stress and rescue class

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idratherbediving

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Scuba Instructor
Divemaster
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Location
cockeysville, md
# of dives
100 - 199
hey everyone, getting ready to do the pool part of stress and rescue for ssi tomorrow. not really sure what to expect. any horror stories from anyone or is it going to be alot of fun?
 
idratherbediving:
hey everyone, getting ready to do the pool part of stress and rescue for ssi tomorrow. not really sure what to expect. any horror stories from anyone or is it going to be alot of fun?

My experience with my SSI stress and rescue class was great. It is a very fun but serious class and physically exhausting class. I think its a class every diver should attend no matter which agency they choose to attend the class through.
 
I am in the middle of my Rescue now and its been a great class and I really learned alot so far. I already completed my EFR course and finished my written test for rescue. My first day of diving and doing all the surface drills is tomorrow.. :wavey:
 
I did the PADI version, and had a lot of fun. We did it in Virgin Gorda, the week before Puerto Rican week (when all the PRs flock there to drink and trash the place--no insult meant to any PRs here), and did the pool part in Leverick Bay. When we went in off the dock, the entire staff of Leverick turned out to watch us do a giant stride from a 4 foot high dock into 7 feet of water. That's a case when you want your wing FULL, and legs closed, knees bent. Thanfully no one augered in.

We did all the on-land searches, hauling bodies out, doing gear removal, and all that in the bay (I managed not to get sick even after swallowing a cup or two of that dirty water.....long story). Then we moved to where the boat was docked in the bay to practice dragging a corpse on board (Oh, wait, not supposed to call them bodies or corpses) a boat. This is where we get our first training accident. The boat has a waterline-level swim platform made of metal tubing with no-slip on top. They teach you to bounce the person up and down in the water to get enough momentum to heave them up on the platform. Well, be sure and hold the person well away from the platform. A lady named Cathy was 'bouncing' a guy (forgot his name), and pulled him in a little, resulting in a headache and a chipped tooth.

Then we did CPR on the dock. Hoo boy. The instructor (Kevin Jones, if you're interested) had given the guy that got his head cracked a red coughdrop to add a little realism later on. We didn't know about it, except that he had gotten real quiet. So he was chosen to be the body, and someone started CPR and rescue breaths. (We did the breaths by blowing next to the cheek) A minute later, the instructor said Wake up, he moaned and sprayed that red spit everywhere, which nearly caused my dad to fall off the dock in horror.

Our practice object to find was a weighted line with a float which we affectionatley called 'Fred'. Circular line searches are quite hard over coral, btw.

We had to do it with a kid about 17 that was a pot smoker and general 'who cares' kind of guy. Gaah! Hopefully you don't have to deal with someone like that.

Of course we lost some gear during it, a fin which I freedove for, a couple masks and two sets of gear in Leverick, which were found, and a weight belt, which was found by the doper kid but he didn't get it for some reason. I mean, gosh, he could have had me shoot a bag for it!!

All in all, it was very fun and educational, if not quite tiring.
 
you are in for some work , this is the class that separated true divers from hum just ordinary divers. wish everyone would take this class !!!!!!!!!!!
you will have fun but more than likely you will be tired by end of day LOL !!!
 
Congratulations for making a great decision! I finished my course last month and it was the best thing I've done in diving in years. My instructor really made me work.
 
I loved my PADI Rescue class... One thing to be aware of is when your playing the victim, becareful of your rescuer trying to drown you... :laughing:
 
Look for a few techniques you can do very well ( assuming you are offered a variety of options for a given task ) & make them your own. Things happen quickly in an emergency & your ability to respond will depend largely on your personal crisis response characteristics, & your ability to retrieve the knowledge / skills you once learned in a Rescue Course ( sadly, most divers look upon this course as something "really neat / fun / challenging" etc., etc. to do, then never think of or practice the skills again ). By repeating select skills that are doable for you, you maximize the odds of being able to "pull something out" if ever the need arises.

Regards,
D.S.D.
 
well, the pool session is over. it was a blast. after diving alot in quarries i firgot how nice it is to be in warm clear water, i miss the bahamas. you are absolutly right about being tired too. there were alot of new divers (certified in the past year), and they did great, so far i recommend this class to any diver of any level.
 

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