Essentials Courses and Skills-Development Workshops

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It is NOT "certifications" that make amazing divers, but rather time spent in the water practicing skills with expert mentorship and guidance that makes amazing divers!

To this end, Pinnacle Diving Company offers all IANTD Essentials Courses for every level, as well as comprehensive skills-development workshops, designed to improve and develop your skills and confidence as a diver.

The IANTD Essentials Courses are progressively-structured programs designed to enhance a certified divers' proficiency in the "Essential" Core Competencies all divers, at every level, should know and be able to perform. They are each designed to be appropriate for the level of diving administered (recreational, technical, and rebreather), and intended to produce a highly-competent, highly skilled diver, ready for advanced training programs within each level.

Skills-Development Workshops are targeted, designed around specific skillsets, and intentionally narrow in scope, to provide participants with critical focus on developing only those functional areas in both theory and practical application. They can be either single day or multi-day programs, available in both backmount and sidemount configurations, and personalized to meet your individual or group needs.

Additionally, PDC is an Expeditionary Dive Service, and we are capable of providing any of our workshops anywhere around the world by request. Please see our Expeditionary Services page to request a PDC workshop come to your area.

The Recreational Essentials program is designed to enable Open-Water and above certified divers to extend proficiency in the water, and to review and put in practice the "Essential" Core Competencies all divers, at every level, should know and be able to perform.

This systematic learning and professional training program is designed to enhance personal and team underwater skills by:

• Increasing development and internalization of buoyancy, trim, balance, and propulsion,
• Refining and expanding fundamental diving knowledge and skills,
• Streamlining equipment and improving configuration (If diving backmount, PDC strongly advocates for a Hogarthian/DIR configuration, see questions 16 and 17 on the FAQ's page),
• Enhancing diving safety, situational awareness, and accident prevention,
• Developing better dive planning and gas management skills, and
• Understanding decompression and minimum decompression procedures.

The Recreational Essentials Course is intended to develop a recreational-level diver's core KSA's up to a recognizably high standard and configuration. Although not a mandatory prerequisite, it is strongly encouraged to complete before enrolling in Technical and Rebreather programs. It is designed to increase skill competencies by further developing and refining core diving KSA's, resulting in a safer, more comfortable, and more efficient diver in the water, and preparing them for more advanced diving programs.

For a list of Core KSA's and a definition of "Mastery", please refer to Question 8 on the FAQ's page.

This course is divided and taught in modules, with the student’s Diving/Training Log being signed off for each module after all requirements are met.

Module 1

• Equipment configuration and streamlining.

Module 2

• Buoyancy, trim, balance, and propulsion.

Module 3

• Reel/Spool line handling, SMB use and techniques, equipment management.

Module 4

• Dive planning, navigation, and gas management techniques.

Module 5

• Developing a mentality fit for diving, including: safety, communication, situational awareness, team diving, and emergency prevention.

Module 6

• Understanding decompression, and performing minimum deco.

Each module builds on the previous one to refine skills and develop higher degrees of competence, and completion of each module is subject to individual performance.

The minimum age for this course is:

• 18 years or older.

The minimum prerequisites for this course are:

• OWSD certified.

Students must supply their own equipment, and all equipment must meet safety requirements.

Course graduates will receive a lifetime internationally recognized Recreational Essentials Diver certification from the International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers (IANTD), and will be considered competent to perform open water dives without supervision provided the diving activities and the areas dived approximate those of training.

COURSE COSTS:

Please refer to the Course Price List Page for transparency and a detailed explanation of costs.

This is a progressively-structured course, covering formal academics, and a minimum of 6 training days, and a minimum of 10 dives.

Course cost includes:

• Administrative fees
• Account registration
• Account setup
• Licensing fee for access to course and academics
• Final certification fees

Does not include:

• Instructor Daily Rate each training day

Costs for diving each day:

• Tank rental
• Facility fees
• Diving tickets at location

Or costs for:

• Transportation
• Food
• Lodging (based on training location requirements)

Students will be billed for registration up front. Students will then be billed separately for the costs of their dives at each training location, as well as the instructor daily rate, each day. Depending on student performance, KSA's will be reviewed and practiced until the point of performance within designated range, which may require more dives than the scheduled minimum.

Additionally, the cost of transportation, lodging, food, and any equipment rental needs are not included.

