The True Path to Mastery: Earning Your SSI Advanced Open Water Diver Rating
The moment you earned your Open Water certification, a whole new world opened up to you. You experienced the thrill of breathing underwater and saw the beauty that lies beneath the surface. That first certification is your license to explore, but it’s also the first step on a lifelong journey of learning and adventure.
A common question we hear at the shop is, “What’s the next step after Open Water?” While some agencies have a single “Advanced” course, the SSI philosophy is different. We believe that becoming an advanced diver is about more than just one weekend. It’s a journey of building genuine experience and developing specialized skills. This journey leads to a prestigious milestone: the SSI Advanced Open Water Diver rating.
What is the SSI Advanced Open Water Diver Rating?
Unlike a course you simply sign up for, the Advanced Open Water Diver rating is a level of recognition you earn. It signifies a diver who has moved beyond the basics and has committed to expanding their knowledge and real-world dive experience. It tells dive operators around the world that you have a solid foundation of skills and have logged a significant number of dives.
To earn this rating, you must meet two key requirements:
- Log at least 24 Dives in total.
- Complete four full SSI Specialty Courses.
This approach ensures you don’t just learn about advanced concepts; you become proficient in them through dedicated training and practice.
Crafting Your Personal Path to “Advanced”
The beauty of the SSI system is that you get to build your own adventure. You choose the four specialty courses that best match your personal diving interests and goals. This allows you to create a skill set that prepares you for the kind of diving you dream of doing.
Here are some of the most popular and impactful specialty courses you can take at 72 Aquatics to earn your rating:
- Deep Diving: This is a cornerstone specialty. It trains you to safely plan and execute dives to 100 feet (30 meters), opening up a vast new world of deeper wrecks, stunning reef walls, and different marine life encounters.
- Enriched Air Nitrox: The most popular specialty for a reason. Learning to dive with enriched air allows you to safely extend your bottom time and shorten your surface intervals, maximizing every moment of your dive vacations.
- Perfect Buoyancy: This is the skill that truly defines an advanced diver. Mastering your buoyancy makes you a more efficient, relaxed, and environmentally conscious diver. You’ll use less air, move gracefully, and protect the delicate ecosystems you love to explore.
- Navigation: Build the confidence to lead dives and always know where you are. Mastering compass and natural navigation techniques is a massive step towards becoming a self-reliant and dependable dive buddy.
Other incredible options to round out your training include Wreck Diving, Night & Limited Visibility Diving, Search & Recovery, and many more.
The Journey is the Reward
The requirement of 24 logged dives is just as important as the specialty courses. This ensures you are actively diving, practicing your skills, and building comfort and muscle memory in the water. Joining our local fun dives or weekend trips is a perfect way to build this experience while connecting with the 72 Aquatics dive community.
Earning your SSI Advanced Open Water Diver rating is a statement. It says you are a dedicated, experienced, and well-trained diver. It is a significant step on the path to becoming an SSI Master Diver, the highest non-professional rating in recreational diving.
Ready to move beyond the basics and start your journey to becoming an Advanced Open Water Diver? Stop by the shop and talk with our team. We can help you map out a personalized training plan that aligns with your passions and prepares you for a lifetime of incredible underwater adventures.
