OK... I know I have posted before about Rescue Diver...

[Fuzzmex]

I'll join the chorus.
Definitely something you want to do at home if possible.
Simply because it means more diving when on holiday.
The fun of this course won't be enhanced by doing it abroad.

 

[PatW]

I did mine locally. It was classroom work, then a long day at a local deep pool, 16' I think, then a long morning at Alexander Springs. Mine was in central FL. It is a series of drills and situations thrown at you. I don't see an advantage in going someplace with great diving and doing this kind of course.

 

[Kevrumbo]

Finding my threads is not easy...

I'm trying to find the best place to do my Rescue Diver cert and also keeping my wife happy.


Here are the parameters:


Needs to be a direct flight from Atlanta, preferably on Delta

Wife is not a diver, so a beach entry is needed at the resort. We stayed at Hotel B in Cozumel, and the deep water entry (12'+) was not a favorite for her when I was not with her.

Something more to do than Bonaire (from what I have read).

I would prefer 80 degree water. I also want to do it around February next year. I know that Bahamas and T&C can get colder than that during the winter months. This time frame is not set in stone, though.

I am thinking Grand Cayman, St. Lucia, as well as Cozumel.

Any other locations and operators??

Come on vacation AND take your Rescue Class here in offshore Southern California/Los Angeles, home of one out of only two Recompression Chambers in the US dedicated 24/7 on stand-by, solely for civilian recreational diving accidents, and a cadre of Instructors & EMS Professionals who have extensive experience treating dive casualties over many years. . .

The best most comprehensive recreational non-professional certification Rescue Diver Course is only held once a year over five consecutive days by the Univ of Southern Calif -LA County General Hospital Emergency Medicine Dept/Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber on Santa Catalina Island. You will learn and participate in the entire chain of care for the emergency treatment of dive accident casualties -from First Responder to working with LA County Lifeguard Paramedics, to transport & delivery of the patient at the Recompression Chamber on Catalina Island.

Emergency Response Diver > USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber > USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

http://dornsife.usc.edu/assets/sites/222/docs/ERD_General_Schedule.pdf

Educational Programs > USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber > USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Volunteer > USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber > USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

 

[Snoweman]

That would be cold water? I'm a spoiled, warm water diver.

 

[Marie13]

That would be cold water? I'm a spoiled, warm water diver.

Oh, dear. Can't have cold water now, can we?

 

[Snoweman]

Oh, dear. Can't have cold water now, can we?

If I am not going to dive in cold water, I see no reason to take the class in it. I realize there are beautiful things to see in the cold water, but wetsuits make me claustrophobic.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Gosh, in the time since your original post you could have taken and been done with the course here in the ATL area and been ready for that vacation.

I agree that thick wetsuits suck, but rescuing someone in need also sucks. Why not challenge yourself just a little--just for the couple of days of the course? If you can rescue someone while you're wearing less-than-perfectly-comfortable gear in in less-than-gin-clear visibility, you can rescue someone in the tropical conditions you prefer. This was kind of my thinking in taking the Deep course in North Carolina. I liked (and still like) my tropical diving as much as you do, but I felt that doing a course in slightly more challenging conditions would be beneficial. The Rescue course is for you, sure, but at the same time it's also for the people you might rescue.

 

[Bubblesong]

Come on vacation AND take your Rescue Class here in offshore Southern California/Los Angeles, home of one out of only two Recompression Chambers in the US dedicated 24/7 on stand-by, solely for civilian recreational diving accidents, and a cadre of Instructors & EMS Professionals who have extensive experience treating dive casualties over many years. . .

The best most comprehensive recreational non-professional certification Rescue Diver Course is only held once a year over five consecutive days by the Univ of Southern Calif -LA County General Hospital Emergency Medicine Dept/Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber on Santa Catalina Island. You will learn and participate in the entire chain of care for the emergency treatment of dive accident casualties -from First Responder to working with LA County Lifeguard Paramedics, to transport & delivery of the patient at the Recompression Chamber on Catalina Island.

Emergency Response Diver > USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber > USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

http://dornsife.usc.edu/assets/sites/222/docs/ERD_General_Schedule.pdf

Educational Programs > USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber > USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Volunteer > USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber > USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Hi @Kevrumbo do you know if they will be scheduling classes for 2018? The website mentions a Chamber Day in May 2018, but nothing about scheduling classes for training in Rescue or Hyerbaric Chamber training. I could ask Ken Curtis, i think he is involved at the facility?
Thank you!

 

[Kevrumbo]

Hi @Kevrumbo do you know if they will be scheduling classes for 2018? The website mentions a Chamber Day in May 2018, but nothing about scheduling classes for training in Rescue or Hyerbaric Chamber training. I could ask Ken Curtis, i think he is involved at the facility?
Thank you!

Keep trying the usual contact route via website, or contact moderator @TC here on scubaboard, who is an on staff Crew Shift Supervisor, and see if he knows a schedule yet.

 

[tc]

The mainland crew training class is the last weekend in january. I don't think we have any others scheduled yet.