Any required specialty courses?

[Slonda828]

Hi everyone,

I will caveat this post up front by saying that I am not a fan of specialty courses, though I understand some people love them. I think most of them are designed to bleed your wallet and do not give you much in the way of training, especially in terms of bang for the buck. However, I understand that some may be useful in future endeavors as some charters/shops may not let you go with them on certain events provided you do not have them.

Has anyone experienced a situation where they could not dive because they did not have a specialty that was applicable, be that wreck, deep, boat, etc. Keep in mind that I am already certified for EAN, and I know you need to be certified to purchase EAN fills.

I understand one needs specialized training to dive wrecks, boats, and such. I would prefer to get this training (and have been as my skill improvements allow) from my more experienced dive buddies and not from watching a DVD that I paid 25 bucks for that has people dressed like Miami Vice in it. I've also reviewed the course standards for all of the PADI speciality courses, and quite frankly, I am underwhelmed. It just seems like for the 150 bucks I would spend for a specialty, a DVD, and maybe two dives I could dive all weekend, get 5 or 6 dives in, and practice those skills in a non-canned format. I am open to everyone's opinion on this, I understand that YMMV. I am not trolling, I am just genuinely interested in this topic. My rescue diver class isn't until November, so I have all of October to dive whatever I want.

Slonda

 

[Divin'Papaw]

There are very few specialty courses I would call required. I feel Rescue is a very, very good course to take and it sounds like you have that covered. I would consider EAN a specialty every diver should have, but you've got that covered already. With the right instructor, I also consider Deep a very valuable course. Also, with the right instructor, Wreck is a very valuable course. Cavern is also a very good course to fine tune your skills, but again it needs to be with the right kind of instructor. However, deep, wreck and cavern can be darn near worthless with a poor instructor. With a solid instructor, all three of those can be extremely valuable.

Other options to consider are GUE's Fundamentals or NAUI Tech/TDI Intro to Tech. These courses focus on perfecting your basic skills ... buoyancy, trim, air sharing, mask skills, propulsion techniques, gas management, team diving and situational awarness. All of these are skills that every diver should be constantly working to perfect.

 

[AB Diver3]

I agree with Hoosier on the different courses mentioned

One other reason to take certain specialties is for renting equipment eg. Drysuit and DPV as most shops will not rent them out without a cert card related to them.

 

[jpx8diver]

There's only a handful of specialty courses that i would say is "essential" to furthering your scuba diving experience. AOW, Nitrox, Rescue and ICE Diver. Since you're already EAN certified, rescue would be the only other certification that you'd need. The other specialty courses can be learned from an experienced diver. Unless of course you go technical then thats a whole different ballgame. if you're objective is to be a purely recreational diver then the other "certifications" arent necessary. In all the places i've been to, all they require at most is an AOW and maybe an EAN cert.

 

[ligersandtions]

You may find that some boats require you to have an "advanced" open water certification. I took the AOW class in hopes that I would gain something useful out of it, but knowing that I was really doing it only so I could keep doors open in the future. The class was as much of a waste as I had expected (unfortunately...), and I wouldn't recommend it for anyone with a decent number of dives for any reason other than to allow yourself onto a boat where they require it.

I would also second the idea of taking the GUE fundies. I'm dying to take the class (and as you can see in my sig, I also want to take Nitrox and Rescue), but for the most part I don't want to just take a bunch of classes and get nifty plastic cards to put in my dive bag. I just enjoy diving with my buddy to work on things that I know I need to work on....and some of my very experienced friends to see how they dive and pick their brains on things that I see they do that I don't yet.

 

[Slonda828]

I agree with Hoosier on the different courses mentioned

One other reason to take certain specialties is for renting equipment eg. Drysuit and DPV as most shops will not rent them out without a cert card related to them.

Really? That's good info, I had no idea you needed a C card for DPV and drysuits....

 

[Slonda828]

You may find that some boats require you to have an "advanced" open water certification. I took the AOW class in hopes that I would gain something useful out of it, but knowing that I was really doing it only so I could keep doors open in the future. The class was as much of a waste as I had expected (unfortunately...), and I wouldn't recommend it for anyone with a decent number of dives for any reason other than to allow yourself onto a boat where they require it.

I would also second the idea of taking the GUE fundies. I'm dying to take the class (and as you can see in my sig, I also want to take Nitrox and Rescue), but for the most part I don't want to just take a bunch of classes and get nifty plastic cards to put in my dive bag. I just enjoy diving with my buddy to work on things that I know I need to work on....and some of my very experienced friends to see how they dive and pick their brains on things that I see they do that I don't yet.

Ligers,

We seem to be about the same on this. I just want to be able to dive, I don't really care about the cards, but by the same token, I don't want to be turned away from a dive I know I have the practiced skills for because I don't have that card. I want to take GUE fundamentals, but man do I hate the whole "we all have to have a brass SPG with no cover" mentality. Yes, I have read the GUE's page and I know the prereqs to attend a GUE fundamentals course. I know the value of standardization, it's handy in warfare and I know that for a fact. However, if I wanted to do everything the same as everyone else I'd still be in the Army That kind of mentality in civilians is kind of a huge turnoff for me. I understand that some people love it though, and I respect that.

 

[diveandclimb]

If you want to dive dry and rent not own then you need a cert. Many shops will rent a DPV without a cert though some will not. Also, Deep and Wreck are great epecially if you don't have many experienced buddies available or if you will want to dive in other countries a lot. You should chat with the instructor before hand.

 

[Slonda828]

If you want to dive dry and rent not own then you need a cert. Many shops will rent a DPV without a cert though some will not. Also, Deep and Wreck are great epecially if you don't have many experienced buddies available or if you will want to dive in other countries a lot. You should chat with the instructor before hand.

That's pretty sound advice man, I appreciate that. I think what I may look into is finding an instructor around here that has a demanding wreck and deep course, and try to do them. I'd like to dive dry someday as well, but I really don't feel like spending the money on a drysuit right now. I think the spartan part of me would rather be cold than broke I also think the "let's walk really far with heavy things on our backs" part of me shuns the idea of a scooter. Maybe someday though, who knows.

Anyone know of any really good wreck or deep courses around coastal GA? I'd like to dive the Oriskany some time provided I feel comfortable with my skills.

 

[Blackwood]

This is a topic that has been discussed ad nauseum. As someone who doesn't hold "specialty certifications," I don't generally participate.

This time I think I will. In my opinion, the only necessary certifications are
[a] the obvious: those that may be required for access to things/places, and
those that YOU feel you need in order to create/improve/hone your comfort in the water.

At the end of the day, comfort in the water is one of the most important aspects to being a 'good' diver. Unfortunately, with the turnstyle teaching methods prevalent in the dive industry, comfort is often relegated to the sidelines. Many students for example CAN get their masks off, back on and cleared with about ten full blasts of air, but they certainly aren't comfortable doing so (to which many posts by certified divers will attest).

If you feel that there are gaps in your training, if there are things you aren't completely comfortable doing, perhaps a specialty course is in order. Otherwise, I don't see much of a point beyond [a].