With PADI Specialty Diver Programs offered by the MidWest School of Diving (in White Bear Lake, just north of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul) you can chart your course for a colorful collection of awesome dives. Sure, your PADI certification opens up the oceans and lakes to you, but the PADI Specialty Dives take the underwater adventure to depths that will stir your soul. Achieving PADI Specialty ratings can take anywhere from as little as one day to a full weekend -but this is all hands-on, so you’ll be diving right from the start.
Altitude Diver
Any time you’re diving at 1000 to 10,000 feet above sea level, you're altitude diving. If you want to explore the hidden world of a mountain lake, the PADI Altitude Diver Specialty course is for you. The Fun Part, dive more challenging dive sites while you satisfy your curiosity for “I wonder what’s down there?” The fun part about altitude diving is that you can explore places many people have never seen. What You Learn’ you’ll learn the effects of pressure at higher altitudes and how to adjust your dive plan accordingly. Whether you use a recreational dive planner table (RDPTM), an electronic eRDPTM or a dive computer, you’ll learn how plan and make a dive at high altitudes.
Boat Diver
Whether you´ve never made a boat dive or you´ve logged dozens, the PADI Boat Diver Specialty course can benefit almost every diver because different boats in different parts of the world do things differently. The PADI Boat Diver Specialty course familiarizes you with the various ways you stow gear, enter and exit the water, use surface lines and more, depending upon the type of boat and the location.
Coral Reef Conservation
The AWARE - Coral Reef Conservation Specialty course teaches divers, snorkelers and non-divers about the vital role of coral reefs in the marine environment. The course also familiarizes participants with the current state of the world's coral reefs and how they can help. There are no dives or age limits. Divers and non-divers alike enjoy learning about the aquatic environment.
Deep Diver
The Deep Diver Specialty course offers you the opportunity of a lifetime - going deep to see things others can only dream about. In this course you will experience what it´s like to dive beyond 60 feet. Down there, it´s different. It takes additional training. Here´s where you get it.
Drift Diver
The PADI Drift Diver Specialty Course introduces you to the coolest magic carpet ride you´ll ever experience. This course shows you how to enjoy rivers and ocean currents by "going with the flow", staying with your dive partner, communicating with the dive boat and knowing where you are the whole time.
Equipment Specialist
Want to know about how your dive gear works? Then the PADI Equipment Specialist course is for you. This course familiarizes you with the operation and maintenance of your dive equipment. The more you know about how your gear works, the more comfortable you are with it, the more performance you get from it and the better you can care for it.
Full Face Diver
Are you tired of clearing your mask or looking through fog? Would you like to breathe through your mouth and nose and have a better field of vision? Then full face mask diving is for you! You will learn the pleasures and advantages of full face mask diving, as well as, how to prevent problems and how to correct problems if they do occur. Most importantly, you will learn a whole new way of breathing underwater.
Specialty PADI Dive Courses
How far will you take this diving thing? It’s up to you. With PADI Specialty Diver Programs offered by the MidWest School of Diving (in White Bear Lake, just north of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul) you can chart your course for a colorful collection of awesome dives. Sure, your PADI certification opens up the oceans and lakes to you, but the PADI Specialty Dives take the underwater adventure to depths that will stir your soul. Achieving PADI Specialty ratings can take anywhere from as little as one day to a full weekend -but this is all hands-on, so you’ll be diving right from the start.
• Altitude Diver
• Coral Reef Conservation
• Boat Diver
• Deep Diver
• Drift Diver
• Night Diver
• Peak Performance Buoyancy
• Project AWARE Specialty
• Search and Recovery Diver
• Underwater Navigator
• Underwater Photographer
• Dry Suit Diver
• Wreck Diver
Contact the MidWest School of Diving for more information on these challenging PADI courses at:
651.653.1174
Night Diver
As the sun sets, you don your dive gear, slip on your mask and bite down on your regulator. A deep breath and you step off the boat – into the underwater night. Although you´ve seen this reef many times before, this time you drop into a whole new world and watch it come to life under the glow of your dive light. The adventure, thrill and excitement of night diving can be yours when you complete your PADI Night Diver Specialty course. You learn about night dive planning, equipment and navigation. You practice these on three night dives, plus introduce yourself to the whole new cast of critters that comes out after the sun goes down.
