Gaspar's  Dive  N  Board

Classes start at $399 and include your e-learning, pool training, and open water certification dives. All gear rentals are included for your BCD, regulator, and tanks. Each student will need to own their personal fit gear including mask, fins, boots if needed, snorkel, and weights. We offer a 10% student discount to help purchase any of the personal fit gear you do not already own. You can add on specialty courses like Nitrox, and Perfect Buoyancy at a reduced price when you sign up for them during your open water class.

The only equipment we require for class is your own mask, fins, boots (if needed), snorkel, and weights. These is your personal fit gear and are specific to each person. If you need to purchase any or all of your personal equipment, we offer a 10% new student discount to help with this initial purchase. Wetsuits are recommended during winter months. You can purchase your own or you can rent them for class. While you are not required to own your own equipment (BCD, regulator, dive computer, tanks) for class, some people enjoy learning in their own equipment. If you would like to purchase equipment for class let us know. We would be happy to make sure you get properly fitted and get the features you need to be successful after class.

We have two locations where we complete certification dives, the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Denton. Both are great locations. Our instructors will make sure you not only get scuba certified but have a great time too! Gulf of Mexico: Our first choice is to get out onto the Gulf for our certification dives. We use our boat to explore artificial reefs, natural ledges, and look for megalodon teeth. During class we try to go out on the boat for both days of certification dives. This is all weather dependent. If the weather is not on our side we will go to Lake Denton to complete our certification dives. Lake Denton: Lake Denton is located in Avon Park Florida. We can reach depths of 50 feet. Underwater you will find lots of PVC structures to swim through and challenge your buoyancy. Wildlife includes softshell turtles, bluegill, and bass. Lake Denton is great for diving as there are NO ALLIGATORS.

You can absolutely get certified! We offer a few different class schedules to try to match up with as many schedules as possible. If none of the scheduled classes work for you, or you need to get your certification within a specific time frame give us a call to discuss doing a private class. Private classes happen on your schedule, and only with your group. These are great for families or individuals with busy schedules. Give us a call to set up your private class. 941-698-0499

We teach SSI (Scuba Schools International) and NAUI (National Association of Underwater Instructors). Both agencies grant certification cards that are recognized worldwide. Generally, we determine which agency you will be certified with depending on the instructor for the course. If you have a specific request for an agency just let us know so we can make sure to honor that request.

Great question! You may be wondering if you'll enjoy scuba diving or whether getting certified is right for you. If so, then our Try Scuba experience may be just for you! We offer this activity in a swimming pool where you can relax and be comfortable while trying out the equipment and learning some basics alongside our experienced professionals. No experience or equipment is required.

SSI (Scuba Schools International), NAUI (National Association of Underwater Instructors), and PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) are three of the largest scuba certification agencies in the world. Each allows divers to try scuba diving, get certified and continue their dive education through specialty courses, and professional courses up through divemaster and instructor level. No matter which agency you choose or get certified under, you will learn to become a safe and competent diver. The skills will be taught in a similar way, and in a similar order. Each agency has slightly different teaching methodologies to help their instructors, best help their students learn to scuba dive safely. Each agency has equivalent certifications at each level from Open Water certification all the way through Master Scuba Diver. As you look towards joining the professional ranks of Divemaster or Instructor you will want to choose and stick with a single agency, to avoid having to pay additional fees to crossover between the agencies.

Sharks live in the ocean so there is always a chance of seeing a shark. You should consider yourself lucky if you get the chance to see a shark. Most are more afraid of us than we are of them. Shark encounters when we are spearfishing vs just diving without hunting for fish are completely different from each other. If you are not spearfishing, there is generally nothing to fear about seeing a shark. When we spearfish and hunt for fish while scuba diving or freediving, we are carrying a food source of sharks, dead or injured fish. Sharks will naturally be curious about the fish we have caught and may even try to steal them from us. It's a natural reaction. During Open Water Certification classes we are not spearfishing and thus have nothing to fear of sharks.

The minimum age to get scuba certified is 10 years old.

We do not rent personal fit gear (mask, fins, snorkel) for our classes. Your personal fit gear is just that, personally fit for YOU. This gear can make or break your experience in the water and needs to fit correctly, and comfortably. This gear also allows you to continue diving after your class. We offer a 10% new student discount to help you purchase this gear, if you don't already own some or all of this gear.

We service all brands including but not limited to: Sherwood Scuba, Atomic Aquatics, Zeagle, Oceanic, Cressi-Sub, Ocean Reef, OTS, Aqualung, Scubapro, Apeks, Seac, Dive Rite, Hollis, Mares, and Tusa. Don't see the brand you are looking for? Give us a call. 941-698-0499

Generally, you will have your gear back within 2 weeks or less from the day you drop it off. Exact turnaround time will be determined when you drop off your gear.

We offer many services for scuba tanks. The most common are visual inspections and hydrostatic testing. Visual inspections are done in house, normally same day. These need to be completed each year. Visual inspections cost $16 plus the cost of the air fill or nitrox fill. Hydrostatic testing is done on tanks every 5 years. These are sent to a testing facility every Thursday. They return the following Thursday. Hydrostatic testing includes a visual inspection. Hydrostatic testing cost $45 plus the cost of the air fill or nitrox fill. Other Services include but are not limited to tank tumbling, valve cleaning and repair. Depending on the specific work needed the timeline can vary from same day service to over a week to complete the required work. Please give us a call or stop by to discuss your tanks.

We rent a variety of snorkel gear including masks, fins, snorkels, wetsuits, and dive flags. For more information about rental gear click on the button below.

There are some great snorkeling spots locally in the Englewood/Venice area. The biggest thing to look for is areas where there is substrate on the bottom like seagrass or rocks. These areas are places where fish, crabs, and other sea life like to live. Try out a few of these spots: Caspersen's Beach, Venice Florida Stump Pass State Beach Park, Englewood Florida

We rent a wide range of scuba equipment including BCD, regulators, weights, wetsuits, dive flags, mask, fins, snorkels, air tanks, and nitrox/enriched air tanks. You can learn more about our rental program by clicking the button below.

We rent a variety of snorkel gear including masks, fins, snorkels, wetsuits, and dive flags. For more information about rental gear click on the button below.

Yes! We fill paintball tanks as long as the tanks are in good condition and meet all safety requirements.

We do not have the ability to fill CO2 tanks, but we can fill air tanks.