Congratulations to Brendan McColgan – our latest Leading Diver who completed his scuba diving certification this year.
The Leading Diver certification is Diving Ireland’s implementation of the CMAS 3 star diver certification. You can find all the details on the Diving Ireland website.
It takes almost a year to complete the 3 necessary modules. It culminates in a Leading Diver weekend where you are expected to plan and execute 2 safe days of diving for the group. This includes selecting a dive to 40 metres. This year the weekends were in Mullaghmore and Killary.
The course involves drilling into the mechanics of diving. In Module 1 the paper exam revisits the Physiology and physics of diving. It also covers Dive Tables (remember them?), and General knowledge.
Module 2 consists of the preparation and deployment of a shot line to 40m as well as safely leading a 40M dive. Mask removal and regulator removal at 40 meters tests the divers comfort levels while at depth. As well as the paper exams you need to have passed your Coxswain exam as a prerequisite and should be able to show good boat handling skills on the weeknd.
Throw in a good dose of navigational knowledge and the ability to tie a decent knot.
Some divers were asked to show their Bowline knot tying skills at 40 metres – with their mask on and regulator in thankfully.
Feel free to get in touch if you are interested in trying one of the Diving Ireland courses. At this point the club is focused on bringing onboard divers who have already gained a certificate before with another agency (PADI, BSAC, SSI etc). We are able to provide a cross over into the Diving Ireland world which will allow you to dive with the club in a safe manner.
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