So, I've been reading a thread somebody started about failing his rescue diver course with a lot of interest... there have been a lot of good comments made (mostly good comments, IMHO) and lots that has made me think.
I am fairly new to scuba... I know I still have a lot of skills to work on (I am nowhere near happy with my buoyancy control, for instance... I'm pretty awful) but I'm making progress. And each time I dive, whether a good or bad experience, I come back with something more to think about. I did my OW and AOW with one LDS... and an EAN course with another. I'm thinking of doing Rescue with a third. There are a couple reasons for this:
Beyond this, I am pretty unhappy with my first LDS's style of teaching... so I am also looking at this as an opportunity to try someone else out. But in general, I have found that I've been able to pick up a ton of great stuff from everyone (other than the main guys at the first shop...). I view this as another opportunity to expand that exposure.
That said... I really don't care if I even pass the course. As I said, I started this thread after reading another from a guy who failed his. Failure... would not bother me. My motivation is to better understand what can go wrong, how to avoid it, and how to potentially deal with it if it does. I've had my first aid for longer than I can remember - I've never had a major incident that called me to use it, but similarly... I like knowing that I would have an idea of what to do if such a situation arose.
So the big question: is this a dumb motivation for taking the rescue course? Am I going to get the value out of it that I hope to? As I said... I'm not exactly an experienced diver. But right now, I'd rather take the course (and fail) just so that I'm aware of the things that might prevent me from becoming an experienced diver... because for whatever reason I became a dead diver. (That would put a pretty big damper on my mood... ha!)
Anyway, I'm looking forward to what feedback I get... (and don't worry - I won't complain about being called stupid, I already know I am! : )
I am fairly new to scuba... I know I still have a lot of skills to work on (I am nowhere near happy with my buoyancy control, for instance... I'm pretty awful) but I'm making progress. And each time I dive, whether a good or bad experience, I come back with something more to think about. I did my OW and AOW with one LDS... and an EAN course with another. I'm thinking of doing Rescue with a third. There are a couple reasons for this:
- When I decided to get a c-card, I mentioned it to my then girlfriend. She apparently was trained in Asia (through SSI?), and so we talked about potentially diving together when travelling. But when I started my course, and I started talking to her about some of the more basic things we were learning... I often got blank stares as the response. This... terrified me, because if something were to go wrong... well, this was when I first started considering the course.
- In my second OW dive, my partner disappeared. I had the added luck of having my octo start free-flowing (which at that point scared the hell out of me because with everything else on my mind I also managed to forget how to handle it!) so I looked for him as long as I felt safe to do so and I surfaced. And he... kept swimming around on his own until he felt like coming up to join me. But it got me thinking... well, what if I can't trust my partner? I made later dives in the AOW with a great partner who knew what he was doing and didn't try to disappear... but that won't always be the case. This got me thinking that perhaps doing a course like rescue will make me more aware of what could go wrong, and better able to handle situations - if just for myself!
Beyond this, I am pretty unhappy with my first LDS's style of teaching... so I am also looking at this as an opportunity to try someone else out. But in general, I have found that I've been able to pick up a ton of great stuff from everyone (other than the main guys at the first shop...). I view this as another opportunity to expand that exposure.
That said... I really don't care if I even pass the course. As I said, I started this thread after reading another from a guy who failed his. Failure... would not bother me. My motivation is to better understand what can go wrong, how to avoid it, and how to potentially deal with it if it does. I've had my first aid for longer than I can remember - I've never had a major incident that called me to use it, but similarly... I like knowing that I would have an idea of what to do if such a situation arose.
So the big question: is this a dumb motivation for taking the rescue course? Am I going to get the value out of it that I hope to? As I said... I'm not exactly an experienced diver. But right now, I'd rather take the course (and fail) just so that I'm aware of the things that might prevent me from becoming an experienced diver... because for whatever reason I became a dead diver. (That would put a pretty big damper on my mood... ha!)
Anyway, I'm looking forward to what feedback I get... (and don't worry - I won't complain about being called stupid, I already know I am! : )