving the oceans, something that is close to our hearts. 

Equipment: All of the scuba equipment & air fills that you need to complete the course is included in the price of all Open Water packages (unless you are diving in a Dry Suit or doing the Dry Suit Speciality as part of PADI Open Water Premier UK Edition then dry suit hire is extra). We do encourage you to buy a mask, snorkel and fins as you get going, we have a huge selection at the Hub and we will be only too pleased to help you get the best ones to suit you.

Stellar Divers, PADI, Scuba, Lincoln, Lincolnshire

Where: All of your pool sessions will be at Christ’s Hospital School Pool, Wragby Road, Lincoln Saturday 11:30 – 13:30 (Use this link to locate the pool) This is unless you have opted for the Open Water Executive option, in which case your pool time may be different. Please bring swim wear, shower “stuff” and your log book if you have one. When you arrive get changed into swim kit & a tee shirt (this is for comfort purpose) then meet us on pool side. If you wish to purchase kit or just fancy a chat please call in at: The Scubahub, 4 Stirlin Court, Saxilby Enterprise Park, Saxilby, Lincoln LN1 2LR.

Help: Please remember that we are here for you, if while you are going through your course you encounter a question or need assistance then just let us know.  Drop us an email or call the office, we love to chat. Please, please feel free to ask as many questions as you wish, you are doing something completely new and exciting, it is normal that you have questions.  We certainly all did when we started diving so please never feel that you can’t or perhaps shouldn’t ask.

So what next?: Once you certify as an Open Water diver the world is yours to dive.  You will have learnt an abundance of skills and seen some amazing things so why stop there? Why not take the next step and learn how to apply those skills to real diving situations?  Let us teach you how to expertly navigate to and properly dive on wrecks, how to enhance you buoyancy skills, how to dive to 30 meters and perhaps take pictures of the amazing things you see! Interested? Then the PADI Advanced Open Water & PADI Advance Open Water Plus is just what you want. Most of our Open Water divers make the natural step to Advanced Open Water level and become much better divers who have much more fun in the process. Please have a look at these fantastic courses and enrol to take the next exciting step, all of the theory is as before via eLearning, just visit our eLearning hub or contact us to see how.

Fishermans Cove

Dive Trips: As a qualified diver you will be eligible to come with us on our many trips both UK & abroad and enjoy our social events. We want you to stay part of Stellar Divers and enjoy diving as much as we do.  Have a look through our Trips & Events page, we’d love you to come along, why not join us in the Philippines or Egypt? Let us be your guide, we will do all of the organising so all you have to do is simply enjoy.

The Club: As part of doing the Open Water course with us we include a huge bonus. You will be given lifetime membership to our Dive Club. Enjoy the benefits of this membership at the Hub where we give our club members special deals on equipment & servicing. You will also be able to join us at the pool on Sundays and keep your precious skills alive.  We charge our club members £10 to use the pool if you have all of your own kit, £15 if you just need air or £25 per person for all equipment and pool time, just give us a few days notice so we can arrange your equipment. We often go for breakfast in Lincoln after the pool, it is one of our weekly socials and catch up, please come along even if you haven’t been diving, a lot of members do just that. If we are doing breakfast we will be at the Bishop Grosseteste Refectory from 10am on pool Sundays. Please keep up with us on Facebook & Twitter, we post all of our trips, events and news there, plus other interesting information.

Useful links:

Stellar Club Page
Stellar Facebook Page
Stoney Cove
8 Acre
Scuba Hub
Capernwray
Yarborough Sports Centre