Broadreach

[Sue J]

A question for super scuba girl or anyone else with Broadreach experience- My son is planning to get his AOW this summer and wants to do a 3-week Broadreach liveaboard in the summer of ’09. He’s seen on the BR website that he could conceivably get both his Rescue and Master Diver certifications on the trip, and he’s eager to try.

Although it would be technically possible for him to reach Master Diver on a 21 day trip, my guess is that it would not be practical. So my question is, what would you recommend as prep if he were to attempt this? Would one or two PADI specialties done in advance be sufficient? If so, do you have any sense of which courses would give him a head start without duplicating training he’d get on the boat?

As background, he’s now a 7th grader, so he’d be in the program for younger teens. He’ll have about 20 dives under his belt by the time he starts AOW this summer. He’s of average strength, skill, size and enthusiasm for a diver his age. In other word, he’s a competent diver but he’ll need some down time on this trip and won’t be clamoring to add dives when the other kids are hanging out.

Although we plan to ask these questions of BR, I thought those of you who’ve experienced a BR trip could give us another perspective. Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide.

 

[matts1w]

Sue J-

I have worked for BR for a few years- including one stint working the 7th and 8th grade boat a few summers ago. Talk about a ton of work. Those middle schoolers wore me out but were also very fun.

Broadreach is an amazing program, and if you have the means to send your son on a trip he will be very fortunate. Talk to the office and read all you can. What you will hear from former students and parents is a strong testimony of Carlton's (the owner's) ideals and goals. I have been teaching high school and coaching for 12 years, and think BR truly teaches young people skills we value most- independence, leadership, tolerance, and care for the environment.

As for the master scuba diver .... remember it is a junior maser scuba diver cert as many of the usual specialties such as deep and wreck wont be an option for him being under 15. If he comes to BR with junior aow he can earn (and I do mean earn)junior rescue as well as five specialties. Broadreach expects that EVERY dive has an educational goal connected to a course. This may be PPB, fish Id, coral id, night, etc. Also, the kids are doing three dives a day- sometimes more. We take safety and standards very seriously. For instance, we require PFDs be worn on every moving boat- even the instructors are wearing life jackets. You wont see that with other programs.

Your son will walk away from BR certainly a better diver, but also a better leader and full of amazing memories.

 

[mikeymeeg]

Hi Sue J -
Just as an alternative when considering a program for your son, you might like to take a look at some of the other teen scuba camps out there that also offer similar programs to Broadreach as there are a number out there!

I must admit to being a little biased as I too am an instructor and have worked with ActionQuest since 1995! For over 30 years, ActionQuest has offered water-based adventure training programs for teens around the world and today, AQ remains the most trusted name in teen adventure programming. Naturally the hard skills that are learned on a trip are similar between the Broadreach and ActionQuest yet I believe that AQs strengths lie in its long history, staff interaction and unique program design that incorporates safety from the ground up.

Just talking statistics, the numbers speak for themselves, seven out of ten shipmates join AQ because of a personal recommendation or are returning for a second summer. Seventy five percent of the professional staff return each year and over half were once students themselves.

Programs are very age appropriate and students are grouped within a 6 months to 1 yr. bracket. You should take a quick look through the site at Teen Scuba Diving Camps, Sailing Camps, Marine Biology Camp. Action Quest. Summer Camps for Teenagers. Summer adventure camps, Scuba Diving Camp programs and then select the correct age bracket for your son. As a junior he can select from any of the advanced diving voyages , some of which incorporate some marine science too. The programs are all multifaceted, which is important for someone of your son's age. Diving is a focus but it is about so much more than that... plus, as a Jr. there is some research out there to suggest that diving adolescents too hard is not good for development and that is why PADI regulates them a little in terms of max depth for their training dives etc. It's all about the education and the quality, not the quantity!

Anyway, hope the info helps!

 

[Scubermon]

Hello Sue J,

If your son is trying to achieve the Master Scuba Diver Rating, keep in mind that among the qualifications he must have proof via logbook of 50 logged dives, in addition to the other certification requirements.

David Muncher, Director
Water Planet Adventures Teen Scuba and Sailing Programs
waterplanetadventures.com

 

[seibert.kyle]

I am not trying to discourage your son in any way. However, when I think of a rescue diver or master diver i tend to think of someone strong enough to act in an emergency. I can totally see why he is so eager(for I want to do something similar on when I go to Braodreach this summer) but i would try to spradthings out. If he packs it all in into one trip, we is likely to retain less. In addition, do you think he would be able to rescue someone? With his body not fully developed. Again, I can see why this is tempting.

I would like to see the scuba community recieve certifications not only for taking the course, but becauss they are capable of performing all tasks. Of course, he would not complete the course if he was inadequate, but still. I know that I will wait a year at least between certifications to ensure that I absorb everything I learned. the more you dive, the more comfortable you are and the more likely you will become a "master diver". I am getting my AOW this summer and I already have 60 dives. i wanted to become totally comfortabe in the water before i movde on.

Hope this helps, and remember. Rescue and Master certs are for those around him, to help.

 

[Sue J]

Thanks to all who replied to my question.

We've researched a number of programs with our son and he seems to have settled on Broadreach. (Yeah, you can't help but love the sexy BR website!) We've got a full year before we need to sign up, so we have plenty of time to talk to references and make a final decision.

I don't anticipate that he'll have trouble with reaching the 50-dive mark. Between now and his planned summer trip in '09 we expect to take two family trips to Mexico and another to Australia, all involving diving. In addition, he plans to spend a lot of this summer diving locally and working on his skills in both fresh and salt water. The owner of our LDS has agreed to mentor him.

Kyle, I appreciate your concerns. I'm not particularly worried about his ability to carry out the physical tasks involved in the rescue class. At 5'6" and 140 lbs. he's already the size and strength of the average adult woman. What I want to be really sure about is his psychological readiness to act in an emergency. So far he's shown himself to be pretty level-headed.

I also concur about the timing being a bit tight for optimum learning, and I don't want to see him push himself to dive when he shouldn't, which is why we've all (diver, parents, mentor) agreed he should learn some new skills before embarking on an intensive program.

Kyle, I hope you'll report back on you experience at the end of the summer. Let us know how it goes!

 

[seibert.kyle]

I will definitely be posting my BR experience. I have never been so excited for something in my life. My best wishes to your son!

 

[seibert.kyle]

I am going on the Broadreach trip this summer(underwater discoveries) and it is 14 days in the St. Martin area. I am already certifies for 6 years and will be getting my Advanced. Recently, I am a little worried. I was wondering if anyone with experience on this trip or a Broadreach representative could give me some assurance that I will not be underchallenged. I do not want to only dive beginner sites, as I feel comfortable in the water and have already done night dives and what PADI considers "deep".

Its a little too late, but anyone saying that this trip will not be below me would be great!