Advanced Open Water in Ochi: Leveling Up My Diving Skills

This post is part of a blog series where I restarted my journey in diving after 8 years on dry land. The introduction post is here and the previous post is here.

Just over a year after earning my PADI Open Water certification in Montego Bay, and now towards the end of the COVID pandemic, I headed to Ocho Rios – better known as Ochi – to take the next step in my diving journey: the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course. This wasn’t just a continuation of my training; it was the moment I started to feel like a real diver again. Confident. Comfortable. Ready for more.

Thanks to the solid foundation laid by Big D in Montego Bay, I arrived in Ochi excited rather than nervous. And I was paired with an instructor who was the perfect match for this stage: Dennis Fowler.

Meet Dennis Fowler – The Perfect Advanced Instructor

If Big D was the no‑nonsense drill sergeant who rebuilt my fundamentals, Dennis was the calm, cool, experienced mentor who sharpened them. He didn’t need to be strict – because by the time you’re doing Advanced Open Water, your instructor can assume you know what you’re doing. And he knew Donovan Grey (Big D) had done his job well.

Dennis made everything relaxed, enjoyable, and confidence‑building. He taught through experience, good humour, and trust—exactly what an Advanced course should feel like.

What the PADI Advanced Open Water Course Involves

Unlike Open Water, the Advanced Open Water course is all about building skills and experience through adventure dives. There’s no pass/fail exam—just practical learning and exploration. To qualify, you must complete:

• Deep Dive – Learn to safely go beyond 18m, down to a max of 30m.
• Underwater Navigation – Master compass work, natural navigation, and precision movement.
• Three Elective Dives – Chosen based on the location, conditions, and your interests.

Ochi has some of the best training sites in Jamaica, so it was the perfect place to take this step.

My Adventure Dives – Full Dive Log

Here’s the full breakdown of every dive completed as part of my Advanced course (and the fun dives that followed). All coordinates, depths, and bottom times are pulled straight from my dive log.

📍 Day 1 – 15 November 2021

• Adventure Dive – Navigation
  Location: Ocho Rios Middle Reef
  Max Depth: 17m
  Bottom Time: 32 minutes
• Adventure Elective Dive 3
  Location: Ocho Rios Middle Reef
  Max Depth: 16.5m
  Bottom Time: 21 minutes

📍 Day 2 – 16 November 2021

• Adventure Dive – Deep
  Location: Ocho Rios Dickies Deep
  Max Depth: 27.2m
  Bottom Time: 34 minutes
• Adventure Elective Dive 2
  Location: Ocho Rios Sandals Reef
  Max Depth: 10m
  Bottom Time: 39 minutes

📍 Day 3 – 17 November 2021

• Adventure Elective Dive 1
  Location: Katherine (Kathryn) Shipwreck — Ocho Rios
  Max Depth: 15m
  Bottom Time: 42 minutes

📍 Extended Fun Dives After Qualification

Once the Advanced qualification was complete, Dennis kept the good times going with several more dives—each one better than the last.

• Dunn’s Deep
  Max Depth: 28.3m
  Bottom Time: 38 minutes
• Ocho Rios Wall
  Max Depth: 27m
  Bottom Time: 40 minutes
• Dickies Deep (again!)
  Max Depth: 27.5m
  Bottom Time: 37 minutes
• Sandals Reef
  Max Depth: 18m
  Bottom Time: 47 minutes
• Middle Reef
  Max Depth: 14.4m
  Bottom Time: 39 minutes

Highlights of Diving Ochi

Ochi’s dive sites are incredibly varied. One minute you’re hovering over a wall that drops into the deep blue, and the next you’re exploring a shipwreck covered in marine life. Navigation and deep dives feel completely different here compared to Scotland’s cold lochs – and each site helped me grow as a diver.

Dennis struck the perfect balance of safety and fun, letting me build confidence through real diving, not just drills.

Another Step Forward

Completing my PADI Advanced Open Water in Ochi felt huge. It wasn’t just a box ticked – it genuinely transformed the way I dive. Better buoyancy, better awareness, better confidence at depth. I left Ochi feeling ready for anything.

The True Cost of Dive Training at Sandals vs. Standard Pricing

One of the biggest surprises for many new divers at Sandals is just how affordable the training is. The PADI Advanced Open Water course at Sandals is priced at around $480 – a fraction of what you would normally expect to pay at most dedicated dive centres or resorts worldwide.

To put it into perspective, the same Advanced Open Water qualification typically costs:

• $900–$1,200 USD at major dive resorts in the Caribbean
• $700–$1,000 USD in Europe, including the Mediterranean
• $600–$900 USD in the United States

The reason Sandals can offer such a low price is simple: all diving, equipment, tanks, boats, and crew are already included in your stay. You’re only paying for the certification itself – not for gear rental, pool time, or boat costs. What would normally be added fees elsewhere are built right into your holiday package.

This makes Sandals one of the best‑value places in the world to complete a PADI course, whether you’re starting out or advancing your skills.

Of course, if you’re based in Scotland, there’s an even more cost‑effective option: ScotSAC training is included for club members, providing the same high‑quality instruction delivered by experienced divers. The only costs are membership and eventually your own kit, making it unbeatable for anyone wanting to learn at home. – Want to Find Out More?

And as it turns out… I’d soon need those skills. Next stop: Antigua—where I tackled Peak Performance Buoyancy and continued pushing my training forward.