What training to take next

[tbone1004]

fundies is a bear of a course, you will be very exhausted. It would be best to hop onto the fundies split weekend course in Raleigh and then take something like cavern/intro while in Florida

 

[Lorenzoid]

Do you currently dive in a BP/W and long primary hose ("Hogarthian") configuration? If not, then consider the 2-day Primer course instead of Fundies. You can dip your toe into what will be covered in Fundies without the 4-5 day commitment and without the pressure of getting graded, and you will be that much ahead of the game when you take Fundies.

 

[scubadada]

Not referring to AOW, but more beginner type technical instruction. I currently have AOW, and will have rescue, nitrox and deep recreational training by the time I am thinking of starting down the this route, but I am not sure really where to start. I have a vacation coming up in October where I will have a few days I can slip away from the family to go diving while in Orlando Florida, and since I would be diving with an instabuddy, I am thinking I may as well take a class and learn something. My long term goal is to get more time on deeper wrecks, but I also like the idea of possibly doing some cavern dives to see if I like that direction. My buoyancy is decent, but not to the point where I am perfectly happy with it. I have thought about taking while I am there either a cavern course, or intro to tech. I am limited to probably 3 or at most 4 days and would like to stay withing 2 hours of Orlando. I am open to other suggestions though. I currently have 30 dives and will probably have over 50 by the time October rolls around. I am open to suggestions?

Do something that is useful to you, peak performance buoyancy, dpv, wreck, S&R...

 

[RandomGuy1]

Do you currently dive in a BP/W and long primary hose ("Hogarthian") configuration? If not, then consider the 2-day Primer course instead of Fundies. You can dip your toe into what will be covered in Fundies without the 4-5 day commitment and without the pressure of getting graded, and you will be that much ahead of the game when you take Fundies.

I am also considering the primer - It is probably the leading candidate right now in my decision process, but I don't know that I would ever go on to the full fundies course if I just did the primer due to future time constraints. I did just purchase a bp/w but haven't had a chance to dive it yet. I do not have a long hose on my reg at this time either. That is one of the reasons that I don't think the July course in Raleigh would work. I want to get completely comfortable in the bp/w before taking it. Also I don't think I could get the extra time off work. I am currently leaning toward doing the GUE primer and then just diving for 2 days.

 

[vladodessit]

This sounds like the best plan (GUE Primer or similar Intro course).

 

[tbone1004]

I thought you could take fundies in a short hose as long as you had it set up properly per the equipment configuration page? Maybe that is just the primer....

 

[Lorenzoid]

I thought you could take fundies in a short hose as long as you had it set up properly per the equipment configuration page? Maybe that is just the primer....

I'm certain a primary on a 5-7 foot hose is required for Fundies--the shorter length is acceptable if you're doing it in single-tank rec gear configuration. Maybe you're referring to a 5-foot hose as the "short" version?

For the benefit of the OP, I'll add that I don't think the gear configuration goal is any different for Primer, except that the instructor will likely be glad to spend more time with the student helping the student configure his gear. With Fundies, I believe the expectation is that you arrive for the course with your gear more or less properly configured. Part of the first day of class is spreading one's gear out on the floor and the instructor critiquing it for suitability and helping make any necessary adjustments.

 

[tbone1004]

Thanks for that, I thought for the rec pass you could do it in a short hose, but for tech you had to have 5-7. Taken from the equipment configuration page I figured that translated into the recreational class, but I'm not a GUE expert. Moving into a 5-7ft hose isn't rocket science though

"Shallow open water divers who do not use a long hose commonly use a standard 32” (81.3 cm) hose...Diving in a shallow, open water environment allows a diver direct ascent to the surface, thereby reducing air-sharing complications. In this case, divers will sometimes use shorter primary regulator hoses, an acceptable practice in this environment."

 

[KevinNM]

For the benefit of the OP, I'll add that I don't think the gear configuration goal is any different for Primer, except that the instructor will likely be glad to spend more time with the student helping the student configure his gear.

Yup, I spent an hour or two working with Meridith in primer as we laid out all the gear and she made suggestions or changes. This was after she had me send her pictures of all the gear and we talked about possible equipment issues ahead of time.

Dress for Success, sold by Extreme Exposure, is a pretty helpful reference book for how to set gear up.

 

[TSandM]

GUE used to permit a short hose for open water diving, but they changed that years ago in the interests of standardization, and setting divers up for a configuration that they can move on with.

I think, given your parameters, Primer and fun diving sounds like the PERFECT combination.