When to think about PADI Rescue?

[Scubadam]

Yes, I would get PADI OW,AOW,then become a rescue diver. You need atleast AOW to get rescue diver certified yes, but at that point you may have Aquarium Diver, Nitrox/enriched air, night diving certifications before you ever get to rescue diver. But I would definetely dive often and continue to for many years to come, until you get rescue diver certified.

 

[Interceptor121]

As I wrote before you don't need AOW to enrol the rescue diver course but only adventure diver with underwater navigation.
The AOW course does not give you any better rescue skills however it does get you more confident at depth and in other conditions (drift, wrecks) if you choose them.
You can complete however an AOW course with multilevel, naturalist and nitrox adventure dive and you would have not increased at all your rescue skills.
Hence PADI revised entry criteria are actually very accurate.
To be a proficient rescuer you need to be good at navigation and in theory at search and recovery, this adventure dive is seldom selected by students during the AOW course and not encouraged vastly by instructors as it is actually more complex than others.
However a professional would never send a bunch of rescue divers on a search in real terms.

 

[bsumner]

Rescue diver certification is a significant step beyond AOW in terms of difficulty and skills and if the course is presented properly, you will certainly be a better and safer diver. I would encourage any diver who hasn't done so to pursue this certification if feasible.

Long time lurker, first time poster!

I am just about to finish up OW. My wife and I are going through as a thing to do together, and for me it is about facing a lifelong fear of water head on. One I am happy to say I am overcoming solidly and wondering what took me so long!

Some background may help put all of this in perspective.
- We have friends of ours that got us into trying a Try Dive in Playa last year. They have been diving for 10 years (vacations mostly) and are well over 100 dives.
- Did the Try dive with another couple and we all loved it, except my wife who got vertigo after someone shot under her when she was getting ready to descent (bubbles dislodged her mask) and aborted. Not knowing any better I conitnued, and fell in love with it.

We have been taking classes and I find my wife just seems to need a bit of help here and there to get past things, remember to slow down and think. Sometimes she will shallow breathe and it will cause her to feel short of breath etc...
Our instructor (Owner of the LDS) Dave is awesome and has been helping with a lot of these little issues, as she gets better and better.

I am thinking ahead to how I can be the best buddy possible for her (and my other friends) at this point. I am beginning to think more and more that maybe me seeking the PADI Rescue would be a great way for me to be able to support, help and recognize any issues that may arise.

What is the consensus on this line of thinking, and when should I (if at all) consider working on this? Note that we have a trip planned in May to Caymen with diving as an activity, if not the full purpose.

Thanks for all the past posts, I am finding a great community here!

 

[Deep-6]

I chose Search and Recovery as one of my electives for my AOW and I met no resistance for it. In my opinion, it was the best part of the course and my instructor recommended it for me based on my occupation. The only difference between AOW and Adventure Diver is a Deep Dive. That being said, I don't know why anyone would forego the Deep dive to get Adventure Diver instead of going all the way and becoming an AOW. I may not privy to any notifications that were sent to instuctors, but I do realize that that AOW certs hold a higher status than AD certs. So it is my opinion that someone who's completed a deep dive would have a "leg up" on individuals who haven't. Especially people who desire to become rescue divers.

 

[cwhitpan]

I want to thank everyone who responded to this thread!

I got some great advice and am planning on executing the following plan (roughly)

I think it makes sense to at least get 3 lifesaving courses underway (First Aid, CPR, and the Underwater critter one) that way I think I have a good base.

Then to help me get some better experience, work towards AOW, knowing that the more dives the better. And no I won't "cop out" by doing the fish ID one! S&R, Deep, Navi, Bouancy and Drysuit. I think they will be the most useful.

If that all goes well, and I am secure in my own ability where I feel good about my swimming, then I will consider Rescue in the spring prior to our May trip. I just like having as much information as possible, but I also want to temper that with practical experience!

Thanks again for all the advice! This board is GREAT! someone's suggestion to read Diver Down was excellent, not to mention the accident sub-forum. Lots of great information!

 

[joolz]

Then to help me get some better experience, work towards AOW, knowing that the more dives the better. And no I won't "cop out" by doing the fish ID one! S&R, Deep, Navi, Bouancy and Drysuit. I think they will be the most useful.

Good choices, but just had to add that Fish ID / UW Naturalist aren't cop outs! While it's true there aren't any new physical skills to learn, it's still diving experience and it makes you more aware of your surroundings.

As one instructor I work with puts it: "I like to do UW naturalist because I want them to know what they're looking at...and maybe they'll stop asking "what was that?" after every dive!"

 

[cwhitpan]

Ok, fair enough. THat was a bad choice of wording

I will make sure I do that after the initial 5 I listed. All valid points!

 

[DevonDiver]

There is one easy and all-encompassing answer to this question.

Do your rescue training BEFORE you are called upon to use it.