The Finest Scuba Instruction in Southern California
As the largest scuba school in the United States, PCH Scuba can teach you everything about diving, from your initial PADI Open Water certification that will let you play in southern California's underwater forests, to advanced diving techniques on everything from wrecks to oil rigs. PCH Scuba will give you the training you want and provide the attention you need because we use multiple instructors in every class that we teach. We invite you to read our reviews on Yelp from students who learned to dive with us.
Read MoreExploring Your Home Waters
PCH Scuba charters top of the line dive boats here in southern California waters for trips to both familiar and unique dive sites surrounding the Channel Islands. From Farnsworth Bank on the windward side of Catalina to a relaxing Catalina Weekend Getaway, we are thrilled to share with you our favorite sites. We have trips perfectly suited for every level of experience and can satisfy your hunger for exploration.
Read MoreUnbiased Advice
PCH Scuba is not a dive shop—we don't sell gear—so we can give you our unvarnished opinion on every piece of dive gear we've come into contact with. We'll be happy to help you build your gear package, making sure you source the right gear for your style of diving, and get the competitive price you're expecting. The PCH Scuba dive staff has rich experience in underwater photography, wreck diving, tec diving, night diving and even, occasionally, warm water tropical diving, so tell us what gear you're curious about, and we'll give you the benefit of our experience!
- Scuba Training
- Local Dive Trips
- Equipment
Scuba Certification
We teach:
- Open Water
- Advanced Open Water
- Enriched Air Nitrox
- Peak Performance Buoyancy
- Wreck Diving
- Deep Diving
- Search and Recovery
Click here for the full details!
Common Name: “Rescue”
The Rescue Diver course is by far the most challenging and rewarding of the non-professional classes we offer. Your awareness of other divers will extend beyond your dive buddy and begin to encompass all dive related activity around you. You will gain the confidence to assist other divers, from helping an injured diver underwater to preventing an emergency from occurring in the first place.
Demonstrating mastery of the skills taught in the Rescue Diver course is not easy, and not everyone who takes the class through PCH graduates. However, the challenge is absolutely worth the reward, and the knowledge gained through the training becomes applicable in many aspects of a students life outside of scuba. You will start with learning how to identify signs of panic in other divers and go all the way to managing a full diver rescue scenario using the full on-site staff of PCH Scuba. Being a solid rescue diver earns you the respect of recreational and professional divers alike.
Rescue Diver training is also a prerequiste for the Master Scuba Diver Program and is included in the price of that program. It is also a requirement for all of the Professional certifications we offer.
Who can participate…
Any diver that has successfully completed the Advanced Open Water class is qualified to begin the Rescue Diver class.
PCH Scuba also highly recommends the Search and Recovery Specialty as a prerequiste to beginning Rescue Diver training.
What is the class like…
The Rescue Diver class is a combination of academic work, pool training and open water demonstration. You will begin with an orientation and discussion of the basics of the Rescue Diver class with your instructor, and then study the Rescue Diver manual, similar to how you worked through the Open Water class.
After your instructor goes over your knowledge reviews and answers your questions, you'll be ready to learn how to manage different rescue scenarios by practicing in the pool. You'll cover how to respond to both surface and underwater emergencies, how to recognize active and passive panic and how to approach paniced divers. In-water rescue breathing will be practiced until you are able to remove the gear from a non-responsive diver, while towing them and administering rescue breaths all at the same time.
Once you have confidence in the academics and pool work, we take you to the ocean so we can work on the ways of getting an unconcious diver out of the water, and drill you again on the pool work you did in the unpredictable environment of open water. Finally, you bring it all together by managing a full "missing diver" rescue scenario from the initial contact with the lost diver's buddy to simulating CPR after getting the unconcious diver out of the water. PCH Scuba rescue scenarios are intense and you'll know you're ready for the real thing when you're done.
Where will you learn…
The academic portion of the class is taught at Aqua Adventures Unlimited. The pool work is performed either at the Aqua Adventures Unlimited pool or the Cleveland High School pool. Open water work is conducted at Casino Point Dive Park on Catalina.
When is the class offered…
The Rescue Diver class is offered on a regular basis each month. Check our calendar to find out when our next class is being held.
How much does it cost…
The Rescue Diver class is $399 and includes the following...
- Instructor time
- Academic materials
- Certification Paperwork
Graduation from the Rescue Diver program requires current CPR certification. PCH Scuba offers full Emergency First Responder training to work hand in hand with your Rescue Diver certification.