Rescue Diver Course

[CDFDiveMaster]

In the PADI Course, I had to do 2 water exits with an "unconscious" diver. Aside from that, there is nothing physically demanding about the course. My advice - pick your unconscious diver carefully.

Souns like you got out easy.....I encourage taking rescue to be rescue. Peace

 

[freediver]

The gym will make you LOOK like a great rescue diver but if you want to be comfortable and confident in water rescue/water safety, you might want to gain comfort and conditioning in the water. Swim some laps, tread some water, work on freediving skills. Also, go to the library and get a book on water safety and water rescue and research the characteristics of drowning persons and distressed swimmers. It will help you recognize what to look for.
When I teach rescue (unconscious), I use a water rescue manikin so there is no chance of the "victim" helping out during the rescue. Makes for a very exertive effort.

 

[CFL]

My wife and I recently completed the course. I'd say that the swimming is somewhat challenging but mostly because you want to achieve good times to treat the rescues as the real thing. We had to bring unresponsive divers to shore from 25-50 yeards (can't recall, seemed like a long distance, though!) while stripping their gear and giving rescue breaths. The rescues are tiring because you're giving rescue breaths along the way (and you have to fin up to get part of your body out of water to truly represent an actual rescue breath), getting out of your gear (buckles and so forth) and taking the victim's gear off. There were time limits, but all of us came in under the ceiling.

There's also a lot of panicked diver drills where they try to drown you, take your mask off, etc. It's all about learning how to react and remain calm. In fact, some rescues just call for swimming back to shore while a panicked diver tries to grab at you, until they realize there back at shore. But, then again, our instructors kept us guessing.

The lost diver drills are mostly about quick reaction and organization. But again, every drill is about time (oxygen deprivation, etc.), so you tire yourself out trying to do your best.

It's a great course and a lot of fun. I would try to stay in shape so you can help yourself and others when something goes wrong, but none of us were olympic swimmers.

 

[--tom--]

After reading the responses, it sounds like most instructors tailor the course to local/likely situations. The class I took spent alot of time on kelp extraction and high surf rescues, both of which are likely to occur in Monterey. Since the class I took was in 50 degree water, once the weight belt was gone, the BCD didn't matter, in 7mm wetsuit we weren't going to sink.

I upped the amount of potassium intake to prevent cramps before the ocean work, and by the end of day two I took a nap before trying to drive home...I was tired!

Have fun, it is a VERY worthwhile course for your own confidence level.

 

[TheRedHead]

My wife and I recently completed the course. I'd say that the swimming is somewhat challenging but mostly because you want to achieve good times to treat the rescues as the real thing. We had to bring unresponsive divers to shore from 25-50 yeards (can't recall, seemed like a long distance, though!) while stripping their gear and giving rescue breaths. The rescues are tiring because you're giving rescue breaths along the way (and you have to fin up to get part of your body out of water to truly represent an actual rescue breath), getting out of your gear (buckles and so forth) and taking the victim's gear off. There were time limits, but all of us came in under the ceiling.

There are a couple of things which bother me about this class (for me, I mean): I don't want a stranger's face on mine. What is simulated rescue breathing? I don't want to do a fireman's carry or try to pick up a diver on land. I have an old disc injury and I want it to remain that way. I could certainly drag someone 25 to 50 yards, but then again, I wouldn't want anyone dragging me. It seems to me that it would be a lot less tiring to do the dives over the course of a week rather than an all day marathon.

Has anyone done a private class alone or with a buddy in a warm tropical location?

 

[Orlando Eric]

"Do not want someone else's face on mine. Do not want someone to carry me. I do not want to carry someone else. I want to do the dives over a week because the weekend marathon would be too much."

I would reccomend that you take a first aid class at the Red Cross and then you can assist with wound treatment and 1st aid to divers after they make it to shore. The rescue swimmer is going to be pretty tired and someone else to do a head to toe assessment and stop the bleeding is beneficial. I also would reccomend you to carry a pocket mask everywhere you go. Maybe even an Ambubag with a 10' extension so you do not have to get to close to those icky "strangers."

 

[TheRedHead]

"Do not want someone else's face on mine. Do not want someone to carry me. I do not want to carry someone else. I want to do the dives over a week because the weekend marathon would be too much."

