SPECIALTY COURSES

Specialty courses

Already from the first scuba diving ISDA gives you the possibilities to follow your passions and deepener your knowledge in various fields.

Specialty courses

If your are fond about photography, if you always had curiosity for archeology, if you would like to improve your underwater trim, if you want to dive deeper or discover some wrecks, with the Specialties courses you will acquire all theoretical and practical knowledges that you will need.

Read here below the list of some Specialty courses and ask to your ISDA Instructor what else can be done.

NITROX

Scuba Dive with air enriched with oxygen will allow you longer diving times and less absorption of azote. Two theory modules and two practical exercises to acquire the license with whom you will be able to dive with a mix of NITROX up to 40% of oxygen. Nitrox diving are particularly popular in tropical seas, allowing you to enjoy at maximum level the underwater wonders.

UNDERWATER NAVIGATION

It is easy to lose your bearing underwater, but your guide knows always where to dive, which path to follow and how to come back to remerge near the boat. How he does it? Would you like to do it by yourself underwater as if you were on earth? You will learn with this course to use the compass and other techniques of orientation.

DEEP DIVER

Most of the marine beauties is in effect between the first 20-30 meters below the surface. But sometimes we could be attracted by a wreck, a cave or from a big fish more in the depth. This course will enable you to dive up to 39 meters in safety and without stress. This is a requirement needed to be able to access to this course is to be licensed with AOWD.

BUOYANCY CONTROL

A scuba diver with a good buoyancy control not only gets less tired and optimize the consumption but offer to the other an image of more confident, calm and expert. ISDA highly recommend this course to all scuba divers who have discovered in scuba diving a passion to be followed and carry on: it is nice course which gives many satisfactions!

NATURALIST

Give an answer: what is Oceanic Poseidonia? If only for a single moment you thought about a seaweed, then this course is made for you. If you have answered “a plant”, this course is made for you. That is right, know the most important species of flora and fauna of the seas in which you are diving, know the peculiarities, know the rare species or the uncommon ones… makes each dive more interesting. This is valid for you and for your companion, to whom you could tell what you know!

WRECK DIVE

Going to discover a wreck, either an ancient roman ship, or an airplane shot down during WW or a recent commercial ship, could be one of the most exciting experience that you could have. A blue ravine, the fauna that are within, imagine it in full activity or while is sinking…. Your ISDA Instructor will teach you how to perform a dive onto a wreck in full safety while enjoying all the adventure. Obviously…..look but don’t touch!

NIGHT DIVE

The attraction of a night scuba dive is irresistible: the torch beam that opens sudden glimpses in the darkness, special encounters with night species not viewable in the day, the plankton luminescent…. Discover also you the new sensations.

SUPPORT DIVER

Blind scuba divers or with physical handicaps most of the time acquire from a dive much more satisfaction than a normal scuba diver. To become an ISDA Parasub companion doesn’t mean only to be able to help a friend or a diving companion, but means also learn how to “see” as a blind person, to “move” as a person with handicaps… to use your senses for enjoying entirely all the sensations to move underwater like flying, to discover a rock by touching it, a sea urchin, a sea sponge.

ARCHEO DIVER

If your passion to archeology discover has not been affected but on the contrary has increased due your work of search, detection, excavation, recovery, logging….this course is made for you! Born from the collaboration between ISDA and the Italian Sea Authority, in four theory modules and four exercises you will receive an introduction to the techniques utilized on the submarine archeological excavations: plan detection, sampling, cross-mapping, uses of a sucking dredge, recovery and first treatment of the findings.

DIGITAL UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHER

The first underwater pictures taken are all blue? Don’t be surprised; instead, learn with ISDA how to take excellent pictures to fishes and to underwater ambiences by using illuminators and flashes, macro lenses or wide angles. During the course you will be using compact or reflex digital cameras with underwater cases.

DRY SUIT

In many places the water temperature is such to prefer a dry suit than a standard wet suit. But it will be necessary to learn the specific techniques for the correct uses and this is the course that will teach them to you.

SEARCH AND RECOVERY DIVER

The are various techniques used in the discover and consequent recovering of an underwater object and this course will teach them to you.

SHARK AWARENESS

Shark is a fish loved by all scuba divers that travels around the world and exotic seas only to see it sometime with passion sometime with fear. Do we know him well? Are we able to recognize the different species, their habits, and their distribution? And more.. do we know how to spot him, how to approach him? Which species are in danger of extinction and why? All these and many more will be illustrated in this new and interesting course, wanted and created by Shark Awareness Onlus, a dedicated association to the protection of this fish.

