OW, Advanced, Rescue in 3 weeks

[adimi24]

Hi everyone, new to the forum but made some posts about belize and mexico. I am in Belize right now, with a program called Blue Ventures, to help survey the reef at Bacalar Chico Marine Reserve. Anyway, I have no certifications but we are heading out to the dive camp on Sunday for 4 weeks. I will be doing my Ow and Advanced openwater withing the first week and a half. After that I will join the science dives for a week and then will have an option to do the EFR and Rescue Diver courses. By this point I would have the dives from the first 2 courses and then about 14 other dives. Is there any reason to wait until a later time to do my rescue diver course or will i have enough experience by then?

This is just an idea and wanted to discuss the possibility with you. What other things should I consider before committing? How should I assess myself during this first classes and dives and how should i assess my instructor?

The course also costs 275 pounds which I'm not sure how much that will be once converted to USD, but probably arond $385 and I'd have to buy the book on San Pedro, Belize which might cost a bit. I'm pretty sure it'd be cheaper to do this in the US so it might be worth waiting for that reason or I might just take advantage of the oppurtunity now.

I will be able to check this thread tomorrow and possibly sunday but I am going to the dive camp on sunday or monday and wanted to hear your thoughts on this.

 

[TMHeimer]

Well, I guess this is kind of what I did in over a year with just a few more dives. I guess it can go quite well since you'll be diving every day. I would assume you are already very comfortable in the water--swimming/snorkelling. I agree with some on SB that some rescue skills should be included in the OW course. I did Rescue course after 26 dives, including the OW & AOW ones, so that's about the same as what you describe. Doing all that in 4 weeks would not be for me, but I like a lot of time to absorb things and am 59. When doing OW I had no thoughts of other courses (nor did I know they existed). Is there a contingency plan if you happen to have problems with OW course skills?

 

[Wineaux]

The cost you gave for the course, is that OW, Advanced and Rescue? If so, you are getting an *amazing* deal. Even just OW and Advanced that is a good deal. I paid $350 for OW alone and I didn't get to dive in Belize!

 

[Scuba_Noob]

I'd recommend not to rush yourself. Once you get your Advanced, you should dive for a while and hone your skills before you add in new ones. I did my Advanced a month after my Open Water, but I didn't do my Rescue until six months later when my skills improved significantly.

What use will your rescue skills be if you can't handle yourself well underwater? You'll still have tons of fun without the Rescue course.

 

[Peter Guy]

While I would normally be skeptical of such a program, since you'll be diving and doing things in the water, why not? Heck, a lot of people who object to the current state of diving education would say that what you are doing is the way you should learn to dive.

 

[mblazer]

With all due respect, I think this "zero to hero" stuff is utter nonsense, fomented by a combination of people who think diving is as easy as it looks, and an organization that values generating fees for "certification" far above actual knowledge and experience. Think about this, adimi24, the principal object of the rescue course is to begin the process by which you might learn how to help someone in an emergency, without also becoming a victim yourself. It involves using skills you have learned through training and, dare I say it, actual experience in the water. How useful do you really think you would be at, oh let's make it easy and say 75 fsw, with a buddy who suddenly signals he's ooa because the two of you have been chasing a turtle. You look and realize you're down to 500 pounds yourself because, well, you haven't been diving here before and this is some of the coolest stuff you've ever seen and forgot to check your spg, or to occasionally ask your buddy how much air he had left, like a good buddy does. So, what do you do? Who gets bent? Who dies? Don't think I'm overdramatizing. Do a search here on diver accidents. Before you ever get to a point like that, do yourself and anyone who will ever dive with you a favor - don't be in such a hurry. Dive, and then dive some more, and especially dive with people who have more experience than you. Watch, practice, learn, and then practice some more. You'll be better for it.

 

[AfterDark]

Sounds like a unique program and opportunity. You’re very lucky. There is no reason other than any limitations you may have. Rescue traiing of some form should be part of OW. They teach buddy diving as important but really what good is a buddy without resuce training? How good of a buddy are you without rescue training?

Maybe not full blown rescue that does take diving skills that take time to develop but something that new divers can learn and excute in the way of rescue training.

 

[TMHeimer]

Good arguements can be made for all the above posts. As far as rescue skills goes, there is always disagreement about when they should be learned. Some agree that they should be taught in OW. I think at least some basic ones (other than 3 tows and cramp removal) belong in OW. Yet others feel adding rescue skills to OW--or taking the course itself too soon can be overload. There is good logic there too. Personally, I feel I would've gotten more out of the course had I had more than 26 dives beforehand. But, my first dive buddy was a fellow newbie, and we were diving to the allowed 60' without either one having any real rescue knowledge. The knowledge you learn in the rescue course is always applicable-- you can always review the stuff (and should), and improve the skills as your diving advances. You have to know yourself. You have to not be down deep chasing a turtle and ignoring your air supply. You have to be conservative, make wise choices and know your limitations. Since you have a time line to do your reef survey, I assume you'll go ahead and get the job done. Just be careful down there.

 

[James R]

I don't think taking aow & rescue right after open water deserves a "zero to hero" label. Rescue and EFR skills are good for every diver to be exposed to, regardless of current training level.

 

[TSandM]

I think the Rescue class requires very little in the way of diving skill, and changes your mindset about diving, so I think it's absolutely fine to teach it that early.

I agree that a lot of us think OW/AOW/Rescue is really what a basic diving education ought to be. If you can get all that done, and realize that, at the end of it, you are educated well but still lacking in experience, I think you'll be in great shape.