PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Diver Course

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.

Pre-requisite

To qualify for the Peak Performance Buoyancy course, an individual must:

1. Be certified as a PADI Open Water Diver, Junior Open Water Diver or have a qualifying certification from another training organization.
   
   
2. Be 10 years of age or older.

Orpheus Dive is the only dive centre in Singapore that organizes the Master Scuba Diver Challenge program. Every year, two divers will stand a chance to win a free trip to top destinations such as Similan Islands, Sipadan and Manado to hone their newly acquired skills.

And if that is not enough, divers who sign up for the Master Scuba Diver Challenge program earn themselves the unique and 'NOT FOR SALE' Master Scuba Diver T-Shirt and Cap.

The purpose of the PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty course is to polish a diver's buoyancy control beyond the Open Water Diver level. The goal of PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy training is to enhance the student diver's buoyancy control abilities through knowledge development and practical skills practice.

Although students will not become a diver with supreme buoyancy after the course, the skills and knowledge acquired during the course will be substantial for the diver to carry on practising on their own to improve their buoyancy skills.

A workshop before the course is recommended.

The recommended training schedule for this course commences with a 3 hour theory lesson conducted in Orpheus Dive, followed by 2 open water dives over a weekend.

Typically the course would begin at Orpheus Dive with the required theory and discussions about fine-tuning buoyancy underwater, weight position and distribution, streamlining and visualization.

Dive 1

• Use visualization techniques prior to the dive to help you relax, establish a comfortable breathing pattern and move gracefully through the water.
  
• Conduct a buoyancy check by adjusting the amount of weight worn to achieve neutral buoyancy at the surface of the water with the BCD deflated.
  
• Make a controlled, slow descent to the bottom and, if needed, adjust for neutral buoyancy using the BCD.
  
• Adjust for neutral buoyancy at a predetermined depth.
  
• Using buoyancy control, hover motionless (without kicking or hand movement) underwater for at least one minute.
  
• Swim horizontally while neutrally buoyant without touching the bottom or breaking the surface of the water with equipment or body.
  
• Make minor depth adjustments using breath control only.
  
• Demonstrate efficient fin kicks, using long, slow strokes and gliding.
  
• Navigate an obstacle course without touching obstacle items, the bottom or breaking the surface.
  
• Adjust weights (trim) and practice hovering in different positions – vertical, horizontal, feet slightly elevated and head slightly elevated.

Dive 2

• Demonstrate efficient fin kicks, using long, slow strokes and gliding after each kick.
  
• Hover and make minor depth adjustments using breath control only.
  
• Maneuver as close as possible to a non-living portion of the bottom (rock, sand, etc.) without touching it and then back away using neutral buoyancy with hand or fin sculling.

There are about 18 PADI Dive Centres in Singapore and only a handful of them has the rating of a PADI 5 Star IDC - one of the highest rating given to a dive centre.

Read more about PADI Dive Centre Rating here.

Short of telling you why we are good, we will tell you what it takes to become a proper PADI 5 Star IDC Centre. Even though there are some PADI 5 Star Facilities which only meets minimal requirements, Orpheus Dive has superceded the minimal requirements, ensuring that our divers have a one stop dive centre and dive club.