Brass Anchor, LLC

Since 1986, Brass Anchor has been central Maryland's scuba gear outlet, based in Frederick. It's a PADI 5 Star Dive Center with certified clean air and a team of seven instructors — the kind of long-established, well-equipped shop where new and returning divers alike can feel at home.

Training and courses

The instruction here runs from Open Water all the way to Assistant Instructor, alongside specialty courses in Equipment, Oxygen Provider, and EAN Nitrox. Never tried diving? A free Discover Scuba experience is offered monthly. Classes take place in the store or at select locations around Frederick County, with pool work at Hood College, Fort Detrick, and other sites. Training dives head to quarries near Westminster MD, Haymarket VA, Harrisburg PA, Reading PA, and Rawlings VA.

A typical Open Water Course runs four classroom sessions, four pool sessions, and two days of Open Water checkout dives — usually spread across four weeks, one or two nights a week, though often completed faster. On-site you'll find air fills, nitrox, equipment sales and rental, air conditioning, a retail shop, and parking. English is spoken.