The Office of Continuing Education and Professional Development at the College of Staten Island is offering the opportunity to discover the beautiful and exciting world below the waves with a class in scuba diving.

This open-water scuba course is designed by the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) stresses safety. There are five sessions, each composed of lecture in the theory of diving and pool activities designed to make the student comfortable with the equipment and procedures necessary to visit the underwater world. You don’t have to be an Olympic swimmer to dive, but you must be able to swim 200 yards continuously (without stopping). Once a student has completed all five modules, he or she must complete four open-water dives to a depth of at least 20 feet for 20 minutes and perform certain safety exercises (out of air) before being certified.

Each student who passes all parts of the course will receive a Certificate of Completion of Confined Water Training and a PADI Referral qualifying him or her for an Open-Water Checkout, which can be done in the location of the student’s choice. Should the student choose to do the Open-Water Checkout locally with the same instructor who taught in the Pool, the cost is an additional $250, which includes rental of compressed air tank, regulator, BC, wetsuit, hood, weight belt, and additional weight. Should the student plan to have the Open-Water checkout in the Caribbean or some other location, the Referral form must be presented to the instructor at that location who will perform the final checkout. Prices vary by location; ask in advance. Full Scuba Diving Certification requires that each student pass both Confined Water Training (Pool) and an Open-Water Checkout (Ocean or Quarry).

The PADI Open-Water Scuba Diver certification is an internationally recognized credential that allows the recipient to dive anywhere in the world. In a sense, it is a passport to adventure, allowing the certified diver to visit the two-thirds of our planet that is underwater. Certification also opens the door to other diving courses for which it is a prerequisite: Underwater Photography, Wreck Diver, Night Diver, Drift Diver, Dive Propulsion Vehicle Diver, Cavern Diver, Nitrox Diver, Night Diver, Search and Recovery Diver, Underwater Navigator, Underwater Hunter and Advanced Diver.

The class will be taught by PADI Master Instructor Steve Lombardo, who has been teaching for 20 years. Steve will bring to the course some of his experiences to better illustrate how one can dive safely and have fun and adventure at the same time. He is licensed by PADI to teach CPR/Emergency Responder, Underwater Photography, Wreck Diver, Night Diver, Drift Diver, Dive Propulsion Vehicle Diver, Cavern Diver, Nitrox Diver, Night Diver, Search and Recovery Diver, Underwater Navigator, Underwater Hunter, Rescue Diver, Divemaster, Assistant Instructor, Northeast Wreck Diver and Advanced Diver.

In addition to teaching scuba diving, Steve has a 100-Ton USCG Master Near Coastal License and serves as alternate captain on the dive boat RV Garloo, located in Captree State Park. From this boat he has dived on such local shipwrecks as the USS San Diego, the U-853 & 869, the USS Bass, the Republic, and the Andrea Doria. He is also President of local dive club the Staten Island Sport Divers and has held that position at various times since 1989. Steve is also the local diving guru for Oceanblue Divers, and a member of other diving clubs such as the NYC Sea Gypsies, the Long Island Dive Association, and the Eastern Dive Boat Association. He will be assisted in the CSI Scuba Course by PADI Divemasters Patrick Kearns and Timothy Dluhos, who will help with logistics and serve as safety divers.

This course will be held from Thursday, July 8 to Thursday, August 5 from 6:00pm to 9:30pm. The cost of the course (SCUBA01) is $250 per person. Students will also need a textbook and personal gear.

Call the Office of Continuing Education and Professional Development at 718.982.2182 for more information.