Winterpeg
Contributor
My husband and I finally started the PADI Rescue Dive course. It is a lot of fun. For those wondering what it entails, (I had to ask on SB because I didn't know), here is a brief recap so far.
One point I'd like to pass on is one my instructor made about equipment configuration. He stressed knowing where everything is by feel so that we can access it in a hurry. I just bought a new BC and then clipped a new DAN tag on the front of it. Then in the pool when I was instructed to pull the dump valve and descend in a hurry, I found the DAN tag tangled up with the string on the dump valve. Needless to say, I will be relocating the DAN tag before our next pool session.
I have also found that the rescue techniques are harder than they sound in the book, and the importance of practicing them. Last pool session, the "victim" (pretending to be a panicked diver) managed to pull off my mask and push me under, and almost turn me into the panicked diver
! Another thing that confounded the students in my class was the variation in configuration of weights. Some students had belts, there were several who had different types of integrated weights, one had a backplate and wings, another had only pocket weights. We had to learn to deal with all types in a hurry.
We practiced ascending with a deflated BC and then orally inflating it (simulating an OOA scenario); and learned buddy breathing for the first time (not difficult to do in itself, but difficult to maintain position in the water or a reasonable ascent rate, because of concentrating on the breathing). We reviewed sharing air, and I handed my husband the octopus upside down
(how many of us still practice this after completing our OW??). We also practiced towing an unresponsive diver underwater maintaining neutral buoyancy (having to adjust their buoyancy as well as our own), which simulates rescuing someone from a cave or wreck where you have to tow them out without bumping them on the floor/roof/walls along the way.
Having witnessed a real-life rescue on our last dive trip, I can already see the value of this course. Can't wait for lur next trip to Coz in Nov!
- There is a text for the theory portion, which covers topics like the psychology of dealing with panicked divers, types of rescue strategies, basic treatment of dive and aquatic injuries, etc. At the end of each chapter is a knowledge review to complete; then there is a final exam multiple choice exam, just as in the OW course.
- Second is the confined water portion, which consists of pool classes to learn the rescue techniques that we read about in the text.
- Next there will be a CPR - first aid course.
- Lastly there will be an OW portion, where we we have to demonstrate our rescue skills.
One point I'd like to pass on is one my instructor made about equipment configuration. He stressed knowing where everything is by feel so that we can access it in a hurry. I just bought a new BC and then clipped a new DAN tag on the front of it. Then in the pool when I was instructed to pull the dump valve and descend in a hurry, I found the DAN tag tangled up with the string on the dump valve. Needless to say, I will be relocating the DAN tag before our next pool session.
I have also found that the rescue techniques are harder than they sound in the book, and the importance of practicing them. Last pool session, the "victim" (pretending to be a panicked diver) managed to pull off my mask and push me under, and almost turn me into the panicked diver
! Another thing that confounded the students in my class was the variation in configuration of weights. Some students had belts, there were several who had different types of integrated weights, one had a backplate and wings, another had only pocket weights. We had to learn to deal with all types in a hurry.We practiced ascending with a deflated BC and then orally inflating it (simulating an OOA scenario); and learned buddy breathing for the first time (not difficult to do in itself, but difficult to maintain position in the water or a reasonable ascent rate, because of concentrating on the breathing). We reviewed sharing air, and I handed my husband the octopus upside down
(how many of us still practice this after completing our OW??). We also practiced towing an unresponsive diver underwater maintaining neutral buoyancy (having to adjust their buoyancy as well as our own), which simulates rescuing someone from a cave or wreck where you have to tow them out without bumping them on the floor/roof/walls along the way.Having witnessed a real-life rescue on our last dive trip, I can already see the value of this course. Can't wait for lur next trip to Coz in Nov!
