But do you get a "Drysuit Card" included with open water? My gal didn't get a drysuit card, but we didn't ask for one either. She doesn't really need one as she owns her own drysuit.
When our students choose to do their OW in a dry suit, they do the full Dry Suit Specialty course in conjunction with their OW class. They finish with their OW Certification as well as their Dry Suit Specialty Certification. I am assuming we are talking PADI.
It really is pretty simple. After students have completed the class and confined water sessions, sometime before their four Open Water dives they come in for the dry suit class and pool session.
When they do their OW dives they do the skills required in Dry Suit Dive 1 during the appropriate OW dive. There are some
differences to the skills, but they are the same "skill". For example, for the neutral buoyancy "skill" in OW Dive 2, the dry suit student will do it for one minute; for the hover in OW Dive 4, the dry student will do it for one minute. For scuba unit remove and replace at the surface the only difference is the additional step of disconnecting/reconnecting the dry suit inflator hose in order to remove/replace the scuba unit, but it is the same skill.
At the end of the four OW dives, they are certified OW divers. The student then goes back in the water for a "fifth" dive and completes the requirement of Dry Suit Dive 2 and thus earn their Dry Suit Specialty certification.
This is a very common practice, is nothing new, and is done within Standards and the full blessing of PADI. Most of the divers who have received their Open Water certification from me have also received the Dry Suit Specialty.
Bill