Local Possible Facilitation Locations:

• JDC
• Atami
• IOP
• Osezaki
• Bommie

To enroll in this course, please download a copy of the Medical Questionnaire below, follow the instructions, and sign. Then fill out the Enrollment Form below on this page. Please answer the questions in the form completely, and send it. We will get back to you as soon as able.

Do you have questions about how courses are structured, your certification, equipment, or costs? Please visit our FAQ's page for more information that might be helpful.

The Technical Essentials program is designed to enable qualified recreational certified divers with the necessary knowledge and skills to enter into technical training programs. It extends proficiency in the water, and puts in practice the "Essential" Core Competencies all divers, at every level should know and be able to perform.

This systematic learning and professional training program is designed to enhance personal and team underwater skills by:

• Increasing development and internalization of buoyancy, trim, balance, and propulsion,
• Refining and expanding fundamental diving knowledge and skills,
• Streamlining equipment and improving configuration (If diving backmount, PDC strongly advocates for a Hogarthian/DIR configuration, see questions 16 and 17 on the FAQ's page),
• Enhancing diving safety, situational awareness, and accident prevention,
• Developing better dive planning and gas management skills, and
• Understanding decompression theory and proper procedures.

The Technical Essentials Course is intended to develop a qualified recreational-level diver's core KSA's up to a recognizably high standard and configuration, and is a prerequisite for entry into Technical programs. It is designed to increase skill competencies by further developing and refining core diving KSA's, resulting in a safer, more comfortable, and more efficient diver in the water.

For a list of Core KSA's and a definition of "Mastery", please refer to Question 8 on the FAQ's page.

This course is divided and taught in modules, with the student’s Diving/Training Log being signed off for each module after all requirements are met.

Module 1

• Equipment configuration and streamlining (either backmount or sidemount).

Module 2

• Buoyancy, trim, balance, and propulsion.

Module 3

• Reel/Spool line handling, SMB use and techniques, equipment management, stage cylinder management.

Module 4

• Dive planning, navigation, and gas management techniques.

Module 5

• Developing a mentality fit for diving, including: safety, communication, situational awareness, team diving, and emergency prevention.

Module 6

• Decompression theory, procedures, and performance.

Each module builds on the previous one to refine skills and develop higher degrees of competence, and completion of each module is subject to individual performance.

The minimum age for this course is:

• 18 years or older.

The minimum prerequisites for this course are:

• AOW (with Deep Specialty if not AOW through NAUI)
• Nitrox
• BLS and O2 Provider
• Recreational Essentials Diver certified (optional)
• Sufficient dive experience necessary to begin the program
• Sidemount Certified (if conducted in sidemount)

Students must supply their own equipment, and all equipment must meet safety requirements.

Course graduates will receive a lifetime internationally recognized Technical Essentials Diver certification from the International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers (IANTD), and will be considered competent to enter into technical training programs.

COURSE COSTS:

Please refer to the Course Price List Page for transparency and a detailed explanation of costs.

This is a progressively-structured course, covering formal academics, and a minimum of 5 - 7 training days, and a minimum of 6 - 12 dives.

Course cost includes:

• Administrative fees
• Account registration
• Account setup
• Licensing fee for access to course and academics
• Final certification fees

Does not include:

• Instructor Daily Rate each training day

Costs for diving each day:

• Tank rental
• Expendables and Gases (if any)
• Facility fees
• Diving tickets at location

Or costs for:

• Transportation
• Food
• Lodging (based on training location requirements)

Students will be billed for registration up front. Students will then be billed separately for the costs of their dives at each training location, as well as the instructor daily rate, each day. Depending on student performance, KSA's will be reviewed and practiced until the point of performance within designated range, which may require more dives than the scheduled minimum.

Additionally, the cost of transportation, lodging, food, and any equipment rental needs are not included.

Local Possible Facilitation Locations:

• JDC
• Atami
• Osezaki

To enroll in this course, please download a copy of the Medical Questionnaire below, follow the instructions, and sign. Then fill out the Enrollment Form below on this page. Please answer the questions in the form completely, and send it. We will get back to you as soon as able.

Do you have questions about how courses are structured, your certification, equipment, or costs? Please visit our FAQ's page for more information that might be helpful.

The Rebreather Essentials programs (both Recreational and Technical) are designed to enable RCCR or Advanced EANx CCR certified divers and above to extend proficiency in the water, and to review and put in practice the "Essential" Core Competencies all rebreather divers, at every level should know and be able to perform.

