Refreshing my skills

[jwelch_81]

Hello, I am a PADI OW diver. I was cert. about 10 years ago when I was 17 I made my cert dives and a few more ocean dives. Also I have done several search and recovery dives in zero vis high current rivers. Probably not a good idea but I was secure with my ability back then. I was a fish. Other interest, work, school, family, and lack of dive buddy's have kept me from doing any diving in the last 5 to 6 years. I lost all my gear while moving around a lot one time including my dive log which i cared most about. in total I only had about 12 dives lodged in it but there were notes and such.

Well to get to the point I am now looking into picking up diving again. I know my skills are rusty. So my question is: Do you think I should pay 75 dollars to take a refresher course or just get a book and review all my skills myself and put that money toward advanced diving course?

Does advanced diving review all the basic skills over?

Thanks for your help and sorry for the long post.

 

[tstormdiver]

Why not go for a skills update course? It's possible some technology in gear or procedures may have changed since you last dove. The review will give you a chance to get used to things again in a controlled environment. What you do is your decision, but always better to be safe than sorry. There are skills you can practice on your own, but there are some that require a buddy (air share drills).

 

[jwelch_81]

Thanks for the advice my reason for questioning this was that I didnt want to pay for a refresher if they were going to go over that stuff again in AOW.

 

[tstormdiver]

Typically AOW is different than OW, depending on the agency. With PADI it tends to be a "sampler", as it were, of some of the specialties (deep, navigation, night diving, buoyancy....., so on) offered. For SSI a diver must have 4 specialties & 24 logged dives for the certification. Some instructors may go back over the basic skills (not necessarily a bad idea) to make sure the students are comfortable in the water & with their skills, some instructors do not. Just ask the instructor how they conduct their courses.

 

[Web Monkey]

Hello, I am a PADI OW diver. I was cert. about 10 years ago

. . . .
Well to get to the point I am now looking into picking up diving again. I know my skills are rusty. So my question is: Do you think I should pay 75 dollars to take a refresher course

Yes. The skills get rusty (or vanish completely) if not used regularly.

It's worth the money for the knowlege review and pool-time with an Instructor/DM/DiveCon.

If you don't do a refresher, you probably won't die, but you'll be happier and safer if you do (and so will your buddy).

Terry

 

[jwelch_81]

Thanks, will do. Who knows they might give me a refresher for a large discount if im taking AOW also.

 

[Web Monkey]

Thanks, will do. Who knows they might give me a refresher for a large discount if im taking AOW also.

If you're taking other classes and buying stuff, they might even throw it in for cheap or free.

Happy, safe customers are good for business, so they probably want you to take a refresher even more than you do.

Terry

 

[tstormdiver]

Thanks, will do. Who knows they might give me a refresher for a large discount if im taking AOW also.

Can't hurt to ask. The worst they can say is, "no". Then the decision is up to you. Good luck.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Being that you've been out of the water for so long I'd require a refresher before allowing you to do AOW. Usually Aow is for those who have recent experience and want to upgrade, someone who has recently completed OW and wants more dives with an instructor, or wants a first hand view of different types of dives with the goal of taking a full course for each specialty or even deciding to do certain types of dives such as wrecks or deep dives. And while an advanced course should review skills( we do with ours) it is not to teach them to you again but merely to guage your proficiency and see if you are even ready for our advanced course. It may be that your instructor will require you to do a full ow course again. I've seen it happen with those who've been out for an extended period of time. If he/she wants you to and you refuse they may not even allow you to take advanced. If I were not satisfied with your skills and knowledge I'd at the least require 2 or 3 lectures to bring you up to speed and see what you know( there are usually 7 in our course) and 2-3 pool sessions( again usually 5-7). 10 years is a long time. And our most recent advanced class did their deep dives this weekend in Lake Erie at an average of 100 feet per dive(2) in 42-44 degree water temps. Would you be ready for that?

 

[jwelch_81]

Ok, sounds like I just need to take a refresher and get back in the water maby Ill take a refresher and couple of specialtys like Peek Performance Bouyancy and Underwater Navigatior to get me back in the water with some extra skill then come back for advanced later.