Learning to Sidemount dive

May 2019

Perth Scuba are proud to have 2 very competent sidemount instructors in house, who have gotten together and come up with a brand new format for the Padi recreational Sm course
Whilst the PADI sidemount course may not be a ‘tech’ sidemount course, both of our instructors are experienced technical divers, who live and breathe sidemount diving, and the Padi SM course is flexible in that they are able to add skills and drills above and beyond the minimum standards, depending upon an individual diver’s skillset.
The Padi SM course is run over 2 and a half days. It begins with an evening theory session, covering an introduction to Sidemount and it’s philosophical approachm, and a hands on gear config session, which is especially helpful if you have purchased your own sidemount gear.
We then begin the 2nd day at the pool, which allows for a full half a day of skills development in a confined water setting, and plenty of time to work on bouyancy and trim, before hitting the open water in the afternoon for the first Open water dive of the course.

We then wrap up with Day 3 involving 3 dives (An extra dive than the minimum standards) to ensure you are fully comfortable with your sidemount set, and to work on any skill deficiencies discoverd over a full day of training.
While it may not be the cheapest sidemount course, we strongly believe that sidemount is a different philosophical approach to diving and not just another specialty card, and the extra time provided in water and in the classroom will make you a significantly better Sidemount diver at the end of the course!

Click here to learn more about upcoming courses.

written by Instructor Travis Simmons