Is Rescue Diver course worth doing?

[meierdierck]

I would suggest you take the rescue first, just to gain the skills to "deal" with someone else in trouble, its not that much, so you should be on your way to saving for gear in no time, and you might learn some things about what you like and dislike in gear before you buy,

 

[DandyDon]

Yes; Rescue makes you a better, safer, diver

It can, but if you don't dive often - easy to forget too much. Owning your own Reg & BC would be more important priority I think, and if you get those, then dive more - I bet you find the money for Rescue course still.

"Melbourne (originaly from glasgow)" In Florida now? Hell yeah own your own kit, but service it appropriately. Don't become one of those Mini Season divers with out of date gear we read about in the Accidents forum.

This should have been a poll.

 

[mikeyjoe]

It can, but if you don't dive often - easy to forget too much. Owning your own Reg & BC would be more important priority I think, and if you get those, then dive more - I bet you find the money for Rescue course still.

I agree with Dandy Don - well put.

Get some gear of your own and see if you get diving on a regular/semi regular basis. The more comfortable you are under water, the more you'll get out of the course.

Good Luck.....

 

[ShakaZulu]

Yes, because you will be able to assist those vacation divers incase of an emergency....

 

[TSandM]

Well, I guess I'd analyze it this way: You ARE currently diving. You might dive more with your own equipment, but you are diving already. Whether you are diving your own equipment or rented equipment, you may well encounter problems of your own, or someone else's, during a dive. So the skills you learn in Rescue will be useful, whether you are using your own equipment or renting. On the other hand, having your own equipment, running into a problem (your own or someone else's) and not having the education to deal with it effectively, would be stressful and potentially injurious.

I'd spend the money for Rescue, and then save up for your gear. JMHO.

I don't have a high opinion of my mainstream diving education (OW, AOW, a bunch of specialties and Rescue) except for the Rescue class, which was excellent, and which I would recommend to anyone.

 

[NvScubaSteve]

I took rescue many many moons ago and will be taking it again with my wife who has been recently certified. IMHO, I suggest taking the rescue course first and getting your equipment slowly over time as your experience increases and you identify what equipment works best for you. I found that after gaining the skills I learned in rescue it helped me make better decisions regarding the equipment I wanted to own and dive regularly. The knowledge and skills learned in rescue are invaluable and prove useful on nearly every dive.

 

[Damselfish]

that's a tough choice. Since you have good diving locally, having your own gear to dive more and save on rentals seems like a good idea to me at this point.

But yes, Rescue is a really good class to take. What you might consider for now is at least getting or borrowing the Rescue book and DVD and reading it. Obviously you won't get practice in all the scenarios that way and it's not like taking the class, but there is still a lot of good info you could pick up from reading the book. And, you will have a better idea what it is about.

 

[OldNSalty]

I'll be the desenter. While it was a great course, it is a different course so understand that...it was more work then play at times. Perhaps I had a bad instructor I don't know. I am not sure I would do it again or just spend my money on diving.

I think for me, the fact that as the instructor was handing out the cards at the end of the course he said 'congrads, now you can all be sued should something go wrong on a dive.' and then explained the liability. I know the possiblility is slim but I think he should have given us that speech before taking the course.

 

[gcbryan]

I think it's a good course and I'd highly recommend it but I'd spend the money first on your own dive equipment if it means that you'll dive more. I think the rescue course is more meaningful if you are diving regularly and are a better diver before you take the course. The course doesn't teach you how to dive and if you are still struggling with that it's less meaningful in my opinion.

You can't really go wrong either way though. Both are good uses of money.

 

[kathydee]

The short answer is YES! Please read my story - it will deffinately illustrate this point. http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/near-misses-lessons-learned/268397-real-rescue-course-very-close-near-miss.html