This systematic learning and professional training program is designed to enhance personal and team underwater skills by:

• Increasing development and internalization of buoyancy, trim, balance, and propulsion,
• Refining and expanding fundamental diving knowledge and skills,
• Streamlining equipment and improving configuration (If diving backmount, PDC strongly advocates for a Hogarthian/DIR configuration, see questions 16 and 17 on the FAQ's page),
• Enhancing diving safety, situational awareness, and accident prevention,
• Developing better dive planning and gas management skills, and
• Understanding decompression theory and proper procedures.

The Rebreather Essentials Course is intended to develop a rebreather-level diver's core KSA's up to a recognizably high standard and configuration. Although not a mandatory prerequisite, it is strongly encouraged to complete before enrolling in more advanced Rebreather programs. It is designed to increase skill competencies by further developing and refining core diving KSA's, resulting in a safer, more comfortable, and more efficient diver in the water, and preparing them for more advanced diving programs.

For a list of Core KSA's and a definition of "Mastery", please refer to Question 8 on the FAQ's page.

This course is divided and taught in modules, with the student’s Diving/Training Log being signed off for each module after all requirements are met.

Module 1

• Equipment configuration and streamlining (either backmount or sidemount).

Module 2

• Buoyancy, trim, balance, and propulsion.

Module 3

• Reel/Spool line handling, SMB use and techniques, equipment management, diluent and stage cylinder management.

Module 4

• Dive planning, navigation, and gas management techniques.

Module 5

• Developing a mentality fit for diving, including: safety, communication, situational awareness, team diving, and emergency prevention.

Module 6

• Decompression theory, procedures, and performance.

Each module builds on the previous one to refine skills and develop higher degrees of competence, and completion of each module is subject to individual performance.

The minimum age for this course is:

• 18 years or older.

The minimum prerequisites for this course are:

• RCCR certified (for Recreational)
• Advanced EANx CCR certified (for Technical)

Students must supply their own equipment, and all equipment must meet safety requirements.

Course graduates will receive a lifetime internationally recognized Rebreather Essentials Diver certification from the International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers (IANTD), and will be considered competent to perform open water dives without supervision provided the diving activities and the areas dived approximate those of training.

COURSE COSTS:

Please refer to the Course Price List Page for transparency and a detailed explanation of costs.

This is a progressively-structured course, covering formal academics, and a minimum of 6 training days, and a minimum of 6 dives.

Course cost includes:

• Administrative fees
• Account registration
• Account setup
• Licensing fee for access to course and academics
• Final certification fees

Does not include:

• Instructor Daily Rate each training day

Costs for diving each day:

• Tank rental
• Expendables and Gases
• Facility fees
• Diving tickets at location

Or costs for:

• Transportation
• Food
• Lodging (based on training location requirements)

Students will be billed for registration up front. Students will then be billed separately for the costs of their dives at each training location, as well as the instructor daily rate, each day. Depending on student performance, KSA's will be reviewed and practiced until the point of performance within designated range, which may require more dives than the scheduled minimum.

Additionally, the cost of transportation, lodging, food, and any equipment rental needs are not included.

Local Possible Facilitation Locations:

• JDC
• Atami
• Osezaki

To enroll in this course, please download a copy of the Medical Questionnaire below, follow the instructions, and sign. Then fill out the Enrollment Form below on this page. Please answer the questions in the form completely, and send it. We will get back to you as soon as able.

Do you have questions about how courses are structured, your certification, equipment, or costs? Please visit our FAQ's page for more information that might be helpful.

Ever see a good diver resting, motionless in the blue, not moving but hovering, and then move effortlessly in the water, and think to yourself, "How can I do THAT?"

Pinnacle Diving Company teaches ALL divers from their Open Water course and up these skills, but "mastery" takes time, careful guidance, and dedicated practice.

And that is exactly what this workshop is all about.

Proper buoyancy, trim, and finning has more of an effect on your body and your dive than most people realize. Good buoyancy, trim, and finning reduces stress on the body, making it easier to move in the water, which lowers the body's demand for oxygen (and its need to remove CO2), lowering your heart rate, which lowers your respiratory rate, meaning you breath less gas and your dive becomes longer and more enjoyable. Additionally, breathing less means you take on less inert gas load, lowering your risk of DCS development as a result, and you'll feel less "tired" after the dive is over too.

All this just from maintaining proper neutral buoyancy, good trim, and using good finning techniques.

This is an entire workshop specifically dedicated to mastering buoyancy, trim, and proper finning techniques.

