I am glad you opened this subject. It gives me a chance to share a why to certify experience and one i certainly learned from. Its not a wreck but the situation could easily occur inside or near a wreck. First of all there are things you will learn in a classroom you wouldnt think of, and later say, hey.. i never thought of that. I have been in diving since i was 10 years old certified the first time in NASDS, then NAUI. In 1980 I became a commercial diver. Thats another story. On to why certify. In 1999, I was doing a routine inspection of a natural gas line burried in the indian river florida that runs along side a bridge. I had done this dive 4x in 2 years for the same company and it was a real simple process. I go down to the bottom with a probe and penetrate the sand till i touch the gas line and guage how deep it is under the river bed. This is to prevent boats from coming in contact with it. Other sections of the line are actually sitting on the river bed with a concrete coating. Those sections i used an ultra sound device to check the concrete thickness. Anyway one of my co workers had recently certified on OW, and asked to tag along, just to see how its done. I saw no harm in this Its deepest spot is 35ft, he'll be with me and I knew the terrain. Durring the dive he stayed right behind me and I could see he was relaxed and comfy so I went about my work. Looking back ocassionaly to make sure he was behind me as i worked my way across the river. Visibility was only about 3 to 4 feet. About 1/2 way across the river bottom, I had reached the concrete section and switched from probe to ultra sound, i worked my way along the pipe i would say about forty feet when i had feeling to to turn and look for him. He wasnt there. My first thought was he got bored and surfaced, then i thought no, he wanted to come, maybe he lost site of the pipe. I started back the way I came along the pipe and almost instantly I was horrified. He was no more than 15' or so behind, completely entangled in a cast net, I dont mean snagged, I mean he had somehow wiggled his way into this net. The net was partially encrusted on the pipe. I passed this net along the way but it was on the river floor, and it didnt look like much of a hazard. It wasnt the fact he was tangled that horrified me, it was the fact he was trying his best to bolt through it and to the surface. pure panic is the only way i know to describe it. Approaching him i had visions of us both being drowned from me trying to free him. I finally worked my way around behind him and cut the net away from his 2nd stage then the tank valve then just cut in sections from his gear till he freed up. I thought for sure he would shoot to the surface but something came over him and he calmed down. I have to tell you, this seemingly minor issue was scary as hell. To see a man fighting to escape like this will chill you to the bone. He had one thing on his mind and one thing only, escape. You the rescuer can easily become the victim.
What does this have to do with certification? Tons. It took me a moment to grasp it but i did. I recalled my training, what to do in a panic situation, how to get control of the situation and respond. Transfer this scenario to a wreck penetration, or inside a cavern/cave. Hell this was a routine dive, it was shallow and the water was nice and warm. Now can you picture the possibilities? Those cave, wreck, cavern, deep. nitrox and all the other specialty courses were derived from experiences. I bet there are 100s of stories similar to mine that never get told. Besides all that, you earn an extra level of confidence when you certify, in anything.
YOU WILL LEARN THINGS/ One way or the other. preferably in a class room
