With PADI Specialty Diver Programs offered by the MidWest School of Diving (in White Bear Lake, just north of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul) you can chart your course for a colorful collection of awesome dives. Sure, your PADI certification opens up the oceans and lakes to you, but the PADI Specialty Dives take the underwater adventure to depths that will stir your soul. Achieving PADI Specialty ratings can take anywhere from as little as one day to a full weekend -but this is all hands-on, so you’ll be diving right from the start.
Underwater Propulsion (Scooter)
DPVs offer a thrilling way to see a lot of underwater territory in a brief amount of time. They scoot you through the water without kicking. Whether making a shore dive or diving from a boat, a DPV is a great way to see more and have a blast doing it.
Wreck Diver
You drift down and pass through a window into the past. As you near the bottom, a recognizable shape begins to form. First, you see a straight line, then a round window. Next, a ship materializes in front of you. As you look at the wreck, past and present meet. Whether sunk intentionally or tragically, whether a sunken ship, a plane or an automobile, the call of wrecks is nearly irresistible to divers. Through the PADI Wreck Diver Specialty course, you get the skills, knowledge and procedures you need to answer the call of wreck diving. Explore the past in the present with the PADI Wreck Diver Specialty course.
Equipment Specialist
Want to know about how your dive gear works? Then the PADI Equipment Specialist course is for you. This course familiarizes you with the operation and maintenance of your dive equipment. The more you know about how your gear works, the more comfortable you are with it, the more performance you get from it and the better you can care for it.
Full Face Diver
Are you tired of clearing your mask or looking through fog? Would you like to breathe through your mouth and nose and have a better field of vision? Then full face mask diving is for you! You will learn the pleasures and advantages of full face mask diving, as well as, how to prevent problems and how to correct problems if they do occur. Most importantly, you will learn a whole new way of breathing underwater.
Underwater Photographer
Freeze time with an underwater camera and you tell a story that even non-divers can understand. Not only that, but you have a record and log of your adventures – more than the memories. Reliving a dive is as simple as looking at a photograph. Whether you´re a casual holiday snapper or a consummate photo pro, the PADI Underwater Photographer course teaches you the basics as they apply to taking photos underwater, with a special emphasis on practical techniques. Freeze time and share it with the PADI Underwater Photographer Specialty course.
Underwater Navigator
Be the diver everyone wants to follow and make your sense of direction legendary with the PADI Underwater Navigator Specialty course. When everyone´s buzzing about a reef or checking out a wreck, they´re having a great time – until it´s time to go. Then they turn to you, because as a PADI Underwater Navigator, you know the way back to the boat. Underwater navigation can be challenging, but in the PADI Underwater Navigator Specialty course, you master the challenge. You learn the tools of the trade, including navigation via natural clues and by compass.
Search and Recovery Diver
Spend time around water (as a diver, how can you avoid it?) and sooner or later, you come across someone who lost something underwater. If you´re looking for the challenge and excitement – along with doing your good deed for the day – the PADI Search and Recovery Diver Specialty course is for you. It gives you the skills you need to find what´s been lost, and how to get it to the surface. In the PADI Search and Recovery Diver Specialty course, you learn search and recovery dive planning, organization, procedures, techniques and how to deal with potential problems.
Project AWARE Specialty
Have you ever asked yourself, "What was that?" The PADI Project AWARE Fish Identification Specialty course provides you with the fish identification basics so that next time, you know the answer. During two dives you gain hands-on experience in looking for and identifying the fascinating fish you see underwater. You can learn more about Project AWARE by going to www.projectaware.org.
Peak Performance Buoyancy
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.
Great Dive Shop!
Great Dive Shop, the instructor went out of his way to explain things and he was super patient. My husband has been trying to get me Scuba certified for years and I kept putting it off, but now that I am certified, I really wish I had done it sooner. The process was a lot easier than i thought it would be, and the teacher walked us through everything in a way that was really easy to understand. after I got my certification, my husband and I decided to sign up our two kids (14, 17) and now our whole family is certified. I would say this place is family friendly and a great place to take classes and buy equipment.
- Bertha, St. Paul, MN
