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tc246 -- I'm not from PERT, I'm from Aquanauts, Asia's private-sector training center.

PERT is headed by Mike Ainge, formerly the training director at ERDI, and Joe Keiser, formerly of PSA and now of InDepth. Ainge has adapted and improved on the ERDI program and what we've done with the courses for the private sector is restructure them into the pre-requisite modules.

Bridgediver -- PERT is based in the states. Ainge is the Instructor Trainer / Examiner for North America and our Roger Smith is the Instructor Trainer / Examiner for this part of the world.

As for Thailand or Asia not having the same PSD conditions as North America is prety ludicrious? Does Thailand and Asia have low and zero viz conditions. Absolutely. Is there both warm and cold water? Yes. If the training prepares you for these things, plus entanglement, out-of-air, etc., then wouldn't that training be applicable anywhere? I certainly think so.

BridgeDiver -- A few other things about your post make no sense. You mention pony bottles as "tech" equipment? PSD is not tech diving, although there are certainly similarities. Second, the courses are not expensive and, especially not so when you consider these are professional level courses. Taken alone, the entire suite of 4 courses is about $2,300, hardly a house-mortgaging proposition.

What you were looking at are our integrated PERT / PADI internships that offer full gear -- including a Vytec which a PADI instructor or DM could certainly use -- and full accommodations, fees, etc. The devil is in the details.

Our standalone courses are at www.aquanuatsdive.com/pert/
 
Thanks for your response
PERT is headed by Mike Ainge, formerly the training director at ERDI, and Joe Keiser, formerly of PSA and now of InDepth. Ainge has adapted and improved on the ERDI program and what we've done with the courses for the private sector is restructure them into the pre-requisite modules.

Bridgediver -- PERT is based in the states. Ainge is the Instructor Trainer / Examiner for North America and our Roger Smith is the Instructor Trainer / Examiner for this part of the world.

Have not heard of any of those guys before. To be sure, ERDi is a pretty young organization in itself so if they came from there thats probably why

As for Thailand or Asia not having the same PSD conditions as North America is prety ludicrious? Does Thailand and Asia have low and zero viz conditions. Absolutely. Is there both warm and cold water? Yes. If the training prepares you for these things, plus entanglement, out-of-air, etc., then wouldn't that training be applicable anywhere? I certainly think so..
What exactly is cold water in Thiland? We have maybe 2 months where its over 75F but the majority of the time its 50'sF. Winter its obviously colder (even without ice) and 30'sF. The point I was trying to make is training PSD in Thiland is a different environment - its tropical there, we get snow here. Alot of different aspects of PSD to worry about here that you probably won't consider ie hypothermia, gear freezing up etc
Maybe I'm mistaken but is there somewhere in Thiland where you can do ice training? Your site boasts some "ice" environment pictures:confused:

BridgeDiver -- A few other things about your post make no sense. You mention pony bottles as "tech" equipment? PSD is not tech diving, although there are certainly similarities. .
Agreed PSD is nowhere near tech diving. My reference is to the fact that it appears (at least to me) that you have 2 pictures of your divers slinging their pony bottles like a tech diver would. Granted there are some teams that perform PSD in this way but the vast majority mount the pony on the back with a quick d/c. There's a few threads on here about why they are better on the back - mainly to keep the tank out of the muck but this is a seperate thread as I said.

Second, the courses are not expensive and, especially not so when you consider these are professional level courses. Taken alone, the entire suite of 4 courses is about $2,300, hardly a house-mortgaging proposition.
The house mortgage thing was more about the $30,000 internship thing.
You can find the same 4 courses in North America (where most of us live) for a third to half of that price from proven and long standing agencies.
Better yet if just 2-3 guys could scrape up this amount ($2,300) they could have an instructor come to them and train them in the environment where they would be working - no costs of flight, lodging or food.
Build on this if they fill the class with 20 people or so they'll actually profit from hosting the class and it'll be free for them.

I'll freely admit that taking PSD training in Thiland would sure be fun and if a person has nothing better to do with their time or money this may be their path. If someone is trully serious about doing PSD they need to already be on a team or at least working towards a certain team. PSD is a team concept. If you take all these courses and don't have a team to practice with you're wasting your time. Don't take offense to this but if one of your graduates wanted on my team I would still take them from stage 1 and give them all the training all over again - just so the team is on the same page.
Along with being on a team the training should be done in the environment where they will be actually working. I'm sure you've got some nice tidal rivers in Thiland which have arduous conditions to take your divers. My team would never see anything like that - but they will see stuff like ice or winter conditions. What makes more sense to focus on?

