Discover a whole new way to dive with the SDI Sidemount Diver Course! Whether the aspect of increased/redundant gas supply, flexibility of setup, wreck penetration possibilities or just simply not having to carry heavy cylinders on your back – sidemount gives a huge adaptability to diving unavailable in standard recreational setup.

Throughout the course you will be introduced to the various different rigging and wing systems; find a method of setup that works for you and fine tune trim and streamlining techniques to provide a flexibility to your diving you never considered possible.

The Training

The SDI Sidemount Course includes three parts:

• Online learning – once you have signed up for the course, we will provide you a code to sign up for the online learning in advance of your practical training to work through at home. You will then go through key areas in greater detail with your instructor and cover areas such as:

• • Gas management utilizing independent cylinders
  • Equipment considerations
  • Communication
  • Problem solving
  • Water entries
  • S-Drills (specific to sidemount)
• Confined water training – Before we take you out to dive in your new sidemount style you will begin with an instructor in shallow water. This will provide the opportunity to make the necessary adjustments to the equipment to ensure you are comfortable and practise key safety drills.
• Open water training – After you are setup and ready to go you will then join your instructor for 2 open water dives where you will cover the following plus much more:
  • Gas management techniques
  • Buoyancy control
  • Penetration techniques
  • Responding to simulated emergencies

What to expect:

After signing up for your course, one of our team will be in contact to send your e-learning information and joining instructions in plenty of time to complete ahead of your practical training.

On the first day of the course you will meet us at the centre in Larnaca to sort paperwork and get you sized up for your equipment. We will then take you up to the Aiya Napa region for the first day of your training to complete a mixture of confined water training and shallow dives no deeper than 15 metres to get you truly comfortable in the new setup. We will start with an extensive session on fit, trim and weighting to ensure you are comfortable. Due to the nature of sidemount everyone is different so this aspect in teaching you how to correctly fit a sidemount rig and troubleshoot common problems takes a large amount of the training time but makes a huge difference in the water. Once this bit is sorted you will move on to buoyancy, correct finning techniques and out of air drills along with attaching and detaching cylinders in different configurations until you are nice and smooth! All being well you will be back at the dive centre befor 4pm on the first day.

For your 2nd day of training we take you out to the Zenobie wreck for 2 training dives allowing you to practise boat set up and a variety of entry techniques in sidemount configuration. In the water you will build on the skills learnt in the shallows on day 1 and make any further equipment adjustments that may be required along with practising basic wreck penetration techniques on open areas of the wreck at your instructor’s discretion.

Training is personal and unique to the individual so we have a maximum of 2 students per instructor in a course with children being given smaller ratios, this allows for 1 to 1 attention, a relaxed pace and a much more enjoyable atmosphere.

Pre-requisites

• Age: 15 years old and above
• SDI Open Water Scuba Diver and above, or equivalent, from an alternative agency 
• Good physical health – You will need to fill out a self certification medical statement. If you have any medical conditions you think may prevent you from scuba diving please feel free to contact us