Refresher course?

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DiveKitten

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I haven't been diving in about a year, year and a half (I know, it's killing me!) I'm a PADI cert OWD. I know I need to get my gear in for it's annual checkup, but do you think I need to take a refresher course because I've been out of the water for a while? What's the standard for this kind of stuff?
 
Only you can answer that question. If you are posting here and asking that question you might have just answered it for yourself. Alot depends on your experience before you took a year and a half off. I know I could easily take that time off and get back in the water with out an issue. It cant hurt to jump in a pool to brush up on a few skiils. Not only to make yourself more comfortable but to make sure your gear is in good working order.
 
I can't speak to PADI standards or courses, but SSI recommends a refresher if you've been out of the water for a year. The SSI version, called Scuba Skills Update, involves a little review of the book work and a pool session to review the skills. I would be more concerned about the skills than the book work. It's amazing how fast that stuff gets away from you if you haven't done it in a while. Some dive ops want to see either recent experience or a referesher course. More importantly, you will feel more confident and comfortable knowing that you are on top of your skills. I would recommend it.
 
I got certified in 2000. I did my cert dives but that was it. To make this story as short as possible, I'm getting married in Sept. and our honeymoon is in the Bahamas. We get two free dives a day and I wanted to take advantage. My fiancee just finished her cert dives on the 9th in preperation.

Since I hadn't dove for six years, I signed up for a refresher course. It was $45 and about an hour of one-on-one time with an instructor. It was worth every penny. Things came back to me pretty quick, but I would not have felt comfortable getting in open water without this course. I've since got a few more dives in on my own, but the course is well worth it.

Now, obviously, you've not been out of the water as long as I had. However, like others have said, if you are asking the question you probably should take one.
 
DISCLOSURE: I am an SSI and IANTD instructor so I am biased !!!

Recommendations vary by agency and only you can decide how comfortable you are in the water, but if you've been out of the water for 6-12 months you should at least CONSIDER a refresher course before going diving again. I, too, agree that it is the in-water skills that need to be refreshed more than the academics. If you have >20 years of diving experience and thousands of dives in a wide variety of conditions, you can probably take a year off without problems. If you're like most people, however, and dive a few times per year, I would recommend a refresher.

Contact your local dive shop and they can set you up. Refresher courses are not that expensive -- maybe the cost of a two tank boat trip -- and money well spent. You can never be too safe!
 
I guess I'm just a born follower....:D ... Like all of the other posts stated, if you have to ask........

I do refreshers all the time and I'm always suprised at how quickly skills fad away. For example, during the last refresher I did, the diver was complaining that his BC kept filling with air on its own. Beside telling him to have it serviced before his trip, he could not remember one of the first things we teach when discussing gear "issues". Just disconnect the low pressure inflator, and the alternate method of inflation, when I discussed this with him you would of thought I just revealed the secerts of the universe:11: .

Remember, solving little problems early can prevent large ones from ruining your day:shakehead .

Take the class and enjoy the 1-1/2 hours in the pool, you'll have a blast:blinking: .
 
Ditto with the rest, you can never be too safe, and to test the reliability of your equipments is a very valid reason.

Except by pool, some place also can custom made your first dive as a refresher by doing very shallow/jetty before your main dives, you can ask the operator and make your own decision.
 

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