Rescue diving course-what did you wish you knew going in?

[Land Fish]

Thanks guys!

 

[Frosty]

Signed up to take rescue diving course in two weeks. Any tips or knowledge you wish you knew before you took the course? I have the book and a working through it. I plan on a couple of "tune up" dives to refresh skills before the course.

Any equipment you wish you would have had?

i have an Air 2 on my BC, should I put a standard Octo back on and have redundant backups?

thanks in advance for your response.

jay

I think you are missing the point of the rescue diver course.
IMO to get the most out of the course you should do NOTHING to prepare for it.
bear with me here.
The reason I say that is because a rescue situation isn't something that you are ever "prepared" for.
it will always happen at the worst possible time with you at your least physically prepared to deal with it.
Find your strenths and weaknesses during the course and work with and on them.

 

[Hawkwood]

Errr...I'm about to do the pool training and the course mate is a 6'2" / 200lbs (my guess) dude, and I'm only 5'7" with small build :errrr:

Should I be concerned??

If it really is only you and the other student, with nobody else but the Instructor, it is simple. When it comes time for an exercise where you have to remove the victim from the pool, get the victim to the "exit", then look and point at the Instructor..."YOU...Help me get this person out of the pool!". You use the resources at hand.

 

[Zeagle Eagle]

Wanted: Rescue Diver Instructor, must be well qualified and less than 5'7" and weigh around 120 pounds.

 

[captio2000]

This may not be exactly what you are looking for but I wish someone had told me to wear a wetsuit instead of a drysuit. We spent SO much time vertical on the surface that I got a lot of pressure sores/blisters on my calfs from the squeeze over the 2 days. Being vertical did not allow the air to get to my lower legs. Still have the scars to prove it.

 

[olphart]

I wish I'd known that the "victim" we were searching for was a milk crate! "Ya didn't ask enough questions!" she said after we tried to rescue an instructor who was minding his own business waiting for students to finish a compass exercise. >>>>>>>> :whack:

 

[Land Fish]

If it really is only you and the other student, with nobody else but the Instructor, it is simple. When it comes time for an exercise where you have to remove the victim from the pool, get the victim to the "exit", then look and point at the Instructor..."YOU...Help me get this person out of the pool!". You use the resources at hand.

Haha~ I'm liking the idea already! I'll be sure trying it out Thanks!

 

[TMHeimer]

If it really is only you and the other student, with nobody else but the Instructor, it is simple. When it comes time for an exercise where you have to remove the victim from the pool, get the victim to the "exit", then look and point at the Instructor..."YOU...Help me get this person out of the pool!". You use the resources at hand.

Yeah. I was trying to say something like that but couldn't get the words out.

 

[Max Speed]

You can be a better victim if you have rebreather training.

 

[tuk]

Note: I've not taken the course, only participated in a few. These are my takeaways:

1. This can be a fun course, especially for the instructor. Expect them the screw with you and try and catch you off guard. Many of them will have fun with you, while trying to emphasize the importance of paying attention and thinking/reacting quickly. (Lots of surprise overboard divers doing their best to drown.)

2. The people around you are important tools. Be ready to ask for help and be clear and assertive about what you need.

3. Failure is OK. The instructors I know can and have failed people until they got it right. These are life saving skills. If you fail, it's not the end of he world. You've learned things and can try again.

4. If your training is done right, you will be beat by the end of it.

This is the next course on my TODO list. Fun aside (andbit does look like it can be a lot of fun), the skills you're taught can mean the difference between life and death or a fun time vs a bad time. Those who pass a well run course will always end up better divers and buddies.