Do I get my rescue cert

[almitywife]

how hard was the course?/

for me it was 2 long days. physically the hardest was dragging my poor buddy clear of the water.

dont do what i did, while my buddy was lying on his back on the beach i grabed a handful of wetsuit under each armpit and pulled really really hard to get him clear of the water - but forgot that men have underarm hair so so he was screaming and rolling around on the sand.

the search procedures and accident management senarios were great.

if you use intergrated weights - discuss if you should use a weight belt for the senarios as gear removal is practiced and would hate for you to loose anything

 

[String]

I'd advise any diver who wishes to dive to get a rescue certification.

 

[Divers Direct]

Rescue is a good thing. Any diver can benefit from a well-taught Rescue class. As a PADI instructor I would recommend PADI, yet I agree with DiveMe. An instructor dedicated to following the guidelines and exceeding them in terms of examples and time involved is the most important factor in any class, particularly rescue.

The first full-blown rescue I performed was for a woman in total panic at the surface. Mom, Dad, and son entered the water off our boat on a drift dive; the son lost his fins so we picked him up immediately without incident. Mom, thinking her son had been lost, was nervous about his whereabouts and panicked when she tried her power inflamer did not work (LPI was on the QC male end but not locked in). She hit the surface screaming with her husband trying to ditch her weight belt, inflate her BC, and dodge her repeated blows all at the same time. In her all out panic she was doing pretty decent Tito Puente impersonation on the poor mans’ head. Our captain did a sweet job of bringing the boat up to them fast and putting them 10’-12’ off our port quarter, I was ready with the tag line and made decent toss that dropped the line almost on top of them. After pulling them to the stern Mom passed out for about 5 seconds. Once I pulled her onto on to the dive platform and stripped her gear off her she started calming immediately and was right as rain in about 5 minutes.

I mention all this because despite my being ready with the line and the great postitioning from our captain I had an overwhelming urge to jump in swim over and help. If we had a second divemaster on the boat it might have been an option, since we didn’t I had to fight the foolishness and follow my training.

Lessons learned:
I always check my divers before they get in the water to ensure air on, octo in place, gauges/computer in place, and proper set up of gear. Now I tug on the LPI to ensure full engagement, most people aren’t offended by this and if they are it’s my job and their safety.
More emphasis in the dive briefing about buddy team communication had Mom known that the Son was on our boat upset about his fun but otherwise fine this probably wouldn’t have happened.



The mantra of “You can be a rescuer or a second victim” is with me to this day. Hopefully the skills learned in a Rescue class will never be needed but there is no dive, anywhere, anytime, that Rescue skills can’t be applied to in some way, shape, or form.

Highly recommend the class and it can be very fun class as well.

 

[Gary D.]

Been diving over 20 yearsQUOTE]
You may have already had it. Look back at what your training was twenty plus years ago. I think you may be on the border of when things really started to get divided up.

I know that over 30 years ago OW was what OW, AOW, Rescue and a half a dozen or so cards are today.

No one can answer your question but you. Rescue is a good course and if you think you need it take it. Doesn't hurt to take something twice even if it is just a refresher. If you had not been active over the years I would say yes for sure. But being active the choice is yours.

My thoughts are for you to go ahead and take it.

I just got my AOW in 99 so I could go on a trip that was requiring it.

Gary D.

 

[boulderjohn]

Been diving over 20 yearsQUOTE]
You may have already had it. Look back at what your training was twenty plus years ago. I think you may be on the border of when things really started to get divided up.

Things have changed mightily over the years, and they are still changing. The PADI course now is different from when I took it a few years ago. These changes reflect newer discoveries in dealing with dive emergencies, and you want to make sure that you have the latest information. Following a procedure that was once considered state of the art could now be a serious mistake.

 

[dl348]

Earning your Rescue certification, regardless of which agency, will make you a better dive buddy. Just my .02

 

[jonahfab]

For me it was a hard class to get through but well worth every minute. Learned a lot of very useful stuff and feel like I finished the class a much stronger diver then when I went in. I highly recommend it.