There are two kinds of people in this world:
Those who think “Zombie Apocalypse Diver” is a joke…
and those who have a bucket, a lift bag, and a plan.
This October, DiveWithFrank joined forces once again with the Washington Area Scuba Club at Lake Phoenix, Virginia, for the annual Halloween dive weekend — and the return of the original PADI Zombie Apocalypse Diver Specialty Course.
The weather was crisp, the visibility was better than expected, and the infection rate was—well—off the charts.
☣️ The Calm Before the Swarm
The day started normally enough: divers unpacking gear, sipping coffee, nervously side-eyeing the “Zombie Survival Training” banner flapping in the breeze.
Frank gathered everyone under the McGual & St. Germain shelter for a quick gear check and an even quicker sanity check.
The briefing covered all the essentials for surviving (and thriving) in a post-apocalyptic dive environment:
Zombie Biology 101 – including the real-world science behind tetrodotoxin and Haitian folklore. (Because no good dive course should skip neurotoxins.)
Methods of Infection – bites, scratches, and occasionally poor air-sharing etiquette.
Governmental stance on zombies – currently “strongly opposed,” though the CDC remains curiously quiet.
Treatment of the infected – duct tape, denial, and a very short buddy line.
It’s part education, part absurdity, and completely DiveWithFrank.
💀 Dive One: Containment Procedures
Dive One was all about the fundamentals — with a survivalist twist.
Armed with standard scuba rigs and a few questionable props (namely, an orange Home Depot bucket, “scavenged supplies” to make a lifting device, and a scuba tank shaped jug of “biohazard”), our newly appointed survivors executed an underwater containment scenario combining:
Peak Performance Buoyancy (because good trim = good aim),
Search and Recovery (for when your teammate “drops” the sample mid-panic), and
Underwater Navigation (because zombies don’t follow compasses, but you should).
- Underwater Photography (because zombies apocalypse threads are worthless without pics).
The mission: attach, recover, and secure the contaminated materials before the current, confusion, or cosmic irony took over; document the outbreak; and stay infection-free!
Let’s just say—there was some success, some chaos, and a lot of bubbles.
🧠 Dive Two: Infection Control
On Dive Two, things escalated.
Participants were assigned “infection statuses,” which basically meant some the team were zombies and the other some had to figure out how to function while their buddies made moaning noises through their regs.
Navigation drills turned into evasive maneuvers.
Search patterns turned into hide-and-seek.
And teamwork… well, it got complicated.
Yet amid the laughter and theatrical nonsense, something clicked. Divers were communicating clearly, managing stress, sharing air, and adapting to unpredictable conditions – the same survival instincts that make a great diver and a competent apocalypse survivor.
That’s the secret sauce of the course: it’s silly, but it’s real training.
⚓ Surface Interval: Field Debriefing
After surfacing, the team regrouped under the shelter, dripping and grinning, holding the DWF banner like it was the flag of a newly-formed survivor colony.
The conversation quickly shifted to hypothetical “what-ifs.”
What if zombies could swim?
What if Lake Phoenix was ground zero?
What if your instructor is already infected?
No answers. Just laughter.
That’s the point. It’s not just a class – it’s a community event dressed up as the end of the world.
🩸 The Survivors
By the end of the day, three brave divers earned their certification cards and honorary survivor status.
We took the traditional group photo — proof of life, for now.
Certified survivors — still mostly human.
Later that evening, we took the headshots and ran them through a zombification filter for fun. Divemaster Tim couldn’t resist either!
The results? Disturbingly convincing.
🔥 Final Thoughts: Brains, Bubbles, and Buoyancy
At first glance, the Zombie Apocalypse Diver Specialty looks like a joke – and that’s the trick.
It disarms you. It makes you laugh.
Then suddenly you realize you just drilled:
Controlled ascents,
Situational awareness,
Task loading,
Navigation precision, and
Effective buddy communication – all while trying not to get “bitten.”
It’s the most fun you can legally have with a dive slate and a fake biohazard.
So, next Halloween, don’t just watch zombie movies. Train for one.
Join the infection, earn your certification, and remember:
Keep your mask on, check your pressure, and if someone starts growling through their reg…
it might already be too late.
🧟♀️ Join the Next Outbreak
📍 zombie.divewithfrank.com
🧠 Brains optional. Gear required.
Dive Safe. Dive Smart. Dive Undead.
