PADI Master Scuba Diver "Crew-Pak" Questions

[Downing]

I thought I would pick up the Master Scuba Diver rating just for kicks. I have no interest in pursuing a career in diving--no realistic interest anyway--so if I ever have a chance of my wife saying to me, "Yes, Master," this would be the way to go.

I have most of the prequisites: I'm over 12 years old (at this point I can barely remember ever being 12 years old), and have both the OW and AOW cards, one "specialty" card, Enriched Air, and well over 50 logged dives.

So I need four more specialties plus EFR and Rescue. Being the lazy dog that I am, I thought I would do Night, Boat, Drift and Deep since I'm already familiar with these types of dives, having done them as a matter of course ever since I was certified.

We're headed back to Belize next year and will be diving with Splash in Placencia for two weeks. Splash offers all the courses I need, but I'm thinking I'd like to get the classroom stuff out of the way ahead of time. Less time in the books means more time in the water.

According to the PADI website, the learning materials for each of these courses is a "Crew-Pak."

Which brings me to my questions:

What's a "Crew-Pak"? I'm guessing it's a manual and accompanying DVD.

Are the DVDs sold separately from the manuals?

Are the DVDs as lame as the DVDs for OW and AOW?

If so, can I skip the DVDs altogether?

If I did skip them, would the PADI Police somehow know this and decline to issue the PMSD rating?

If the DVDs aren't lame, I'm happy to watch them. But the OW and AOW DVDs were so insultingly bad I was embarrassed for the organization. Those DVDs never should have been released, and someone at PADI should have been fired

 

[Damselfish]

So I need four more specialties plus EFR and Rescue. Being the lazy dog that I am, I thought I would do Night, Boat, Drift and Deep since I'm already familiar with these types of dives, having done them as a matter of course ever since I was certified.

what's the point of spending time (especially vacation time) and money taking classes you're not going to get anything out of?

 

[Dave1981]

4 specialties that you don't need will cost what, $1000?

Why not go to Vegas and put it all on lucky number 7?

Rescue and EFR are well worthwhile courses. Something like UTD essentials of rec, or GUE fundamentals is a far better way to spend that money.

 

[Brian Sharpe]

Rescue & EFR are certainly worth taking (even though the DVD for rescue is a bit lame, but we didn't have to buy a copy & the book was included in our course fees).

The DVD for Deep is pretty lightweight (the course was disappointing too - I was hoping for more dive planning above and beyond "make sure you have enough air") Can't speak to the others but I think I'm done with PADI "specialty courses".

+1 on what Damselfish said..........go enjoy your vacation and dive for fun. (I say that while I'm planning on taking a cavern course in Mexico later this year......)

 

[Downing]

Well, as I said, "Just for kicks."

But I'm sure I'll learn something. I learn something on every dive.

And it doesn't have to be those four. Whale Shark and Search & Recovery look like fun.

But mostly I'll be focused on EFR and Rescue Diver.

 

[Otter]

Depending on how they are taught, the specialties you are MOST likely to get something out of are Search & Recovery (you will learn how to use a reel, improved navigation), Deep (you should learn gas management, dive planning), Enriched Air (you have), Peak Performance Buoyancy (in theory, you should be dialed in by 50+ dives, but if your trim sucks, your instructor should be able to give you some help).

 

[TMHeimer]

No "crew pack". A bit of classroom with each specialty. Must do the Knowledge Reviews. Takes some time and is costly. But you get: The wall certificate, "suitable for framing" (HEY, I framed it!) and maybe the MSD backpack. Some jest, but I took "core" courses and learned a fair bit. Of course, Rescue is the hardest and most worthwhile.

 

[mksmith713]

If you really want to expand...take deep, wreck, intro to tech and drysuit.
You live in Oregon...I'm sure you do a bit of drysuit diving.

 

[Downing]

Thanks for that, but actually I do as little diving here in Oregon as I can get away with. I did both my OW and AOW certifications here and that's it. So no drysuit nor even a 7mm. My thickest wetsuit is 3mm.

Having said that, I may actually go diving locally this Saturday but that's probably just a one-off kind of thing.

I'm a self-professed warm water wussie.