Areas of focus will include: Basic anatomy; respiration; ideal breathing; self-awareness (twitching and movement); center of gravity, and weight and moment; trim angle; equipment configuration; minimum weighting; use of a BC / drysuit (optional); fin selection, musculoskeletal mechanics, and finning techniques, to include proper flutter kicks, modified flutter kicks, frog kicks, modified frog kicks, helicopter turns, back finning, and precision in movement using fins.

The minimum age for this workshop is:

• 15 years old with parental consent, a signed waiver, and an interview by staff, or
• 18 years or older.

The minimum prerequisite for this workshop is:

• OWSD certified.

Participants should supply their own equipment, and all equipment must meet safety requirements. If a participant needs one or more specific equipment items, they must acquire them before the first dive day of the workshop. PDC is able to aid students in acquiring their own equipment at any time. Please visit the DIVE GEAR page to inquire.

Diving deep safely requires an advanced understanding of physics and physiology, gas management techniques, careful planning, a conservative mentality, and the ability to stick to a plan. Depth can be dangerous for the daring, overconfident, and undertrained, and this workshop will provide those tools from a Technical Diving perspective.

In this workshop, we will provide divers with a deeper understanding of the physics involved with diving deeper, the associated dangers, and teach divers how to properly plan and execute deep dives using proper gas management techniques and technical profiling under recreational parameters.

You didn't learn THIS in your "Advanced Open Water course" unless you took your Advanced course from us!

The minimum age for this workshop is:

• 15 years old with parental consent, a signed waiver, and an interview by staff, or
• 18 years or older.

The minimum prerequisite for this workshop is:

• AOWSD certified.

Participants should supply their own equipment, and all equipment must meet safety requirements. If a participant needs one or more specific equipment items, they must acquire them before the first dive day of the workshop. PDC is able to aid students in acquiring their own equipment at any time. Please visit the DIVE GEAR page to inquire.

Unless you took your Advanced Open Water course from Pinnacle Diving Company, the vast majority of divers out there complete a "square" and/or a "triangle" pattern in their AOWSD course, and get their "navigation" block checked off the list... Yet completing a square or triangle pattern underwater does NOT actually teach anyone how to truly "navigate". Instead, it teaches you how to make 3 or 4 turns, and unfortunately, most divers walk away just as lost, still unable to find a seashell in the sand...

PDC takes a completely different approach, and our AOWSD students must complete an underwater "Star Course" (anyone who's ever served in the military and gone through Selection or been required to complete Land Nav knows what this is), and as such, must actually LEARN "how" to navigate underwater to complete this requirement.

And that's what this workshop is all about.

In this workshop, students will learn, practice, and perfect the use of an underwater compass, recap essential navigation knowledge, covering both dead reckoning and terrain association, and put those skills to practice, in order to complete our underwater Star Course, both during the day and at night (limited visibility).

The minimum age for this workshop is:

• 15 years old with parental consent, a signed waiver, and an interview by staff, or
• 18 years or older.

The minimum prerequisite for this workshop is:

• AOWSD certified.

Participants should supply their own equipment, and all equipment must meet safety requirements. If a participant needs one or more specific equipment items, they must acquire them before the first dive day of the workshop. PDC is able to aid students in acquiring their own equipment at any time. Please visit the DIVE GEAR page to inquire.

Sidemount diving offers increased stability, safety, capabilities, options to emergencies, increased bottom times, and much, much more... However, sidemount also brings with it increased equipment loads, increased equipment complexity, increased dive planning and gas management complexity, and the potential for running into some dangers--such as exceeding limitations...

Many divers learn to sidemount for the pros, but their training is too quick or not thorough enough to iron out all the cons, leaving them with poorly configured equipment, hanging or floating cylinders, incorrectly routed hoses, bad trim, and minimally-developed skills.

That's exactly why this workshop exists.

The Sidemount Workshop will bring it back to basics with harness adjustments, gear configurations, equipment manipulation in the water, and proper action sequencing and timing, before moving on to perfecting buoyancy, breathing, trim, and finning, and finally developing a deeper understanding of CG, Weight and Moment, emergency procedures, and human factors that affect us all while diving.

The minimum age for this course is:

• 18 years or older.

The minimum prerequisites for this course are:

• Sidemount Certified.

Participants must supply their own equipment, and all equipment must meet safety requirements. If a participant needs one or more specific equipment items, they must acquire them before the first dive day of the workshop. PDC is able to aid students in acquiring their own equipment at any time. Please visit the DIVE GEAR page to inquire.

