Friday 17 June 2016

Scuba Refresher Course + Dive & Snorkeling in Baixa do Ouro

Scuba Refresher Course
Although you might be a certified diver you should do a Scuba Refresher Course if you haven't dived in the last six months. That's was what Kelsey did! She came to our diving center to do her Refresher Course in order to update her scuba skills, knowledge and confidence underwater. 
The instructor started the program with a small review of the equipment, hand signals and setting up the gear. 

Then we sailled to São Roque Islet, a shallow area with 12 meters of maximum depth. There, while you are diving, the instructor observes and helps with the different aspects of the dive, including the pre-dive safety checks, entry method and buoyancy control.

Snorkeling and Dive Trip
Snorkeling is the best way to discover the beautiful underwater life of the Azores, if you are not a certified diver. This time we went to Baixa do Ouro to do a dive and a snorkeling trip. This place has an isolated rock with vertical walls that range from 3 meters to 24 meters of depth. 

The top of this rock (3 meters) is perfect for snorkeling, where you will be able to see several wrasse species, such as the ornate wrasse and the rainbow wrasse, the atlantic and the blue damselfish and white seabream. The dive begins on the top of the rock and we slowly descend on the south part of the wall, passing through cracks and tunnels. In this type of dive you will be able to see pelagic fish, morey eels, wrasses, stingrays, among other fascinating species.