Certified is not the same as capable.
One-on-one scuba training in Florida's clearest springs, taught by a Ph.D. educator, Navy veteran, and IDEA Course Director.
IDEA Course Director
Highest instructor rank
Veteran Owned
& Operated
Ph.D. Educator
20+ years teaching
Private Pace
Not a class schedule
Nitrox & Dry Suit
Specialty certified
10 Springs
72°F year round
Learn to dive with a Ph.D. educator
Veteran owned · Training divers in North Florida since 1991
Learning to scuba dive is fun. But far too often a new diver ends up uncomfortable underwater, because they never became confident in their skills or their equipment. That happens when a course gets rushed to the minimum standard.
My approach is safety first, certifications second. I have spent twenty years teaching, I hold the highest instructor rank in recreational scuba, and I do not stop until you are genuinely capable.
I tell new divers that an Open Water certification is like a learner's permit to drive a car. It is your permission to practice. Minimum standards are exactly that: the minimum. We do not aim for them. Training happens in Florida's freshwater springs, 72°F year round with visibility measured in tens of feet. I also travel for training and can work with you wherever you live. If you are planning a trip to Florida, we can start the academics before you arrive and finish in the water while you are here.
Train with the Scuba Professor
1991
Diving since
20+
Years teaching
10
Springs we train in
Choose your course
From your first breath underwater to Instructor Trainer — every course runs at your pace, one-on-one or in a small group, rather than on a fixed class schedule. Family and group rates are available.
Flagship
Safe Scuba Diver Program
Flexible / 15+ dives / From $4,825
Go past the minimum. Graduate an advanced diver with Nitrox certification, fifteen logged dives, and your own equipment. Not a card holder. A capable diver.
Three things no competitor can claim
A teacher first
A Ph.D. and twenty years in classrooms before ever teaching a dive course. Knowing how people actually learn is the difference between watching a skill and owning it.
Navy trained
A former Navy hospital corpsman. When the philosophy here is safety first, that is not a slogan. It comes from a career where being responsible for someone's life was the job.
The top of the profession
An IDEA Course Director, the highest rank in recreational scuba, which means training instructors as well as divers. Most dive shops in this region stop at Divemaster.
"My students get the same level of safety I give to my own family, and all my children are divers."
— Wade Howell, Ph.D.
Where you'll train
Ten North Florida springs · 72°F year round · Visibility in tens of feet
Devil's Den
Williston · prehistoric spring · cavern access
Blue Grotto
Williston · Florida's largest clear-water cavern
Ginnie Springs
High Springs · basin and ballroom cavern
Orange Grove Sink
Peacock Springs State Park
Rainbow River
Dunnellon · drift dive
Manatee Springs
Chiefland
Royal Springs
Suwannee County
Troy Springs
Troy Spring State Park
Little River
Suwannee County
Fanning Springs
Fanning Springs
Ocean charters, Hudson Grotto, megalodon tooth hunting trips, and the Florida Keys are available at additional cost.
Scuba for homeschool groups and schools
A certification course is one of the few enrichment programs that teaches physics, physiology, and risk management, and then asks students to apply all three in the water.
I am a Ph.D. educator, a pastor, and a father of three certified divers. I work with homeschool co-ops, private schools, and church youth groups across North Florida, and I build the schedule around yours.
• Small groups, taught at the group's pace
• Physics, physiology, and risk management in one course
• Group rates available
• Travel to your location available
What divers say
Common questions
What does it take to get certified?
Three parts. Academic and administrative requirements, which can be done online or in person. A swimming and basic water skills test, followed by getting comfortable with the equipment in confined water. Then open water dives, where you practice what you learned on a real dive.
What does it cost?
Open Water starts at $450. The complete Safe Scuba Diver Program starts at $4,825. Family and group rates are available, and financing may be an option on the full program.
Do I need to be a strong swimmer?
You need to be comfortable in the water and able to pass a basic swimming and water skills test. You do not need to be fast or athletic.
Where do you train students?
Most often the springs of North Florida. I travel for training and can work with you regardless of where you live. If you are planning a trip to Florida, we can start the academics before you arrive.
Ready to Get in the Water?
Tell me a little about your situation and I will come back to you personally.
Ready to get in the water?
Call and talk to me directly. No sales desk, no call center. I answer my own phone.
