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Night Diver: Done during the hours of darkness. Experience a different set of marine animals. Specialized light configurations and equipment. I love diving at night! I saw my first "Sailfin Sculpin" on my first night dive. The Giant Pacific Octopus often hunts at night, too. I once saw a GPO in her den, and then on my way back she was gone! I bet she was out hunting.

Deep Diving: Extend your range, deep dive planning, redundant breathing systems theory and usage, decompression theory, risks and rewards. My deepest dive to date was to 241 feet. I dove it on Trimix, a gas combination of oxygen, nitrogen and helium. The descent took me about five minutes, I spent 15 minutes exploring the USS Monitor, and then my ascent took 90 minutes! It was one of the most technical dives and definitely one of the most fulfilling I've ever done. I started by learning advanced nitrox techniques, then decompression diving techniques, and after many dives and lots of practice, I took the trimix course. I'll be teaching these soon, too. Watch for updates!

Enriched Air Nitrox: Decrease nitrogen on-gassing, increase bottom time or depth, reduce decompression sickness risks, and nitrox is your gateway to decompression diving. As we get older, some of our risk factors increase. It's inevitable, guys and gals... So, if we reduce the risk factors when we dive, it's like we're young and invincible, again. Well, almost! Nitrox can be one of those tools to reduce risk. You'll find great deals for nitrox diving all over the world, too.

Drysuit Diver: Open diving opportunities in 30 degrees to 80 degrees waters and dive all year long. Reduce hypothermia and decompression sickness risk potential. Dive longer and improve buoyancy. I love my drysuit! I've been told by some of my students that they're buoyancy is better in their drysuits and it wasn't as hard to learn as they thought it would.

Navigation: Orientation and equipment techniques. Reciprocal and geometric heading and courses. Compass procedures utilization, and function. I would say that underwater navigation is the most underestimated skill, especially in the Pacific Northwest. Getting back to the shore seems pretty straight forward, but if you go in the wrong directions, then what...? I carry a compass on me and use it on every dive! The best part of navigation is that you get to where you want to be a lot sooner and spend less time wandering around looking for what was on your dive plan. Compass techniques are just the beginning, too. Natural navigation is a major part of knowing where you are at any given time. This is one of the core classes that I would recommend that everyone take right after open water certification.

Stress & Rescue: Risk, stress, and aid. assessment, management, and techniques. Emergency and crisis management, first aid, oxygen administration. You never know when an emergency might arise, and being prepared for it -- before and after -- is important. Stress & Rescue is a requirement for your Master Diver certification, too. It is a fun class and you will be put through great challenges. See what is going around in your environment and be an agent to reduce risk.

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