Chicago Wreck Training

[matt t.]

If you are going to persue in the future the TDI Adv. Wreck program you will need a rec. level wreck or cavern course as a preqs..

Which is why I suggested a cavern class. That training (which is also applicable to wrecks), is a step towards cave training if interested later on.

 

[dlent]

PPO2_DIVER'S class is extremely good. I took it and I highly recommend it.

 

[ppo2_diver]

I haven't seen any of your posts about instructor quality vs. agency. From what I understand, my tech instructor is/was the same as yours, so I think we're mostly on the same page. As a newer diver I took the PADI wreck class. We were taught the class to "PADI's standards". Later, as I got to know the instructor better, I learned that to try to avoid any liability should something happen, the shop in question will only teach to the standards outlined by the certifying agency (from what he said they have actually gone to seminars/workshops about this). Is that a bad idea? Not from a business standpoint. From a students viewpoint, I'd like to learn from the benefit of the instructors experience (if he truly has some) and learn some of the tips/tricks not limited strictly to the class curriculum. As an independent instructor you may be more inclined to go the extra mile and teach extra things not in the standards, and also take on the extra liability. As the owner of a few successful stores, they are not. Though I still feel the instructor I had was/is a decent instructor, I did not feel the PADI class was worth the $$$ I payed for what I learned. YMMV. He asked for opinions, that's mine. Duane, feel free to p.m. if you want to continue this privately.

Hey Matt,

Yes, we did have the same tech instructor. I've posted before on quality of instruction vs. agency as have many other people on SB and other boards. I can understand a business owner not wanting to take on any additional liability and following the letter of the standards. That's fine with me as I also follow what is in the standards. However, you don't have to add new skills to give higher quality classes. I don't add any new skills for my PADI wreck class. An instructor can demand higher performance from the students on the skills required by the standards. PADI's instructor manual does not define, word for word, mastery. It is up to the instructor to gauge that the student has mastered the material. Example, per PADI standards for the OW class, the student must demonstrate buoyancy mastery by hovering for 1 minute while not moving hands and feet. I have my OW students hover for 3 minutes. Why? Aren't safety stops 3 minutes? I like to teach to real world conditions that divers will experience. For my wreck class, I can conduct a skills review prior to starting the course. I use this dive to go over the basic diving skills one should have prior to entering the wreck course. This includes buoyancy, trim, air sharing, reg recovery, and mask skills. This is also the time where I have my students calculate their consumption rate. None of this violates the standards, while it still gives a high quality class.

The only "extras" I add to my class are proper gas management and other dive planning information. I feel this doesn't add any extra liability as it firms up a diver's understanding of dive planning and makes the dive more safe.

 

[matt t.]

To bad you weren't teaching the class 5 years ago. I would have taken it from you instead. Sounds like you have a solid, well thought out teaching plan.

 

[RayJayJr]

What level are you looking for? I wouldn't waste time with the PADI class (very general, and not worth the time or $$$). You may want to look into the TDI Advanced Wreck class. Pretty intensive, but expensive, and geared towards the more advanced diver. A cavern/intro to cave class may be what you're looking for. I know there are a few instructors in your area, not sure about where they go to do the training (Missouri?).

Having taken the course myself - I'd have to say that, as you've already mentioned in a later post, the quality of the instruction depends very much on the shops policy on limitation of liability, etc.

Perhaps I was lucky, but I ended up with a very well thought out course that covered what I needed to know, but also challenged us with the diving, and wasn't simply a "pay us money and we'll babysit you into the wreck at 60ft" type class.

For anyone unsure if wreck diving is for them, or is confident their local shop will over good training, I'd recommend the course - Intro.-Tech. courses are certainly one way of getting into wreck diving, but the PADI course definitely has merit and is worth examining. One way or another though, if you wanted to expand the limits of your penetration, you'll end up in a cavern/cave/advanced wreck course sooner or later.

 

[Meister481]

I've taken a very good padi class and can say that my recent IANTD Cavern taught by Nick Leone was a much better basis to use for penetration. The padi class was light on siltout and touch communication skills where the cavern class covered these in spades. The padi class covers the legal ramifications and survey techniques needed. It's my opinion that wreck and cavern together will get you better covered for penetrations.

 

[TheHobster]

you can add to a wreck class - however, it must be done in stages like any other class and basic wreck is a touch dive; a recon dive, an entry point dive and then a penetration - good instructors will have you do outside class things like research wrecks, run lines outside a wreck, do air consumption calcs, etc