I would reccomend that you take a first aid class at the Red Cross and then you can assist with wound treatment and 1st aid to divers after they make it to shore. The rescue swimmer is going to be pretty tired and someone else to do a head to toe assessment and stop the bleeding is beneficial. I also would reccomend you to carry a pocket mask everywhere you go. Maybe even an Ambubag with a 10' extension so you do not have to get to close to those icky "strangers."

The only person I can ever forsee rescuing by myself is my regular buddy. Most of the time we're diving from a boat together. Occasionally we shore dive in places like Bonaire. Everyone has a different expectations of their diving experience. At my point in life, I am looking for quality experiences. If I can learn a valuable skillset in a more pleasant way, I frankly see no harm.

Is this a class or a rite of passage? I don't want to be a DM, I don't want to lead anyone on a dive or be a hero. I already have a Redcross First Aid CPR certification and I didn't have to make small talk with Buster the Dummy and he was very patient with everyone in the class.

I don't like spending $1000 for a dive trip and come down with a nasty cold and not be able to dive. I have to travel to dive so I'm very risk aversive.

 

[Damselfish]

The only person I can ever forsee rescuing by myself is my regular buddy. Most of the time we're diving from a boat together. Occasionally we shore dive in places like Bonaire. Everyone has a different expectations of their diving experience. At my point in life, I am looking for quality experiences. If I can learn a valuable skillset in a more pleasant way, I frankly see no harm.

Is this a class or a rite of passage? I don't want to be a DM, I don't want to lead anyone on a dive or be a hero. I already have a Redcross First Aid CPR certification and I didn't have to make small talk with Buster the Dummy and he was very patient with everyone in the class.

I don't like spending $1000 for a dive trip and come down with a nasty cold and not be able to dive. I have to travel to dive so I'm very risk aversive.

It's not a rite of passage, it's an attempt at simulating situations which might happen. One way or another it's going to involve search, bringing "victims" up from the bottom, towing victims, dealing with panicked victims, simulating m2m while towing, and getting victims out of the water however is appropriate for the location. Which can all be strenuous, that's just the way it is. Even if you decide you're only going to save your buddy and ignore other victims, it's still all stuff you'd want to learn.

The OW part of my class happened to be as you mention - with just my buddy, on vacation in warm tropical water, with a couple DMs serving as victims. I don't think it made it easier, in fact they made a point of finding us a nice zero vis choppy place to do it off a small boat as the platform, and generally tried to make it harder to compensate for the warm water. (Actually I imagine some of the things would have been easier with the bouyancy of a heavy wetsuit or drysuit.) So warm water on vacation is not a way to make the class "lighter", and you shouldn't want to or you're missing the point.

The whole point of pocket masks is to prevent contact, and sometimes you just skip the mask in class and sort of pretend without making contact, I wouldn't worry about it. And perhaps you can find an instructor that will take your back issues into account. (Or maybe they will just say you shouldn't take the class if you can't do too many of the things - after all one of the basic rules is to keep yourself safe first and not become another victim.)

 

[TheRedHead]

The whole point of pocket masks is to prevent contact, and sometimes you just skip the mask in class and sort of pretend without making contact, I wouldn't worry about it. And perhaps you can find an instructor that will take your back issues into account. (Or maybe they will just say you shouldn't take the class if you can't do too many of the things - after all one of the basic rules is to keep yourself safe first and not become another victim.)

I have bulging discs. I don't have any problem with my gear or in the water. Towing someone in the water is not a problem for my back. Carrying a big beefy man on land would be a serious problem and I probably wouldn't want to do it. I looked into the class once with my LDS and it was all males signed up. Plus it was a weekend at a lake. I never dive in lakes.

It seems to me that having the class over a weekend is simply convenience for the LDS and/or instructors. I don't see why two divers couldn't hire an instructor for X amount per hour and take the class anyway that want. I know that Allison of Scuba with Allison Cozumel does the class for individuals so I may inquire with her. I just don't want to get into a class with a lot of macho guys who want to be DMs on the lake. I would prefer to do it over a week where I can have fun doing other dives and other things.

As far as making the class lighter, since I don't dive anywhere but warm, tropical water, I think it is logical to train in those cirumstances. I'm not going to be rescuing anyone in cold water because I won't be there.

 

[humanphibian]

I had to extract an "unconcious" diver (classmate who was 6'+ and went about 215) up an aluminum extension ladder about 10 rungs (@CSSP). That was the hardest physical exertion, but the mental part will really get you. It made for a long weekend, fun as hell,...but long.

Very rewarding!