When To Do Rescue Course?

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Coldwater_Canuck

Contributor
Messages
629
Reaction score
3
Location
Seattle or Ontario
# of dives
25 - 49
So hopefully when I get to Seattle in another couple months I can do a ton of diving over the next four months. I like to do a mixture of courses and diving without an instructor to both learn new skills and improve existing ones.

I'm trying to think what courses I should do in this time, and one question I haven't seen discussed a ton (as opposed to the "when to do AOW" question) is at what point do you feel Rescue Course should be done? I've seen some random opinions such as that it's really just the third part of Open Water training and should be done right away, and I've also hear it's an incredibly tough course (why is it so tough anyways?) I realize there are probably no firm answers, but I'd like to see some opinions.

Based on this I can figure out where to fit Rescue in among specialty training.
 
rescue is a good course, very useful

i think to get the most out of it, you should be comfortable with the basic diving skills, buoyancy, trim, ascents, descents, holding a particular depth, equipment configuration ...

i would say probably 20 dives should do you well before taking Rescue, but definitely take it as soon as possible
 
Take it right after AOW which you should take right after OW. In my opinion...

The more supervised dives earlier in the training process, the better.

But the thing about Rescue is that it isn't all about rescuing someone else. It also deals with recognizing stress in your own diving and it teaches ways of dealing with it. Self-rescue is one of the more important topics.

OK, so you're not a top-notch diver when you take Rescue. Sure, after 100 dives you would be better qualified. So, take it again. There's nothing to say you can't take a course more than once. Yes, it's a cost. But you get the benefit of early training on stress and self-rescue plus the later training on the entire process when you are more experienced.

No, I haven't taken it twice. But I think it might be a good idea.

Richard
 
As Andy said, I think that you should have your basic diving under control first and then take it as soon as possible after that.

There are some instructors/shops that offer a discount to those that want to take rescue again at some point.
and I wouldn't mind taking it again someday even if that means full price

I took Rescue after only 18 OW dives, while I did have my basic diving under control at that point, I did not think I was ready for the course yet .. I had a specific need to because a vacation only diver friend wanted to dive here with me, and in very different conditions/equipment than she was used to ... it sure made me more comfortable after taking the class, and I see no reason to put it off too much later if you have your basic skill set down.
 
+1, right after you have you basic skills under control. It is a great course I recommend for everyone, for the confidence it transmits to you and the safety of yourself and those diving with you (not only your dive buddy, but all in the same boat or team).
 
My husband and I are getting our AOW done and we were going to do some specialty courses after that but when talking to a DM yesterday she suggested doing the rescue course before any specialties. Seems like a good idea to me.
 
I agree with the other posters in that it will definitely increase your knowledge of stress in your self and others. You also need to be comfortable with your basic skills. If you want a number, I would say someplace between 20-40 dives and I would actually take it before some of the other advanced classes simply because it allows you to recognize stress in your self. I really like the idea of taking the class a second time with a lot more dives under your belt. Some one needs to do a advanced rescue course.
 
So hopefully when I get to Seattle in another couple months I can do a ton of diving over the next four months. I like to do a mixture of courses and diving without an instructor to both learn new skills and improve existing ones.

I'm trying to think what courses I should do in this time, and one question I haven't seen discussed a ton (as opposed to the "when to do AOW" question) is at what point do you feel Rescue Course should be done? I've seen some random opinions such as that it's really just the third part of Open Water training and should be done right away, and I've also hear it's an incredibly tough course (why is it so tough anyways?) I realize there are probably no firm answers, but I'd like to see some opinions.

Based on this I can figure out where to fit Rescue in among specialty training.

First off, let's establish that different agencies have different philosophies on this subject. PADI's approach is that you should take AOW first, then Rescue. NAUI recommends that you take Rescue as soon as reasonably possible after getting certified, and therefore you can if you choose take it before AOW.

Although I'd recommend enough diving experience to be comfortable in the water, you don't need good diving skills to take the rescue class. It's less about diving than it is about accident prevention and response.

Rescue class IS a demanding class ... but not from a diving perspective. It will challenge you both physically and mentally. And one reason why it's such an important class is because it changes your mental approach to your dive. The class is as much about how to keep yourself out of trouble as it is about helping someone else who's in troulble. NAUI's term for this is "self-rescue" ... which is to say, recognizing that events are leading to the risk of an accident and changing the circumstances to avoid the accident before it happens.

If you are planning to take this course in the Seattle area ... and if you choose to ... send me a PM and I'll give you a list of what I consider to be good instructors to choose from. Not all Rescue classes are the same. Some instructors go strictly "by the book" and you get a class devoid of the context that's so helpful for diving in local conditions ... because most agency curriculum is essentially geared to suit the needs of the tropical vacation diver, which is not what we do here. Other instructors provide context and rescue exercises based on years of experience of diving here, and put a lot more effort into passing along that local knowledge as part of their classwork. Mention which agency you'd prefer and I'll try to line you up with an instructor who teaches for that agency.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)
 

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