A "good" Drysuit Diver Course should provide training and education on the use of drysuits, to include types, features, fit, function, thermal protection options, controls, buoyancy characteristics, and be heavily focused on emergency procedures.

However, to perfect the use of a drysuit is more nuanced a skill that takes time to develop.

This workshop is dedicated to mentorship of drysuit skills development, to include trim attitude, neutral buoyancy, equipment manipulation, and propulsion techniques, allowing participants time in the water to perfect suit use and management.

The minimum age for this workshop is:

• 15 years old with parental consent, a signed waiver, and an interview by staff, or
• 18 years or older.

The minimum prerequisite for this workshop is:

• Drysuit Certified.

Participants must supply their own equipment, and all equipment must meet safety requirements. If a participant needs one or more specific equipment items, they must acquire them before the first dive day of the workshop. PDC is able to aid students in acquiring their own equipment at any time. Please visit the DIVE GEAR page to inquire.

Most divers only practice Search and Recovery once... During their Advanced Course. After that, this skill degrades quickly until it's completely lost.

This workshop is designed to reintroduce certified divers to Search and Recovery procedures, and covers planning considerations, navigation, limited visibility conditions, search methodologies and patterns, problem solving and computations, rigging, and light salvage and recovery of items underwater as practical skills.

The minimum age for this workshop is:

• 15 years old with parental consent, a signed waiver, and an interview by staff, or
• 18 years or older.

The minimum prerequisite for this workshop is:

• AOWSD certified.

Participants should supply their own equipment, and all equipment must meet safety requirements. If a participant needs one or more specific equipment items, they must acquire them before the first dive day of the workshop. PDC is able to aid students in acquiring their own equipment at any time. Please visit the DIVE GEAR page to inquire.

Diving at altitude can be extremely dangerous for the untrained sea-level diver, and even for the trained Altitude Diver, it is a perishable skill.

This workshop is designed to recap the required knowledge for altitude diving, and improve the skills of trained altitude divers, while conducting dives at altitudes at or above 300m (1,000ft) above sea level (ASL).

We conduct our local Altitude training by Mt. Fuji! :D

The minimum age for this workshop is:

• 18 years or older.

The minimum prerequisite for this workshop is:

• Altitude Certified.

Participants should supply their own equipment, and all equipment must meet safety requirements. If a participant needs one or more specific equipment items, they must acquire them before the first dive day of the workshop. PDC is able to aid students in acquiring their own equipment at any time. Please visit the DIVE GEAR page to inquire.

Every diver learns how to "Plan their dive, then dive their plan", but not all dive plans are well-developed or well-thought out. In fact, most divers make loosely based plans, with minimum considerations, largely based on assumptions. Further, most divers then go dive and don't even stick together, immediately violating the plan.

Now... We're NOT saying ALL dives should be detailed and thorough, or even strictly adhered to. That would just sap all the fun out of much of our diving, now wouldn't it? But we are saying, that with increased risk and increased complexity, proper dive planing must be effective, and being able to dive as a team becomes essential.

In this workshop, participants will learn a technical approach to dive planning, be introduced to the SORD-TGS/RECS planning model, participate in AAR's, and learn team diving and communication aspects to dive operations.

The minimum age for this workshop is:

• 15 years old with parental consent, a signed waiver, and an interview by staff, or
• 18 years or older.

The minimum prerequisite for this workshop is:

• OWSD certified.

Participants should supply their own equipment, and all equipment must meet safety requirements. If a participant needs one or more specific equipment items, they must acquire them before the first dive day of the workshop. PDC is able to aid students in acquiring their own equipment at any time. Please visit the DIVE GEAR page to inquire.

Every diver at every level should know, understand, and practice their Emergency Procedures. Yet the reality is, the vast majority rarely if ever do.

Emergency procedures vary depending on level of training, and this workshop is intended to focus on procedure identification and correct response by use of detailed discussion, surface practice, and in-water reaction drills, based on the participants certification level.

The minimum age for this workshop is:

• 15 years old with parental consent, a signed waiver, and an interview by staff, or
• 18 years or older.

The minimum prerequisite for this workshop is:

• OWSD certified.

Participants must supply their own equipment, and all equipment must meet safety requirements. If a participant needs one or more specific equipment items, they must acquire them before the first dive day of the workshop. PDC is able to aid students in acquiring their own equipment at any time. Please visit the DIVE GEAR page to inquire.