PADI Wreck dive course

[ShakaZulu]

Another route to keep in mind is GUE.........

http://www.gue.com/classroom/index.shtml

I don't think the PADI Course should be called a Wreck Specialty. It could and does invoke a false sense of confidence in the diver, and that may lead to fatal consequences. Then again, ignorance is bliss..........

 

[jonnythan]

I echo jagfish's strong suggestion that everyone cool down and play nice.

 

[Ted S]

People, this thread is about the PADI Wreck Diving class and wreck diving in, not about insulting each other, talking about freedom of speech or any other tangents. At ScubaBoard we do not tolerate harassing, insulting, flaming or hijacking of any sort. If you have something you would like to say to a member about their behavior, send them a message and if it is derogatory, keep it to yourself. This thread was started with a question in mind and I hope we can get back to addressing that question. Thank you for your understanding and of course, you are free to contact me or a moderator should you have any questions about the rules or the action taken towards this post.

 

[Godly_Diver]

Thanks for the suggestions pwfletcher....
Yes, I agree with you about walking before running, one of the students in our AOW class was too uncomfortable under water, we spent alot of time at the bottom of our descents waiting for him as he was having difficulty with equalizing and staying neutral. I am going to take the PADI class first and not going to "penetrate"any wrecks until I take another class from one of the Wreck Dive specialty agency and have the proper knowledge and skills as it will only help my confidence. Nothing is worst and even fatal than being in a situation and not trained for it.
Again, thanks a billion, your points are well taken sir..

Happy and safe diving,
R.Duzel

 

[California Diver]

i dont see wheres all this flaming is happening unless you guys deleted some threads or something.

i think shaka means that if you try to do a real wreck penetration with only the padi course under your belt it isnt going to be very pretty. if your interested in doing serious penetrations the padi course will not be sufficient, tdi, gue,iantd have some pretty serious courses.

 

[scottfiji]

i dont see wheres all this flaming is happening unless you guys deleted some threads or something.

i think shaka means that if you try to do a real wreck penetration with only the padi course under your belt it isnt going to be very pretty. if your interested in doing serious penetrations the padi course will not be sufficient, tdi, gue,iantd have some pretty serious courses.

One of KingStroke's threads got edited. Probably because he insulted poor Roy on his very first post. I would have at least waited until I posted 5 or 10 times first.

 

[SoCalAngel]

Another route to keep in mind is GUE.........

http://www.gue.com/classroom/index.shtml

I don't think the PADI Course should be called a Wreck Specialty. It could and does invoke a false sense of confidence in the diver, and that may lead to fatal consequences. Then again, ignorance is bliss..........

The Padi specialty is a great place to start to understand the nature of wreck diving, although the penetration factor is minor (another "are we in yet" moment :blinking: ). It will give you some basics from which to expand into more technical dive profiles, IF that is where you are headed. If not, then it will teach you some basics do's and don'ts for wrecks. The PADI course doesn't try to say it will teach you all, just that is a RECREATIONAL wreck specialty.

I haven't done this particular PADI specialty, as I need more penetration than it offers. :gr1:

 

[MoonWrasse]

Hey Christian,
Great info...thanks a lot chief; well, I'd better check out the type of Wreck Dive specialty course PADI is providing first, (I'd rather a course "penetrates" the wreck) then the wreck dive teaching experience and qualification of the instructor (who certified me in AOW) before I sign up for this.
Happy and safe diving,
R.Duzel

I just reviewed my PADI wreck speciality materials + video. At most it perscribes 1 limited wreck penetration dive of the 4 dives, and it's possible to do the course sans penetration.

If you haven't done any wreck diving, it's a good start, the video is good, and outlines the hazards enough to make you think twice about penetration. Even without penetration (they do use that word alot in the video), there's a lot of fun you can have with wrecks. They do point you in the direction of techrec for more advanced wreck diving.

One thing, the video was made some time ago, during the pre-internet age

 

[MikeFerrara]

The PADI wreck class can be a fun and functional introduction to wreck diving. Taught by a good instructor you could learn a lot about wrecks in general.

As has been mentioned, penetration on the last dive is optional and I have concerns about it. First of all you can become a wreck instructor without ever having any overhead diving experience or training. Second, the class doesn't require any of the line drills on land and in OW that is customary in other overhead training. It's another one of those situations where it's possible that the instructor and the student could do their first wreck penetration together. LOL

 

[Kathy K.]

Hey guys, I missed a lot of the flaming, which is, I am sure, a good thing. Just pointing out one thing about getting what you pay for, to some extent, as I now feel somewhat responsible for even bringing up PADI. I'm a PADI instructor. I'm also full cave certified and trained through IANTD and NSS-CDS. I would never confuse a 4-dive recreational class with the equivalent of a full cave cert, and I am sure my brother and sister instructors would not either. Thus, let's all try to be fair by understanding the reality of the class.

PADI, as I would assume of other rec agencies, is really clear about explaining to students that at the end of their class, they're trained to dive in as good or better (less challenging) conditions than their training. Students are encouraged to get more training for more challenging circumstances. Most people taking a rec wreck class don't want to pay thousands of dollars for more intensive training, like the cost of that full cave course and the accompanying gear, so they take the rec class, are happy with their taste of the new experience, and don't stupidly exceed the bounds of their training. But if more challenging diving is what they DO want, they are highly encouraged to go get the right training. Make sense?