What to Expect
Whether you’re new to diving, or an advanced diver looking to get into tech or cave, we believe that learning should be fun. We work with you on selecting courses and dates, and offer both private and small group classes that allow students to make progress at their own pace.
The majority of our in-water instruction takes place in our local Florida springs. We love Troy, Manatee, and Royal as excellent training sites for new and advanced divers. The crystal clear waters are 72 degrees year-round (warm in winter and cool in summer!), and offer calm water and easy shore entries that let students focus on new skills without worrying about cancellation or bad conditions. No seasickness and no salt to rinse!
Depending on the class, classroom instruction may take place either online (PADI eLearning) or in-person, most often at our partner dive shop, Extreme Exposure in High Springs, Florida.
If you are doing a guided dive with us, we will arrange waivers and trip details in advance. Let us know if you need rental gear or have site-specific questions!
FAQ
Questions about our classes, dives or teaching philosophy? Check our some of our most frequently asked questions below, or shoot us a note.
Do you have a calendar of scheduled classes/guided dives?
Because we specialize in small custom classes and guided dive experiences, we typically do not post dates publicly. If you are interested in joining an existing class, please reach out and let us know, and we will let you know the next course with seats available. If you are interested in a private or small group class, please reach out with your availability, and we will customize scheduling around your dates and timeframe. Guided dives are personalized, based on your interests - we go where you want, when you want!
Do I need to rent gear?
Many of our students already own their own SCUBA diving gear; however, many do not. If you are new to diving or taking a class that requires specialized equipment (e.g., drysuit, full-face mask, DPV), we will provide gear for you. Depending on the course, this may incur extra rental fees. We have a range of high quality gear available for our students, and are partnered with Extreme Exposure in High Springs, who rent a wide variety of recreational and technical gear. Please let us know when booking whether you will need rental equipment, and we will work with you on sizing and any additional rental costs.
Do you sell SCUBA gear?
We are partnered with Extreme Exposure in High Springs, who offer a large selection of gear, including ScubaPro, DiveRite, and Halcyon. If you are a student, please mention our name when making gear purchases at Extreme Exposure. We are happy to help our students with purchasing gear from the shop - just ask us!
If I get certified in the springs, can I dive in the ocean?
Yes! The Florida springs are ideal for training - they are calm, easy access shore dives with consistent temperature and controlled conditions. There’s little chance your class will get blown out, or that you’ll have to reschedule classes due to seasickness or bad weather. All of this means you can concentrate on learning the skills for your SCUBA diving certification in a safe, controlled environment. Mastering those skills in good conditions makes it easier to add in more challenging elements later - such as waves, currents, and boat entries. For advanced students completing Advanced Open Water or the Deep Specialty, we also offer the option to complete some or all dives in the ocean, off a local boat charter.
How cold is the water?
The Florida springs are 72 degrees year-round; this can feel warm in winter, but quite cool in summer. We recommend and provide 5mm wetsuits. If you are used to diving in saltwater, you will need less weight in the freshwater springs. We are happy to work with you on proper weighting!
Do you offer technical or cave training?
Currently at this time we offer only PADI recreational courses, but check back in with us! As experienced cave divers, we are happy to work with students with this eventual goal in mind. Many of our courses, such as cavern and drysuit, make great building blocks for establishing a strong foundation for more advanced diving. Our self-reliant course includes training in redundant air sources (doubles, sidemount, or pony bottle), and provides a solid foundation for those interested in progressing to technical diving. We also offer private sessions to work on fine-tuning your buoyancy, trim, and finning. If you are interested in pursuing technical or cave training down the road, we are happy to recommend local instructors.
We offer guided cavern dives to certified cavern divers, and can also arrange guided dives to caverns that permit open water divers (e.g., Blue Grotto, Paradise, Ginnie Ballroom). If you are a certified cave diver looking for guided cave dives, we recommend “Just Wet Rocks” guiding service.
What do our past students say?
“Best local instructor you can find. I booked a dive with him at Devils Springs, and he was awesome. He even got my dad certified in open water. Do you need someone who’s not pushy or not jumping down your throat about certifications and gear? You found the right man. Peter was considered understanding, patient, and works with you. I will tell you here and now do not sell yourself short and try to cut corners by booking with a large class get a one on one with him and you will not regret it. Kick ass instructor.”
“Super informative, helpful, and patient - this class was really a delight, and I’m so glad I had the chance to take it. It was a really incredible experience - both fun AND challenging! We learned to run a reel, and how to get in (and out!) of a cavern safely; Peter even followed up after the class with a list of recommended cavern sites to try, and an awesome map of local dive sites. Any diver in central Florida who’s diving the springs regularly should really take this course.”
“I was wanting to get in some extra dives before a Cavern Diving certification class . . . he answered all my questions and concerns. Once we got into our gear, we had a safety brief and Peter also was very precise on where we would be going and what we would be doing. After that away we went, I had a WONDERFUL time diving the springs and caverns and everything went according to plan. At our surface interval, knowing I was going for a certification, he took the extra time to give me some advice and pointers. Peter is very knowledgeable, safe and professional, I plan on diving with him again when I return next year.”