Nitrox course without dives - what am I missing?

[k ellis]

OOOPs I just realized I did not finish my statement. The discover Nitrox does not count for master cert but however the actual nitrox certification does count for the master diver. Sorry I did not finish that. GrleeeGrl I noticed you are a dive master candidate. Good luck

 

[Ben_Ayers]

I took Nitrox via SSI and it was only $68.00. The instructor required two unsupervised dives using Nitrox. I ended up using it during my first OW check-out dives and I didn't do anything different than the other OW students. It counts for one of the specialties toward AOW.

BTW- this was home study (book and DVD) and one 2-3 hour class.

Ben

 

[Sas]

$68 would be nice...lucky! This is Australia we are talking about though, so everything scuba diving related is *much* more expensive

Yea I found out I will have to submit my own dive plans using Nitrox for homework, which I then go use to do unsupervised dives I was told Australian (but not agency) standards require this (so I am guessing that is why a lot of shops make it compulsory to do the dives with them). I actually already have some I made to show my buddy the calculations for when he did his course And home study is required, they are sending the book out to me. Pretty happy that I picked the course without dives now, it was the only one that I found that offered a course without compulsory dives

I have already done all my specialties to get SSI AOW, so I found out by reading up on their courses that after I do Rescue next month I will have "Master" Diver certification anyway regardless of how I do Nitrox, but yea, think I'll pass on getting the card - probably will cost extra or something.

 

[ianr33]

Anybody know where I can do an Advanced Trimix course without having to actually do the dives?(cash is a bit short at the moment)

Breathing trimix is the same as breathing air.(Breathe in,breathe out) I know the theory of not breathing hypoxic mixes on the surface. For deco I just plug the numbers into V-planner and follow what it gives me. Gear setup,gas switches,all the same as I dive now.

So why do I need to spend maybe $1000 for another card?

 

[ScubaSteve]

I know this has been stated but I will pass along my own expereince on this. I am NAUI Nitrox certified and as others have said, the dives really mean nothing other than if they count towards a DM. What IS part of those dives that is important is the process of testing the mixture in the dive shop. The dives were no different than a dive I would normally have done and were not done with our LDS. The LDS that we took thre course with arranged for the tanks but we were unsupervised for the dives. So, either way you learn that which is required....it is just whether or not you want to pay for the dives. Live, Learn and Have Fun.

 

[Sinbad the Diver]

Kinda related.....

SDI (and I'm sure others at this point as well) is offering Nitrox courses on-line. My LDS explained that the only thing you have to do after completing the on-line course is come into the shop and show an instructor that you know how to properly use an analyzer and they will submit the request for the card. The advantage to this for me at the time I asked was scheduling since I wasn't going to be able to take the shops scheduled class in time for a trip I was planning where I wanted to be able to use Nitrox. Trip fell through soon after, haven't taken it yet...grrrrrrrr...

 

[TSandM]

One, of course, would hope that doing the dives with an instructor would result in the instructor teaching SOMETHING . . . Since there is nothing about actually DIVING Nitrox that is done differently, other than respected the MOD, one could hope for tips on buoyancy or kicking or navigational skills. NWGratefulDiver did my Nitrox class, and "required" the two dives, but those were the things we "worked on", not the Nitrox itself.

 

[Reg Braithwaite]

One, of course, would hope that doing the dives with an instructor would result in the instructor teaching SOMETHING . . .

Well, I don't know if this justifies the additional cost, but in addition to supervising you as you analyze the gas, there's the matter of observing the difference between a Nitrox-certified cylinder and an air-only cylinder, marking the MOD and gas mix in an obvious manner, and then--if your two dives are done on a single trip using two different blends--double checking that you are taking the correct cylinder for each dive.

The whole ritual of planning your dives has an extra dimension, and I can see the value of walking through the steps "for real" with an instructor as part of a dive trip. Can't say whether that value matches the price quoted by the OP, just that I can see a benefit...

 

[k ellis]

Just out of curiosity SAS I have heard alot about Australia having really bad jellyfish and other real poisonos (Cant spell that) Critters in the waters around Australia. Is it as bad as they make it out or is it over exagerated on televisions part?

 

[thevalkyry]

K - go read Bill Bryson's In A Sunburnt Country - he has a whole entire chapter on what can kill you in Australia. After reading it you will be amazed that Australia can support life - he makes it seem very lethal. But I spent 2 weeks there and survived...