Padi rescue diver course

[RichWilx]

Im just back from completing my Padi rescue diver course.I have to say IMO it proved to be by far the most physically challenging and rewarding course Ive had since returning to diving.
If anyone asks me about specialities etc without hesitation I'd recommend this course to anyone.
Lots of common sense stuff but a lot I just hadn't thought of.

I loved my Rescue course which was run by Diving Unlimited near London. It was probably the first time I came away from diving not feeling like a complete newbie. The final check-out scenarios that our instructors and DMs put on were challenging, fun and realistic.

 

[Colliam7]

There was an interesting incident this weekend. I was at the same site with a club member. We were making our way back to the exit, slowly coming up the slope of what was once a road. I spotted a diver, lay prone on the bottom but breathing. I looked at my buddy, who was clearly thinking the same as me. I had a quick glance around for the victim's buddy but nobody was nearby. My buddy was waving his hand in front of his face but he was not responding. I began to manoeuvre myself behind him for a CBL and signaled my intentions to my buddy. Next thing, two divers approached at some speed and we concluded we had stumbled upon a rescue course and left them to it. We surfaced monents later and looked in the direction we had come from to see the rescuers being debriefed by the instructor. The instructor then muttered somthing in our direction along the lines of us interfering, so I congratulated him for the example he was setting to his students by criticising two divers who found an unresponsive diver and followed their training.

Teaching a Rescue Diver class two years ago, I made a point of surreptitiously briefing all the divers I could see around / near the quarry entrance we were using, before we started a Distressed Diver at the Surface exercise immediately after lunch. I had my DM slip away as the students were finishing their lunch, so he was positioned about 80 yards from shore when the students came down to the water. As soon as he saw them, he went into his 'act' - yelling for help, flailing about, splashing, etc. I pointed out to the students that there appeared to be a distressed diver in the water and they need to do something, quickly. Turns out, a couple of divers had come into the quarry area during our lunch break, and were parked (and setting up) out of sight around a bend in the shoreline, on our left. So, I hadn't seen them or alerted them to what was happening (nor could they hear me call out, 'This is just a drill'). As my students were (somewhat slowly, I thought) getting in the water, and the first swimmer was heading toward the 'distressed' DM, I saw a diver (one of the new arrivals) come racing across a dock about 50 yards from us on the left, fins and mask in hand, make a tremendous (and graceful) leap into the water, and begin swimming vigorously toward the DM. He reached the DM well before the students, and was not at all pleased (a euphemism for his actual reaction) when he found out he had responded to an exercise, not a 'real' distressed diver'.

Lots of apologies were made afterward (by my DM, by me, by both of us again, etc.), and lots of compliments were paid to (and finally accepted by) the unaware diver regarding what was an almost picture perfect response to a Distressed Diver at the Surface. I also used the experience as a teaching opportunity, to point out how quickly my students should have reacted, in contrast to how slowly they actually did react. (But, was I ever embarrassed.)

 

[Easdem]

Teaching a Rescue Diver class two years ago, I made a point of surreptitiously briefing all the divers I could see around / near the quarry entrance we were using, before we started a Distressed Diver at the Surface exercise immediately after lunch. I had my DM slip away as the students were finishing their lunch, so he was positioned about 80 yards from shore when the students came down to the water. As soon as he saw them, he went into his 'act' - yelling for help, flailing about, splashing, etc. I pointed out to the students that there appeared to be a distressed diver in the water and they need to do something, quickly. Turns out, a couple of divers had come into the quarry area during our lunch break, and were parked (and setting up) out of sight around a bend in the shoreline, on our left. So, I hadn't seen them or alerted them to what was happening (nor could they hear me call out, 'This is just a drill'). As my students were (somewhat slowly, I thought) getting in the water, and the first swimmer was heading toward the 'distressed' DM, I saw a diver (one of the new arrivals) come racing across a dock about 50 yards from us on the left, fins and mask in hand, make a tremendous (and graceful) leap into the water, and begin swimming vigorously toward the DM. He reached the DM well before the students, and was not at all pleased (a euphemism for his actual reaction) when he found out he had responded to an exercise, not a 'real' distressed diver'.

Lots of apologies were made afterward (by my DM, by me, by both of us again, etc.), and lots of compliments were paid to (and finally accepted by) the unaware diver regarding what was an almost picture perfect response to a Distressed Diver at the Surface. I also used the experience as a teaching opportunity, to point out how quickly my students should have reacted, in contrast to how slowly they actually did react. (But, was I ever embarrassed.)

I remember that day well. His dive from the dock was pretty incredible. His reaction was colorful to say the least.

 

[gekodivebali]

First of all congrats to the op for passing the course.
It is very important to have this course taught by an experienced instructor. Mine was taught in a hurry at the time and i never realised how bad i had been trained until i did my dm and instructor courses and assists...
The course should be challenging from all points of view and needs to be a call to action in cases of emergency.
I'm a bit sad there are only 2 scenarii left in the Padi Rescue course, down from 4 a few years ago...

 

[rameus]

Im just back from completing my Padi rescue diver course.I have to say IMO it proved to be by far the most physically challenging and rewarding course Ive had since returning to diving.
If anyone asks me about specialities etc without hesitation I'd recommend this course to anyone.
Lots of common sense stuff but a lot I just hadn't thought of.

it is by far the best training you will receive until that stage of dive training in general - yes! once you go on there might be other challenges waiting. not only on a physical way but more intensely on a mental level. knowing your limits and raising the awareness for other divers certainly helps you assessing your personal experience for dive trips or by taking on the next step in your training.

thom

 

[Frosty]

I remember that day well. His dive from the dock was pretty incredible. His reaction was colorful to say the least.

Collium and easdem. Actually my instructor was pretty clear that I was to treat it as a real emergency senario and react accordingly.-Ie no holding back.
A fantastic reflection on society was that as I was dragging the "rescued" diver ashore I had several folks ready and willing to offer assistance. My instructor had "swept" the beach in advance but these were newcomers.
I must say that although focussed on the task at hand I was pretty proud to be a kiwi that day.

My instructor also threw in as many curve balls as possible.OOA on the ascent with a wounded/panicked diver. Then grabbing my octi so we had to share air was a bit of task loading.

One point we discussed later that day was some kind of "training" flag or sighn but then the horrible irony of a diver drowning whilst training occurred to us.