How long has it been since your last dive? If you’re planning a trip and feel like your skills are rusty, PADI’s ReActivate program is a great way to build confidence and en- joy your dives when you giant stride in.

“We do the ReActivate program in a pool or a calm, shallow spot,” explains Pepe Mastropaolo, PADI Course Director at Buddy Dive Resort in Bonaire. “The program is very effective at helping people feel comfortable about going back into open water after a few years away.”

BENEFITS

The PADI ReActivate program is a refresher designed for certified divers who want to relearn basic skills and ease into the sport after not diving for a few years. “The most common cases are family members, where one person stopped diving but the rest of the family kept diving,” Mastropaolo says. “They come to Bonaire to go snorkeling, and then decide to get back into scuba diving.”

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

Divers start with knowledge development lessons that are learned and taken online. “It usually takes students about two to four hours to go through the knowledge reviews and videos,” Mastropaolo says. “There’s a quiz, and they can just print out their score, or show us on their tablet, before we get in the water.”

The in-water portion covers the five core skills taught in the PADI Open Water course: mask removal and replacement, regulator recovery, emergency weight drop, fin pivot and hovering.

Mastropaolo says Buddy Dive instructors like to work with ReActivate students to customize the in-water portion based on anything they feel unsure about. This allows them to spend extra time working through any concerns, whether it’s getting weighted properly or just reacclimating to breathing underwater.

“Once we finish practicing the five skills and anything else they want to work on, divers usually feel very confident to get back in the water with their parents, friends or dive group,” he says.

PREREQUISITES

To experience PADI’s ReActIvate program—designed for those who want to relearn basic dive skills after not div- ing for a few years—you must be a certified diver. It’s recommended, but not required, for those who haven’t been diving for at least two years.