Incident at Crescent Bay

[JDog]

I wonder if maybe the wetsuit he rented was an XL instead of a XXL. You know THAT won't help any either.

 

[ChrisM]

Taking up this thread, I would encourage everyone who hasn't done so to sign up and take the Rescue course. It will make you a much better diver and buddy.

Thanks for the report

Chris

 

[headhunter]

First of all, I'm very glad that this diver is OK thanks to some knowlegeable people.

Second of all, I think that since the ability to rescue someone is such an important skill to have, that it should be included in a basic OW class like it used to be in the '70s and '80s.

I'm not looking to start any kind of agency bashing or turn this thread into a running commentary on deteriorated standards, so let's not go there. I just wanted to comment that this "knowledge set" seems important enough to teach right at the beginning of every diver's training.

Just a thought.

Christian

 

[mccabejc]

As Smokey said, I second that emotion...

 

[headhunter]

As Smokey said, I second that emotion...

The younger crowd is probably going to think you're talking about Smokey the Bear! :11:

Christian

 

[Scot M]

I'll bet that the younger crowd has never heard of Smokey the Bear either.

 

[ChrisM]

Christian, while I agree with you in theory, the skills you learn in rescue are pretty advanced. I think most OW trained divers are woefully undertrained. WHen you are in OW, you are concntrating on surviving. Adding rescue skills (IMHO) does two things: (1) adds additional tasks to take away from the basics; (2) likely a diver who is concentrating on just breathing and not the rescue skills will not retain those rescue skills.

I think every diver should take rescue, but I think it's best if the diver is competent in the basic skills (situational awareness, buoyancy, navigation, etc)
Chris

 

[headhunter]

Christian, while I agree with you in theory, the skills you learn in rescue are pretty advanced. I think most OW trained divers are woefully undertrained. WHen you are in OW, you are concntrating on surviving. Adding rescue skills (IMHO) does two things: (1) adds additional tasks to take away from the basics; (2) likely a diver who is concentrating on just breathing and not the rescue skills will not retain those rescue skills.

I think every diver should take rescue, but I think it's best if the diver is competent in the basic skills (situational awareness, buoyancy, navigation, etc)
Chris

Chris, I can see and agree with your points. I do agree that basic skills are necessary to the accomplishment of learning rescue skills, but I also think that an initial course in diving should take longer than a couple of videos and a weekend to get certified.

I'm not saying that it necessarily needs to go back to a 6 - 8 week course, but there should be something in the middle. There is just too much to learn to do it so quickly.

I also understand that in theory, a student should continue their dive education and ultimately wind up with the same amount of knowledge that we used to get in a single class. In fact, I would agree that as long as a person actually continues to attend further classes, that over a longer period of time they would learn more because they learn it more slowly. Theoretically, they should have more time to devote to each concept.

These things work in theory, but in practice it seems to come out as less, not more. I'm not exactly sure what the answer is and the best answer might be one that changes a bit with each individual's ability to absorb this information.

Christian

 

[JDog]

It kind of goes without saying that 'maybe' some folks that have their OW cards and were pushed through a course really aren't self sufficiant yet.

OK let me put it this way I KNOW a couple folks that got certified and probably should not have been certified- I know one guy -a co-worker that got certified to an advanced card that still looked like a 'Nervana' baby during his descents, and required constant care during the dive maintaining his bouyancy, yet he paid for the class and had his Advanced C-card. I feel That is a big problem in the industry.