DRIFT DIVE

From the Maldivian Passes to the Pacific Athol and to the Caribbean’s sea beds: many of the most beautiful diving places in the world are characterized from strong underwater drifts. This course will teach you to dive safely in these conditions.

ALTITUDE DIVER

Scuba dive in lakes at above 300 meters of altitude are fascinating and enjoyable but they need to adopt some specifics precautions to be able to handle the dive in total safety. Learn which one.

BOAT DIVE

Scuba dive from a rubber boat or from a small boat or from a yacht? Prepare yourself to all types of jumping in or coming out from the water, in view of all the trips that you will be doing around the world.

COMPUTER DIVE

Your computer is a fundamental instrument, which should be fully trusted and never to be left home. If you learn how to use it at his best means that you will dive in total safety.

SPECIAL courses

UNDERWATER ARCHEOLOGY

Underwater Archeology is a fascinating subject, which in the Mediterranean Sea, rich od history and culture, you will find endless types of activities on the various subjects of underwater archeology. The ISDA Course of Underwater Archeology has been developed from the long experience of the Palermo Soprintendenza del Mare in collaboration with expert scuba divers who for decades have been working in all fields around the world.

The Sopraintendenza del Mare in fact, with his responsible Professor Sebastiano Tusa, has decided to sponsor the activities of ISDA in the archeology fields, acting in various directions: working side by side to the restoration and creation of archeological fields in Sicily, by giving his trade mark to the ISDA activity and creating in partnership this specific course, which manual have been written from the same Managers of the Sopraintendenza del Mare. The course is not comparable to the same course called Specialty Archeology, either from ISDA or from any other diving school, which normally consists into an introduction to the subject; the one wanted by the Soprintendenza of Palermo is a “deep dive” into the subject, an opportunity – fro who would like it – to start a special and professional training. In this course, which foresees 5 theory lessons and 5 practical lessons in confined and free water, will be possible to acquire a good knowledge of the subject starting from the basics of History of the Underwater Archeology and from the basics of legislation of the Cultural Affairs to be able after to take into considerations the techniques of exploration, map positioning, underwater detection and digging methods, to reach the recovery and the first conservative treatment of the findings, as well as their graphic and photo documentation.

PARASUB

“Scuba Diving is one of the few sporting discipline, maybe the only one, which consents to a person with moving handicaps to move freely…in the same way as other scuba divers”. These are the first words which opens the ISDA Manual for Parasub Instructors, written by the instructor Trainer Mirco Fava. The course teaches to ISDA Instructors how to teach scuba diving to blind persons or with movement handicaps, opening the world of scuba diving to a various number of new fans. The theoretical lessons are inclusive of physiology, physics and psychology, together with specific knowledge of the most common pathology. In the practical sessions the Instructor will have not only to learn the techniques of accompanying and of specifics of teaching, but also succeed in doing all operations in pre and post dive in totally autonomy, the dive itself with all exercises in confined and free waters with all possible difficulties that a blind or handicapped person could encounter. The Parasub course will allow the instructor to release recreational licenses ISDA to persons with handicaps and allows the Divemasters as companions for scuba divers with handicaps. Il corso Parasub abilita l'Istruttore a rilasciare brevetti ricreativi ISDA a persone diversamente abili ed abilita i Divemaster come accompagnatori per subacquei diversamente abili.

Snorkeling Instructor for Down's Syndrome diver.

Also the persons with a moderate cognitive handicap could enjoy the sea, its beauties and the wellness that gives. In particular the activities of snorkeling for down children are usually considered not only an enthusiastic experience but also a real and proper therapy. The course of ISDA Instructor Snorkeling for Down can be approached by all professional scuba divers as from Divemaster level up but also life guards and Swimming Instructor.

MARINE BIOLOGY

Knowing and learning to recognize marine species, plants and animals which we encounter during our diving means above all live more intense underwater experiences and getting more deeper remembrances, but also will means that you will be a more responsible scuba diver who appreciate and observe and respecting whatever he will encounter. This Course, accessible with a OWD license is based on the studying of flora and fauna of the Mediterranean Sea, with hints to the geological contest and to evolution tendencies starting from the actual phenomenon of tropicalizing. The manual written by Doctor Manuela Falautano, marine biologist, is comprehensive of 80 identification tables. The scuba divers who has the ISDA license of Marine Biology could participate to the project Biology Diver, created by ISDA in partnership with various Protected Marine Areas, for the final target to monitorized and safeguard the health of the A Zone of many Italian marine reserves.

ISDA courses are constantly updated and upgraded, ask to your instructor the complete specifications and the last news on the course.