Should I get "re-Certified" or take a Refresher scuba course?

[GR8FUL]

I got OW certified about 30 years ago, AOW cert 25 years ago, and nitrox cert about 12 years ago. I never really bothered to keep up with a log book, but I'm sure I have at least 200+ dives. I didn't do much diving for 10 years, but last year went to Cozumel, spent nearly 2 weeks diving and had zero issues--pretty much like riding a bike, no? No problems with buoyancy control, controlling my breathing, my descent / ascent rate, etc.. All-in-all I felt very comfortable in the water.

HOWEVER, I couldn't use a dive chart or fill out a dive profile if my life depended on it! For the 1st week in Coz I simply stayed w/ my buddy (who had a computer) and followed him--when he went up, I went up. The second week I rented a dive computer and did whatever the "beeps" told me to do.

I'm guessing that I'm not the only one who's forgotten all the classwork instruction, paper/pencil & chart skills, etc., & it seems like everyone dives with computers these days, as long as my skills in the water are solid does the classroom stuff really matter?

 

[tursiops]

You really do need to learn to dive with either tables or your own computer, preferably the latter. Whether you call this "classroom" or not is immaterial...you need to be somewhat self-sufficient and not totally depending on some buddy who may or may not know what he/she is doing.

I'd recommend a refresher with the proviso you can arrange for the time to be spent mainly on dive planning and execution.a You could probably even set up a private session with an instructor for this material only, so you can be as efficient as possible.

 

[caruso]

You sound like a typical vacation diver to me. I doubt 90% of them could plan a dive using tables without sitting down with them for a while. I'm not even sure I could.

Doesn't sound like you have any skills issues, although I guess you never know until you experience a dive that isn't ordinary. At the very least, I would suggest knowing how to read your dive computer- let the shop who rents it to you explain it's features and how to set it properly.

 

[tursiops]

You sound like a typical vacation diver to me. I doubt 90% of them could plan a dive using tables without sitting down with them for a while. I'm not even sure I could.

Then YOU ought to sit down with someone and get refreshed as well!

 

[Damselfish]

Recognizing what you need to work on is a good thing and maybe half the battle. Understanding tables is helpful but in this day getting a computer and understanding it is the practical route. Maybe you can work on it yourself with the simulators online, maybe you can get someone to work with you - whatever works. I don't know if the typical refresher would concentrate on this and re-certification sounds like overkill if you truly don't have issues in the water.

Since you were out awhile and maybe not really keeping up with things, it couldn't hurt to get your hands on recent OW & AOW manuals to review and see whats changed. Or haunt Scubaboard for awhile.

 

[caruso]

Then YOU ought to sit down with someone and get refreshed as well!

If I needed to figure out the dive tables in a pinch then I could, though I'd probably need a few minutes.. I carry 2 computers plus a 3rd in my save-a-dive kit so it's probably never going to happen.

 

[GR8FUL]

You really do need to learn to dive with either tables or your own computer, preferably the latter. Whether you call this "classroom" or not is immaterial...you need to be somewhat self-sufficient and not totally depending on some buddy who may or may not know what he/she is doing.

I'd recommend a refresher with the proviso you can arrange for the time to be spent mainly on dive planning and execution.a You could probably even set up a private session with an instructor for this material only, so you can be as efficient as possible.

I should have mentioned this in my initial post, I'm definitely planning on getting my own computer. So I guess the edited question is, if I have a computer and know how to use it, is there any reason why I need to know / remember all that other classroom instruction?

 

[rjack321]

If I needed to figure out the dive tables in a pinch then I could, though I'd probably need a few minutes.. I carry 2 computers plus a 3rd in my save-a-dive kit so it's probably never going to happen.

I could readily use the tables I actually learned on in the 1990s (NAUI and PADI versions) but some other agencies have tables that are not at all intuitive to me. So you're not alone that it might take awhile (depending on the table)

 

[rjack321]

I should have mentioned this in my initial post, I'm definitely planning on getting my own computer. So I guess the edited question is, if I have a computer and know how to use it, is there any reason why I need to know / remember all that other classroom instruction?

I haven't seen you but I would say LOTS of people say they're comfortable and have good buoyancy etc. Yet they are train wrecks in the water. There's definitely value in doing a refresher with a good instructor - specifically one who video tapes you so you can work on deficiencies (we all have them). The incremental benefits in reducing gas consumption, avoiding contact with the reef, being stable while task loaded with a camera or SMB, maintaining decent gas reserves, etc are often large with even just a couple days of tutoring from a skilled professional.

 

[yle]

I should have mentioned this in my initial post, I'm definitely planning on getting my own computer. So I guess the edited question is, if I have a computer and know how to use it, is there any reason why I need to know / remember all that other classroom instruction?

Well, yeah... you should still remember all the stuff you learned in class. But you most likely do remember most of it! Your original OW class covered everything that people who are new to diving need to know to get certified. If you were to re-take the class, for the majority of the time you would be thinking "I already know that."

If you're an active diver and have no problems with skills, there is really no logical reason to retake the class or even a full "refresher" (because a typical refresher class focuses on practicing skills.) It sounds like you just need to recall how to use a dive table and how that relates to the use of a dive computer. You could probably do this on your own... dive tables are just "depth and time" and a few simple calculations. But if you want to hire an instructor to show you, I would think a comprehensive lesson would take less than an hour.