Peak Performance Buoyancy
Float effortlessly, drifting over reefs. Be the diver you want to be, with ultimate buoyancy control, able to hover close to the bottom and examine underwater organisms without touching them. Buoyancy skills separate the good divers from the great divers. In the Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty course, you will learn to how to precisely weight yourself for optimum control, poise and balance. You learn to ascend and descend so effortlessly, it seems like you only think about it and it happens. By mastering streamlining, you move through the water cleanly, efficiently and gracefully. You swim near fragile environments without harm to them or yourself.
Project AWARE Specialty
Have you ever asked yourself, "What was that?" The PADI Project AWARE Fish Identification Specialty course provides you with the fish identification basics so that next time, you know the answer. During two dives you gain hands-on experience in looking for and identifying the fascinating fish you see underwater. You can learn more about Project AWARE by going to www.projectaware.org.
Search and Recovery Diver
Spend time around water (as a diver, how can you avoid it?) and sooner or later, you come across someone who lost something underwater. If you´re looking for the challenge and excitement – along with doing your good deed for the day – the PADI Search and Recovery Diver Specialty course is for you. It gives you the skills you need to find what´s been lost, and how to get it to the surface. In the PADI Search and Recovery Diver Specialty course, you learn search and recovery dive planning, organization, procedures, techniques and how to deal with potential problems.
Wreck Diver
You drift down and pass through a window into the past. As you near the bottom, a recognizable shape begins to form. First, you see a straight line, then a round window. Next, a ship materializes in front of you. As you look at the wreck, past and present meet. Whether sunk intentionally or tragically, whether a sunken ship, a plane or an automobile, the call of wrecks is nearly irresistible to divers. Through the PADI Wreck Diver Specialty course, you get the skills, knowledge and procedures you need to answer the call of wreck diving. Explore the past in the present with the PADI Wreck Diver Specialty course.
Underwater Navigator
Be the diver everyone wants to follow and make your sense of direction legendary with the PADI Underwater Navigator Specialty course. When everyone´s buzzing about a reef or checking out a wreck, they´re having a great time – until it´s time to go. Then they turn to you, because as a PADI Underwater Navigator, you know the way back to the boat. Underwater navigation can be challenging, but in the PADI Underwater Navigator Specialty course, you master the challenge. You learn the tools of the trade, including navigation via natural clues and by compass.
Underwater Photographer
Freeze time with an underwater camera and you tell a story that even non-divers can understand. Not only that, but you have a record and log of your adventures – more than the memories. Reliving a dive is as simple as looking at a photograph. Whether you´re a casual holiday snapper or a consummate photo pro, the PADI Underwater Photographer course teaches you the basics as they apply to taking photos underwater, with a special emphasis on practical techniques. Freeze time and share it with the PADI Underwater Photographer Specialty course.
Underwater Propulsion (Scooter)
DPVs offer a thrilling way to see a lot of underwater territory in a brief amount of time. They scoot you through the water without kicking. Whether making a shore dive or diving from a boat, a DPV is a great way to see more and have a blast doing it.
Great Dive Shop!
Great Dive Shop, the instructor went out of his way to explain things and he was super patient. My husband has been trying to get me Scuba certified for years and I kept putting it off, but now that I am certified, I really wish I had done it sooner. The process was a lot easier than i thought it would be, and the teacher walked us through everything in a way that was really easy to understand. after I got my certification, my husband and I decided to sign up our two kids (14, 17) and now our whole family is certified. I would say this place is family friendly and a great place to take classes and buy equipment.
- Bertha, St. Paul, MN