Your favourite specialty courses

[RikRaeder]

My favorite was the wreck course. I took it from some reel <sic> big time wreck divers and they taught a lot more than what was in the PADI material.

Probably the most useful course, and the course from which I learned the most was Navigation. That was fun too!

 

[AndyNZ]

Meggie, you've been given some good advice so far - but the challenge comes in turning it into reality!

Peak Performance Buoyancy can be an amazing course, or it can be cr@p. To be honest, many recreational diving instructors wouldn't know "peak performance buoyancy" if it came up and bit them on the a$$. You definitely want to hunt around and find a good instructor - not just for this particular course but all PADI courses. As Lynne pointed out, if they are done to the minimums then you are being shortchanged.

Not sure exactly where you are in Sydney, but my suggestion would be to drop in to Dive Centre Bondi - I only really know Liam (one of the owners), but I know how much emphasis he puts on having good instructors who not only have really good skills themselves but also know how to pass them on to others. You will learn heaps by any course that they offer. Drop in to the shop and have a chat with Liam or Robin and they will sort you out.

Enjoy your first winter of diving! Sydney has roughly the same water temperatures as we do, you can survive in a wetsuit.... but my view has always been "why bother to survive" when you can be toasty warm in a drysuit!

The courses I enjoy teaching the most are these: Wreck, Nitrox, PPB, Self-Reliant Diver and Advanced Wreck. The last two are "mine" and not standard PADI courses, they are both awesome in terms of giving people lots to learn. A blatant plug, but hey...!

 

[Meggie66]

Thanks again everyone for the advice - can't tell you how useful it is for a relative newbie to be able to tap into the collective wisdom!

Meggie, you've been given some good advice so far - but the challenge comes in turning it into reality!

Peak Performance Buoyancy can be an amazing course, or it can be cr@p. To be honest, many recreational diving instructors wouldn't know "peak performance buoyancy" if it came up and bit them on the a$$. You definitely want to hunt around and find a good instructor - not just for this particular course but all PADI courses. As Lynne pointed out, if they are done to the minimums then you are being shortchanged.

Not sure exactly where you are in Sydney, but my suggestion would be to drop in to Dive Centre Bondi - I only really know Liam (one of the owners), but I know how much emphasis he puts on having good instructors who not only have really good skills themselves but also know how to pass them on to others. You will learn heaps by any course that they offer. Drop in to the shop and have a chat with Liam or Robin and they will sort you out.

Enjoy your first winter of diving! Sydney has roughly the same water temperatures as we do, you can survive in a wetsuit.... but my view has always been "why bother to survive" when you can be toasty warm in a drysuit!

The courses I enjoy teaching the most are these: Wreck, Nitrox, PPB, Self-Reliant Diver and Advanced Wreck. The last two are "mine" and not standard PADI courses, they are both awesome in terms of giving people lots to learn. A blatant plug, but hey...!

Andy, thanks for the tips - I'm further north than Bondi but will definitely check out the shop you recommend - and I'll look you up if ever in Auckland! What's self sufficient diver? Is it a solo dive course or is it more about running and planning your own dives with a buddy?

Happy Easter everyone!
M

 

[TSandM]

I second the recommendation for Dive Center Bondi. That's a great idea, Andy! A buoyancy class taken through those guys would be very likely to be taught in a manner that would make it WELL worth the money.

 

[Twistedarts]

Aquarium Diver... It is a gas to pull out when you sign up for a dive trip.

 

[AndyNZ]

Andy, thanks for the tips - I'm further north than Bondi but will definitely check out the shop you recommend - and I'll look you up if ever in Auckland! What's self sufficient diver? Is it a solo dive course or is it more about running and planning your own dives with a buddy?

As a course it's not intended to go solo diving, but more to prepare a diver for when ultimately they end up alone.

Unfortunately, the "buddy system" is rarely adhered to, but a lot of entry level training emphasises the buddy as the first recourse in event of something going wrong. Great, until the buddy isn't there - so the course looks into both preventing problems through good dive planning, plus having the confidence to resolve them by yourself should they ever occur.


Shame you are not that close to Bondi, the guys there are awesome! But if you're ever over here then let me know, the diving here is just fabulous! :cool2:

 

[diver257a]

If you live in Australia do you need Dry Suit?

Yes, particularly on the south coast of the Australian continent during the winter time. Also, dry suits are widely used in Mt Gambier caves & sinkholes.

 

[kathydee]

I second the recommendation for Dive Center Bondi. That's a great idea, Andy! A buoyancy class taken through those guys would be very likely to be taught in a manner that would make it WELL worth the money.

I agree! Great idea Andy !

 

[sabbath999]

Well, not counting rescue, my most fun course was digital photography.

I had as an instructor a guy who had been shooting underwater for 20 years, and when I showed him my land portfolio, he said "right... well, here's the minimum required, these four skills in the water and you have to take that test. We will do that, but then we are going to teach you what you REALLY need to know."

We worked on lighting, and buoyancy for photography. Finning techniques, how to deal with surge and still take pictures, situational and buddy awareness, stuff like that... and not "how a digital camera in a housing works"

 

[D_B]

Most fun - National Geographic (mine was way more involved than the normal one, we did it after AOW)
Useful/Necessary- Rescue (get it)
Most eye opening - DrySuit
(if you want to see whats involved in a real drysuit class, read my report ... http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/advanced-scuba-discussions/260824-dry-suit-class.html

Next? - probably Wreck