Planet Ocean Scuba Center

Help us welcome the newest Open Water Junior Diver, Cris Dobos! 🎉

Cris and Instructor Doug had the perfect weekend at Vortex Spring—sunny weather and no crowds made for ideal diving conditions.

From his very first pool session to his certifying dives, Cris improved by leaps and bounds. We’re so proud of his hard work and can’t wait to see where diving takes him next! 🌊🤿

EQUIPMENT TECHNIQUES SPECIALTY COURSE
• LEARN IN-DEPTH INFORMATION ABOUT THE
COMPONENTS OF YOUR TOTAL DIVING SYSTEM
• DEVELOP A THOROUGH UNDERSTANDING OF YOUR
EQUIPMENT WHILE WORKING WITH A TRAINED AND
EXPERIENCED SSI DIVE PROFESSIONAL
• PRACTICE PERFORMING BASIC PREVENTATIVE
MAINTENANCE ON YOUR PERSONAL EQUIPMENT

Course instructor and store owner Jerry Holland will teach this
three hour classroom session. Saturday April 18th 9a-12
$200 fee includes online portion.
The course counts towards the SSI Master Diver certification.
Call 706.325.3483 to register.

With the summer dive season approaching, now is the time to have your equipment professionally certified as ready to dive.
Specializing in the Scubapro brand, Planet Ocean has been servicing dive gear for over 50 years.

BECOME AN SSI NITROX DIVER
As a Nitrox diver, you can increase your bottom times and safety margins, plus shorten your surface intervals - so you can spend more time diving and less time waiting! In this program, you will learn new skills and increase your diving knowledge while learning how to safely plan and dive with enriched air mixtures of up to 40% oxygen.

Upon completion, you will earn an SSI Enriched Air Nitrox 32% or 40% certification.

The $225 course fee includes the online portion, instructor review, and digital certification.
To register for this course, please contact Jerry at 706.DIVE(3483)

Become an SSI Night Diver
Night diving requires different skills from diving during the day. The SSI Night Diving and Limited Visibility specialty is the best way to learn about night diving and practice the techniques you will need to become a safe and confident night diver.

In this program, you will be provided with all the knowledge and skills you need to safely and comfortably dive at night or in limited visibility conditions. With a combination of online learning and open water training dives, you will learn how to enter and exit the water, use specialized equipment, and how to communicate with your buddy easily at night or in limited visibility.

Upon completion, you will earn the SSI Night Diving and Limited Visibility specialty certification and be ready to go night diving with confidence.

Planet Ocean instructor Doug McCall will be conducting the two required dives at Vortex Spring in the Florida panhandle on the evening of April 11th. The course fee of $200 includes the online
portion. To sign up, please call Jerry @706.325.DIVE(3483)

Big congratulations to Duke, Luke, Samuel, and Anna for earning their Open Water Diver certifications this weekend! 🎉🤿 Welcome to the Planet Ocean dive family! Help us wish them a lifetime of incredible underwater adventures.

Congratulations to Harry, Landon, David, and Jaiten for completing their SSI Open Water certification dives with Planet Ocean Scuba Center this past weekend at Vortex Springs!

Dive Bonaire 2026 with Planet Ocean Scuba Center

Help us welcome three new Open Water Divers Travis, Ishmael, and Maya! They showed great determination, braving chilly, windy, and rainy conditions over the weekend to earn their certifications. Congratulations and welcome to the dive Community!

🎉 Big congrats to Casey and Luke for becoming certified scuba divers! 🪸🌊 Ready to explore the underwater world? Share your dive adventures with us!

SSI VA Benefit – Planet Ocean Scuba Center At SSI, we believe a Veteran’s next mission should be just as rewarding and purpose-driven as their last. That’s why we’re thrilled to announce the launch of SSI’s VA GI Bill® Reimbursement Program, designed to support U.S. Veterans in using their GI Bill® benefits to earn recreational and...

To all of my veterans or active-duty friends who have ever thought about learning to SCUBA dive, now is the perfect time!

Through the VA’s certification and licensing reimbursement benefits, eligible U.S. Veterans can now receive reimbursement for the cost of SSI training and certification programs—including those leading to professional-level credentials.

Here's how it works:

1. Verify your current G.I. bill status at https://www.va.mgov/education/eligibility/ to ensure sufficient allotment remains.

2. Visit www.divessi.com to register and affiliate with an SSI training center near you. If you're near the Columbus/Ft. Benning area, affiliate with Planet Ocean Scuba Center or come see me.

3. Complete the training/certification process and obtain a copy of the completed certification and paid invoice for submission to the VA for tuition reimbursement.

4. Complete form VBA-22-0803 with information from the invoice and certification. Mail to the corresponding VA facility mentioned at the bottom of the form for the Veteran's /service member's area.

If you already have your Open Water certification, even if it’s with a different agency, you can use these benefits to cover specialty courses such as Night and Wreck Diving, Nitrox, Stress and Rescue, and more, oh, and you can backdate any training that’s been started since 1 Jan 2025.

Form VBA-22-0803 can be found here:
https://files.constantcontact.com/e605ea38001/a22068bc-04d1-4201-adec-5423046029ae.pdf

www.va.mgov

Huge shoutout to Ryan, Felix, and Nicholas for earning their Open Water Diver certifications with SSI and POCS! This weekend, they took everything they learned in the pool and brought it to Vortex Springs—building confidence and sharpening their skills with each dive. Proud of how far they’ve come and excited for all the underwater adventures ahead.