Originally published on 10 January 2023 and transferred from the original BusaBoy blog in 2026.
An Open Water course contains a lot of individual exercises, but I do not think students benefit from seeing them as a checklist of tricks to perform once. The skills make more sense when you group them by what they are trying to teach.
Breathing and buoyancy
Stable buoyancy is one of the foundations of diving. Students learn to use the BCD, breathing and body position together rather than bouncing between the bottom and the surface. Good buoyancy also makes almost every other skill easier.
Mask and regulator skills
Water in a mask or a regulator out of the mouth should be manageable events, not immediate emergencies. Clearing a mask, recovering or replacing a regulator and continuing to breathe calmly are basic forms of problem solving underwater.
Descents and ascents
Equalisation, orientation, communication and buoyancy all come together during a descent. On the way back up, the diver has to control ascent rate, changing buoyancy, gas and team position. The ascent is not just the moment when the dive is “over”.
Gas and equipment awareness
Students learn to assemble equipment, check it, monitor gas and understand what the main instruments are telling them. A computer can display useful information, but only if the diver recognises the numbers and knows what action they imply.
Buddy and emergency procedures
Air-sharing, alternate-air-source use, tired-diver assistance and other emergency exercises are there to build options when the normal plan stops working. The goal is not to perform them theatrically. The goal is to stay controlled enough to use them if needed.
Communication and simple navigation
Hand signals, staying aware of the buddy and basic orientation are part of becoming independent. A diver who can perform every isolated skill but constantly loses the team is not finished learning.
The certification is the beginning
Different agencies and course versions organise their required skills differently, so I would not reduce Open Water training to one universal number. What matters is whether the diver can combine the core skills during a real dive without needing the instructor to manage every decision.
The first certification should create a diver who is ready to keep practising, not somebody who believes the learning is complete.
