Have you ever used your dive rescue class skills?

[Phil TK]

I'll bet any amount of money that no one does it flawlessly the first time.

R

I did, I brought a chap to the surface who had suffered passive shock -albeit only from around 10 metres and less than one minute into the dive. Nonetheless, I held he's reg in, dumped his bc and did a lovely ascent with my legs firmly clamped round his thighs. On the surface he 'came to' and rather amusingly asked if we were going down -just as if he'd no recollection of what just happened.
The guys mate later remarked that he was surprised I noticed him in shock as the guy is usually such a boring cnut it should be almost impossible to notice the difference.

Phil TK

[Scottri]

Twice. Once last year in Maui. A woman surface and was yelling for help. The boat she was diving off of never responed so I dove in and swam to her. I inflated her BC and got her calmed down and towed her to her boat. She was ok but freaked out.
I also had to rescue a guy that also did not inflate his BC on the surface. Spend a little more time talking him down while I towed him to shore.

[cowboyneal]

I think others have cited this: the best reason to take a rescue diver course is to make yourself a better, more confident and self-sufficient diver. Then, if you ever help someone out because of what you learned, that is great gravy!

CN

[wreckchick]

I did, I brought a chap to the surface who had suffered passive shock -albeit only from around 10 metres and less than one minute into the dive. Nonetheless, I held he's reg in, dumped his bc and did a lovely ascent with my legs firmly clamped round his thighs. On the surface he 'came to' and rather amusingly asked if we were going down -just as if he'd no recollection of what just happened.
The guys mate later remarked that he was surprised I noticed him in shock as the guy is usually such a boring cnut it should be almost impossible to notice the difference.

Phil TK

I stand corrected. Good on ya!

R

[Cacia]

Not me, but close friends tell of shallow water black outs and impressed me with how important it is to "spot" each other freediving.

[reefraff]

I'll probably get flamed for this - but I don't think the rescue class is needed to prevent problems underwater. What is needed is a good dive plan, good dive skills, and a good attitude. We covered rescue skills in my openwater class such as tows, escorting an unconscious diver to the surface, BC removal, and excessive taskloading.

Kudos to your open water instructor for doing such a good job with that class, now go take Rescue from him and find out what you don't know - it's not inconsequential.

In my opinion, if you had a good instructor to start with or are marginally competent you will probably be able to handle most emergency situations you may encounter down there. A better investment of time and money would be a red cross CPR course or a DAN 02 provider course.

CPR is a required part of Rescue, not a replacement.

Rescue teaches more than simple first aid/lifesaving skills. It opens minds and eyes and teaches a new attitude. It's been my experience that Rescue marks the dividing line between divers being dependent upon others and divers becoming capable of independent diving and of being a resource to other divers. In other words, the metamorphosis from tadpole to frogman. Sure, there are exceptions to this rule but be slow to count yourself amongst them.

Oh, and, yes, I have had occasion to use the obvious skills taught in Rescue, more than once. The less obvious skills get used on every dive. It's kind of a groovy feeling knowing that there are at least two people living today that would be dead except for my rescue skills.

[*Floater*]

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like a worthwhile course. Maybe I'll try to take it here in PA if the opportunity presents so I could also gain some experience with the local diving scene.

[Hoosier]

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like a worthwhile course. Maybe I'll try to take it here in PA if the opportunity presents so I could also gain some experience with the local diving scene.

LOL~~` I regard the rescue class as "MUST HAVE" one for you and your buddy. That is much better than any insurance upgrade. IMHO......

[Jim Lapenta]

Like biscuit7 said, rescue really is not just about the obvious big time pat-on-the-back stuff. It opened my eyes to things that at the time seemed minor. But put in context and added up without minor intervention could have resulted in some pretty serious if not fatal situations. And not just underwater. Recognizing building apprehension or even panic in someone doing something for the first time. Knowing when to just make your presence known to a new diver. Being able to look at a gear configuration or setup and realize, hey, that's a potential problem. All of this and more is what the rescue course is about. To me and the people we teach it to it is not about the card. It's about the knowledge, attitude, confidence, and control that is the result of successfully completeing a well taught rescue diver course. And as reef said it's a good feeling knowing that there are people who are diving today instead of not diving due to injury, death, or just a real bad experience because of your actions. And let's not forget about the all important self rescue skills. Knowing what to do when your buddy is too far away or not around at all and a problem arises, keeping calm when the stuff hits the fan, knowing to an even greater degree when the dive is too hazardous for your level of training or comfort and having the cahoneys to call it regardless of what everyone else is doing. All of this is rescue diver course stuff. Untill you take it you really don't understand unless you've got years of experience and have actually put some of this into practice like Cap and some others on here who were around before it was an official course and they had to do it on the job so to speak. I think some of them would have preferred to have had it in class form before they actually did it. And floater, where are you in pa. I can point you in the direction of a really good rescue class. PM me if interested. Jim