Why do a PADI Night Diver Course?
Night Dives are offered by almost every dive facility to allow divers to experience the same dive sites they explored during the day, the opportunity to witness the transformation once the sun sets. There are certain changes that occur underwater when night falls, as well as certain species of fish that only appear under the cover of darkness, giving scuba divers the unique opportunity to observe. Night is considered any time between sunset and sunrise for the purpose of Night Diving.
As the sun sets, and most of the reefs inhabitants make their way home for the night, there are groups of reef dwelling fish that are just beginning their day. Nocturnal fish make scuba diving at night a fascinating experience as these species of fish are mostly hidden during the day. These fish tend to have larger eyes, are more solitary, slow moving and are often reds or brown in color to make them indistinguishable as the light levels drop. Diving in darkness is also a completely different experience as you can only see what’s visible in the beam of your dive light. This can be a rather disorienting experience at first, but also a tremendously rewarding experience for scuba divers.
The primary reasons to do a Night Diver course are to familiarize you with the changes in safety and communication procedures when diving in darkness. Signaling your buddy with your hands is no longer possible, and communication using dive lights is key to getting your message across. Disorientation is easy as a diver has no visual cues as to which way is up, the Night Diver course helps you learn various tips to re-orient yourself and navigate in the darkness. The course also covers various techniques to ensure you don’t loose your dive buddy in the darkness, and what to do in case your dive light fails. Additionally the course familiarizes you with night diving scuba gear such as primary and secondary dive lights, strobes, glow sticks, reflectors etc.
What does the course cover?
This course is designed to be an introduction to night diving and to help the student divers develop the skills, knowledge and techniques necessary to safely participate in night-diving activities in a fun and enjoyable way. The primary focus of this course is to ensure safe diving practices at night.
The Night Diver Course covers three open water training dives as well as approximately 12 hours of instruction or preparation activities covering the below knowledge areas:.
- the planning, organization, procedures, techniques, problems and hazards of night diving
- proper procedures for buoyancy control, navigation and communication
- use of dive lights and buddy‑system techniques
- disorientation and emergency procedures
- orientation to nocturnal aquatic life
There is no written examination to successfully complete the PADI Night Diving course, however the student must complete the three open water night training dives to the satisfaction of the dive instructor.
Prerequisites to do the Course
To qualify for the PADI Night Diver course, an individual must:
- Be certified as a PADI Scuba Diver, Junior Scuba Diver, Open Water Diver, Junior Open Water Diver or have qualifying certifications from another training organization.
- Be 12 years of age or older.
