Considering doing SSI Stress & Rescue. Critique please?

[zebrax0r]

Hi all,

I'm fairly new to diving in general, having had my Advanced Open Water (PADI) for around 2 years now, with ~50 dives logged in a lot of different conditions. I've dived in a lot of cool places around South East Asia and Australia, so I've had a lot of fun along the way.

I'm considering getting back in the drink quite shortly now that Summer is arriving back in Australia, and I'm thinking about pursuing my SSI Stress and Rescue.

The reason I'm going with SSI rather than PADI? Well, my local dive shop aren't a PADI house, but an SSI house. Nothing more, nothing less.

What I'd like to get out of it:

1. Be a safer diver
2. Be more in control of the situation
3. Hopefully help others in trouble
4. Earn a shiny new badge
5. Hopefully have some fun

Questions:

1. Can I use an SSI cert such as this as a pre-req to become a PADI "divemaster" or "instructor", or an SSI equivalent, or is this not the right stepping stone?

2. I've got an open water advanced with around 50 dives completed/logged. Is there anything else I need to consider/do beforehand?

3. Anything I should know/good tips about the SSI Stress and Rescue before going into it?

Thanks all!

z

 

[Big Gonz]

I am also considering this as my next specialty. Two of the guys I dive with just did their course and loved it. I was told to go ahead and wait, learn a few more of the basics about diving, experience a few things and what not. They are both 20 dives up on me and they say they have a new level of comfort and respect for the water after having finished the course. As far as SSI goes, you can take that course at level 2(6 to 12 dives). With over 50 dives under your belt, you should be just fine.

From what I have seen of the course, watching their dives, it is basically like lifeguard training with SCUBA elements. I watched approaches, recoveries, how to handle a panicked diver, carries and just about every element of a good life guarding course. What I did not see was the underwater recovery portion of the test.

Like I said, my buddies feel like they are better for having taken the course. Is it hooey? I don't know, but if it works for them, it is not my place to say otherwise.

Safe diving.

 

[carriemak]

I have an SSI Stress & Rescue cert. I felt like it was the best class I ever took for scuba. I thought a lot of what I learned should have been taught in OW. However, the OW class would have to be longer and the purpose of the OW is to get you out of the classroom and into the water safely.

 

[siikik]

Because of scheduling and other factors, I ended up taking the NAUI Rescue Diver course... which SSI has told me they will accept it towards your SSI certifications.

So... I think this type of class is great because you will learn to recognize stress, both in yourself and in other divers and you will be able to act accordingly... and remember, don't be afraid to call the dive! There was a lot of training dives for my class to go through the rescue scenarios to reinforce the classwork. One thing we had permanently etched into our brains was our instructor reminding us that if we have air, we're fine. And to prove it, one of our pool skills was to jump in, not wearing any equipment, turn on our air and proceed to don our equipment at the bottom of the pool. We decided what order was best for us. The entire purpose of this exercise was to get comfortable with our equipment in the water... BTW, this is when a weight integrated BC sucks. Get a weight belt for this skill. This was a great course to update my 20 year old "Search and Rescue" specialty I had with NASDS.

One other thing, if you have the opportunity, take a first aid/CPR course that offers oxygen administration. It is a worthy addition.


Ken

 

[carriemak]

BTW, this is when a weight integrated BC sucks.

I couldn't agree with you more. Unfortunately we had to train with the gear we had, and since mine was weight integrated you know how much fun I had. Even so, the class is well worth the cost.

 

[greymatterfan]

Actually was about to post an open thread to SSI when I noticed this one and thought I would chime in..

My girlfriend and I recently took the SSI Stress & Rescue class and found out the hard way that not all classes (or instructors) are created equal.. Our class was a super basic, bare-bones class during which the instructor never even entered the pool. All in all, it was something like 30 minutes of class and 30-40 minutes of pool, covering not much more than tows. I posted another thread asking for input on SSI S&R as well - that might help you as well:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ad...s/296826-ssi-stress-rescue-class-details.html

I strongly suggest doing as much research as possible on what the class will cover prior to enrolling / paying up.. Don't find out the hard way like we did - we're trying to get a refund or re-take from a better shop, but there is a lot of back & forth and SSI themselves are not helping us much (They seem to be ignoring my emails, actually)

I both emailed & snail mailed the question of "What is this class supposed to cover?" to Watson DeVore at SSI and so far have been completely ignored. Will probably post that as an 'open letter' to SSI in another thread some time soon.

Anyway - if you find a good instructor / shop it's probably a great class! But for us, to this date, our experience has not been so good.

 

[Mr. Nice Guy]

Funny how things have changed over the years,,, about 20 or so years ago, the Naui bow out was part of basic certification training.. In the pool, we dove in with all our equipment off and put it on under water. (of course that was back when the mask window was round)

 

[zebrax0r]

(of course that was back when the mask window was round)

Hehe. Old schooling it.

Meanwhile, thanks for the wealth of replies guys. This has been pretty valuable feedback. The impression I get from it all, is that you do it to become a better, stronger and safer diver, but you want to make sure you find the right instructor who'll put the effort in.

Anything I should really know/do/buy to be prepared for it?

Cheers.

z

 

[PvtStash]

and it was alot of fun...

did some fun pool work like seeing how far you can swim on one breath...

breathing directly off of tanks...

seeing how many times you can clear your mask on one breath...

swim underwater to each corner, putting on a piece of gear as you go (mask, fins, snorkel) on one breath...

good to have some level of cardiovascular fitness for this class cus' it'll Work you.

 

[oren413]

When i did S&R for my dive con, i felt that the course was one of the best i'd even taken for scuba. this is one of the only courses i thouhgt REALLY helps you feel comfortable in emergencies. i think its a great course and DDEF recommend it.