In this course, you’ll complete five adventure dives, with at least two required specialties: the Deep Dive, where you’ll descend beyond 60 feet (often to a maximum of 100 feet), and the Underwater Navigation Dive, honing your compass and natural navigation skills in low-visibility environments typical of Minnesota’s waters. For local diving, the Drysuit Specialty is a natural addition, teaching you how to select, fit, and maintain a drysuit, as well as master buoyancy control while wearing one—a critical skill given the added insulation and potential for air trapped inside. You’ll learn to maneuver confidently, avoiding the “Michelin Man” effect as you adjust to the suit’s bulk and maintain precise control underwater.

The remaining two dives are tailored to Minnesota’s cold water diving scene, and include the Peak Performance Buoyancy Dive, perfecting your trim in a drysuit, and the Search and Recovery Dive, simulating real-world scenarios like retrieving lost gear from a lakebed.  

Our training is focused on practical skills for the region’s unique conditions—think thermoclines, silty bottoms, and the occasional encounter with freshwater fish like walleye or northern pike. The course includes a pool session on Friday night to familiarize yourself with a drysuit and complete buoyancy drills, then 2 local dives Saturday, and 3 dives on Sunday at either Lake Ore Be Gone, Wazee, or Superior. By the end, you’ll be certified and equipped to tackle Minnesota’s cold water playgrounds with confidence, all while staying warm and dry in a drysuit. It’s an adventure that combines technical growth with the rugged beauty of the North Star State’s underwater world. Our advanced class includes the use of a drysuit, and you can add on a full drysuit certification for only $150