Specialty courses

[rmitchell248]

It does get you a card that allows you to get oxygen fills. That is, until you get a tech diving card that allows same.

The DAN O2 course does go into far more detail administering oxygen than the rescue class does.

The rescue class alone does not get you the ability to get oxygen fills or administer it. I only stress this so that somebody does not take that class alone and think they are covered

 

[rdjiv]

I rather enjoyed my navigation specialty course. But I am partial to anything navigation related so that could be just me. Two dives and they both helped me hone my nav skills. There was a very large course set up at the dive site that had markers instructing us to follow bearings/distances to the next marker. Quite fun - like a scavenger hunt. It helped instill in me the need to "trust the compass" instead of using my "instincts." It also got me to dial in my kick cycles, which is important for the Divemaster mapping project as I'm finding out.

Specialty courses are what I like to think of as added skills, not separate certifications so to speak. The next real big certification after AOW is Rescue and I highly recommend that too. Anything that expands your knowledge and confidence and helps you achieve your diving goals is something worth doing.

 

[633squadron]

I think it's more worth practicing navigation (both natural and compass-based) on land, first. I had a lot of orienteering experience even before I started diving, and I find that I have no problem in underwater navigation. The ideas are the same, such as: use natural navigation whenever you can, remember that you often can't take a straight line from A to B, use "catching points" and "handrails".

I think the last two are unfortunately ignored in underwater nav. A catching point (roughly) is a some feature that you aim for, or a feature that tells you that you've gone too far or off-course. A handrail is a prominent feature that you can "hit" and then follow to your destination. They exist underwater, and ought to be used.

I agree that dry suit, EAN, and rescue should be done. Is it coincidence that I plan to do them? :^). UTD/GUE/DIR/whatever *are* good ideas, based on all that I've read. The more you practice skills like that, the safer you are. I'd still start small and simple, and work your way up. Seems to me that diving takes constant, long-term education.

 

[Guy Alcala]

I think it's more worth practicing navigation (both natural and compass-based) on land, first. I had a lot of orienteering experience even before I started diving, and I find that I have no problem in underwater navigation. The ideas are the same, such as: use natural navigation whenever you can, remember that you often can't take a straight line from A to B, use "catching points" and "handrails".

I think the last two are unfortunately ignored in underwater nav. A catching point (roughly) is a some feature that you aim for, or a feature that tells you that you've gone too far or off-course. A handrail is a prominent feature that you can "hit" and then follow to your destination. They exist underwater, and ought to be used.

Not so much ignored as not mentioned at all. Like you, I have extensive background in using a map and compass/orienteering on land, and tend to use the same techniques, i.e. the ones you mention as well as attack points, aim-off etc. If you can find a good instructor for nav., it's worth it, but most of the underwater nav. classes I've seen are rudimentary at best, as are the manuals.

I'd recommend a good land map and compass/orienteering text ("Be Expert with Map and Compass" by Bjorn Kjellstrom was the standard for many years, but there are many similar ones out there now; I like the Sierra Club one) for anyone who's serious about compass nav, and then do some land orienteering. Fortunately, in the Bay Area there's a very active orienteering club (BAOC; see their website) that has regular meets. Spend the money on a quality dive compass, instead of just using whatever's cheapest/came with your console. And if you want to practice, there's a permanent course at the breakwater, details and maps of which can be found in the Files section of ba_diving, in the San Carlos Beach folder. I've been lazy about finishing the tutorial for it, but maybe will do so now.

Guy (You'll pry my Suunto SK-7 with DSS wrist boot from my cold, dead forearm)