Just my opinion and as I said, don't be insulted by my remarks. I think you've created a nice little niche here that no one else has exploited (to my knowledge). You also talk a good marketing game (except for the ice rescue pictures) but if you're going to flaunt it be prepared to answer questions

peace
 
Amen on your reply. Im in minn. and i dont see where they have anything thats similer to us but the river diving and i train where we dive.
Good evening grumpie........
 
Bridge, 2 clarifications:

1) The photos on the home pages are of real-life PSD folks in action. They're not of our team. They're meant to show what you do as a PSD. Look at those photos and you instantly see the differnece between these courses and our PADI training. For the record, Mountainous areas in Northern Thailand do in fact get snow.

2) There is no $30,000 program. There. The combined PADI Instructor / PERT PSD internship (6 months) is $15,000.
 
note depending where your at - that is contracted out with the county sheriffs department
 
Bridge, 2 clarifications:

1) The photos on the home pages are of real-life PSD folks in action. They're not of our team. They're meant to show what you do as a PSD. Look at those photos and you instantly see the differnece between these courses and our PADI training. For the record, Mountainous areas in Northern Thailand do in fact get snow..

Fair enough. I'm not sure I can tell the difference at first glance between your pictures and the general ones. For what its worth I'd post pictures of what YOU guys do not what others do - its kind of misleading. An uninitiated person might assume that they would be able to ice dive at the end of your program(?)
So, do you train your divers in the mountain lakes as well and is there lake ice? Snow capped mountains are pretty much on most contenents but its doesn't always mean that there are diveable bodies of water that would reflect what a cold water diver would experience (cold surface temps and water temps).
I think we have VERY different ideas of what is cold:wink:

2) There is no $30,000 program. There. The combined PADI Instructor / PERT PSD internship (6 months) is $15,000.
My mistake. I'm not sure where I read $32,000. Even so, A flight from North America and living in Thiland for 6 mths will cost someone allot of money above the price of your program

Thanks for the claification

take care
 
I was sent to basic open water through the Fire Department to help "Introduce" More divers for our local volunteer PSD team.. The instructor was very informed in our line of work and pretty much made it clear that basic wasn't gonna cut it.. As with most Tech diving an advanced level cert or higher is a must have. So advanced would be a good place to start, Get on with a local team and they will properly re introduce you to diving for work not Fun.:wink:.. And around here the fire/rescue does most the diving, Except for the DPS and them dudes are for real...
 
Gang.., look at the other side of the proverbial coin.....

We shouldn't be talking about how much the training costs.., but rather as resident SME's (for those that are at that level) the real question should not be how much does the training cost but rather....

"How much are you willing to PAY ME to come teach your course for you??"
 
tc, I appreciate you listing some books to check out. I'm currently considering taking DR1 this summer, so I guess I'll do some reading first.

The listed ones should help. I understand there is a new DR1 book out but have not seen it yet. I also understand (Blades- jump in if I'm wrong) that it is not sold- only available to students taking the class.

Terrillja,

Thank you for choosing Dive Rescue International for your training this summer. I look forward to hearing your impression of the program after it concludes.

TC you are correct in your statement. We have recently published an updated Dive Rescue 1 Manual and have received good reviews from the PSD community. This manual is included in the cost of tuition for the DR-1 program and we do not sell the manual to the general public.

Our belief is that the manual is only one component of a complete training "system" which includes lecture and demonstration by a competent instructor having "real" public safety diving experience, a Power Point presentation that illustrates critical teaching points, and hands practice in both pool and open water environments. While many are pleased with the information contained within the manual, we don't want anyone to be "short changed" and not learn from the complete Dive Rescue International training system.

TC, thank you for mentioning the Dive Rescue 1 manual and for mentioning Steve Barsky's "Diving in Polluted Environments" and Bob Teather's "Encyclopedia of Underwater Investigations." Those are two great manuals!

Blades Robinson, Director
Dive Rescue International
Dive Rescue International - Water Rescue Training & Equipment
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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