64 replies to this topic

[WreckWench]

I believe you are confusing rescue with Search and Recovery.

At this hour of the am...I'm likely to confuse ANYTHING...I guess I always called my rescue class just that...Rescue and never paid attention to the Stress part.

Doh!!! Can you say....BLONDE?????

Yep! I know you can!!!! -ww

[Coo's Toe]

Thank you again...I hope that anyone who is interested in these disciplines contact you for more information. -ww

P.S. if I may ask...how far have you personally taken your certifications too?

WW, certainly anyone who's interested in details about GUE training can contact me offline for additional info. I'd hate to spend too much time on this board discussing them though. A quick visit to Scubaboard, The Scuba Stop, and probably any other online diving board will show you why.

The classes I've completed so far? PADI Open Water, Rescue Diver, and Nitrox, DAN O2 Provider, and CPR refresher course through the same instructor, and, DIR-Fundamentals. I enrolled in the PADI Divemaster course a few months back, but after reading the entire book cover to cover, and attending the first class session, I had a complete change of heart about going professional, and dropped out of the program. ( maybe I'll tell everyone the whole story another time )

Classes I plan to take in the future? A good wreck class that includes penetration skills, mixed gas certification ( which will probably be earned over several classes as I can afford the time and money over the next couple of years ), and possibly cave training too ( when will there be a single divers trip to Akumal, Mexico??? )

Erin

[Lubold8431]

Well, I started diving exactly 10 years ago, got OW certified. Then, I didnt dive all that much (all of about 50 dives) over the next five years. I got back into, seriously, because a friend of mine was going on a trip to the FL keys. So, I got real excited about diving again, and started diving like mad. On that trip (or just before) I got my Advanced Open Water (which I did thru SSI, and the specialties were Boat, Deep, Night, and Equipment) and I did Nitrox. Then, we when got back from FL, over the next two years, I did Wreck, Cavern, Navigation, Stress and Rescue, and Search and Recovery for my Master Diver Cert, and two more specialties, drysuit and computer. I was having fun, building my skills, and my experience at the same time. Then, I got a job at a dive shop, started working on my DiveCon (SSI DM and AI), got that, started assisting with classes, and then got my Instructor card. Then, I got my Advanced Instructor card (thankfully because I did all those specialties earlier, I could now teach them too), then I most recently completed my Divecon Instructor (which means that I can teach Divecons now). So, after ten years of diving, I have done OW, 12 specialties, DC, and Instructor, and logged over 500 dives.
Oh, and I also went on to Technical diving training, completed TDI Advanced Nitrox, Deco Procedures, and IANTD Deep Diver, and Im now working on finishing up Extended Range / Trimix certification, and I also plan on doing full cave this year. I also did Nitrox and Trimix blender certs, and went thru training for service technician for Aqualung, Apeks, Mares, Dacor, Sherwood, Genesis, Poseidon, Oceanic, and O2 service tech.

Whew. Thats it. That was my progression, I dont think everyone should do that, but I do think that building skills and experience is very important. Having a good Instructor that can help you with those is very important. For most of my OW students, I suggest that they get some experience, dive, dive, dive, and work on their skills. Then, we they are ready, take the AOW (which my class consists of Boat, Deep, Night, and Navigation). This class builds upon everything you learned in OW, and introduces new skills and challenges. Then, I suggest Nitrox (or even do that before AOW). Also, I believe a Rescue class is beneficial to every diver. Then, the rest is up to you. If you want to go on to a leadership level, or technical, you should gain more experience, and then seek out a qualified instructor for additional training.

[WreckWench]

( when will there be a single divers trip to Akumal, Mexico??? )

Erin

Hey this could be a fun idea as well! We could do a more teckie single divers trip! Hey somebody ask ChickDiver to join us...she is awesome as a technical diver and single!! LOL!!!

[WreckWench]

Well, I started diving exactly 10 years ago, got OW certified. Then, I didnt dive all that much (all of about 50 dives) over the next five years. I got back into, seriously, because a friend of mine was going on a trip to the FL keys. So, I got real excited about diving again, and started diving like mad. On that trip (or just before) I got my Advanced Open Water (which I did thru SSI, and the specialties were Boat, Deep, Night, and Equipment) and I did Nitrox. Then, we when got back from FL, over the next two years, I did Wreck, Cavern, Navigation, Stress and Rescue, and Search and Recovery for my Master Diver Cert, and two more specialties, drysuit and computer. I was having fun, building my skills, and my experience at the same time. Then, I got a job at a dive shop, started working on my DiveCon (SSI DM and AI), got that, started assisting with classes, and then got my Instructor card. Then, I got my Advanced Instructor card (thankfully because I did all those specialties earlier, I could now teach them too), then I most recently completed my Divecon Instructor (which means that I can teach Divecons now). So, after ten years of diving, I have done OW, 12 specialties, DC, and Instructor, and logged over 500 dives.
Oh, and I also went on to Technical diving training, completed TDI Advanced Nitrox, Deco Procedures, and IANTD Deep Diver, and Im now working on finishing up Extended Range / Trimix certification, and I also plan on doing full cave this year. I also did Nitrox and Trimix blender certs, and went thru training for service technician for Aqualung, Apeks, Mares, Dacor, Sherwood, Genesis, Poseidon, Oceanic, and O2 service tech.

Whew. Thats it. That was my progression, I dont think everyone should do that, but I do think that building skills and experience is very important. Having a good Instructor that can help you with those is very important. For most of my OW students, I suggest that they get some experience, dive, dive, dive, and work on their skills. Then, we they are ready, take the AOW (which my class consists of Boat, Deep, Night, and Navigation). This class builds upon everything you learned in OW, and introduces new skills and challenges. Then, I suggest Nitrox (or even do that before AOW). Also, I believe a Rescue class is beneficial to every diver. Then, the rest is up to you. If you want to go on to a leadership level, or technical, you should gain more experience, and then seek out a qualified instructor for additional training.

Hey thanks for sharing...you have a great diving background!! I need to see YOU on an NC Wreckdiving trip soon!!! It is right up your alley...besides getting to dive on U-boats and U-boat victims...you get to capture a piece of our history and if you find a floor tile or bullet...you can keep those as well!!! -ww

[No Pressure]

I am taking the Stress and Rescue class.  

Has the name been changed from "Search and Rescue"??? Gosh...maybe I'm dating myself here! LOL!!!

Hey WW. Dating yourself?!?!??!
Isn't that against the singledivers.com rule book?

[DiverDoug]

Different training agencies refer to the course by different names. With PADI, it's Rescue Diver. I think it's NAUI that calls it Stress and Rescue, but I'm not sure, so please don't quote me.

Taking additional training at your point should be based on what you want to do. If you like wrecks and want to do penetration dives, that should be your next goal. Caverns and caves are a whole nother ball game. There are some excellent cave/cavern instructors around the springs areas in Fla. If you're interested I'll send you the contact info from where I took my cavern course. Love the caverns, but have no real interest in becoming full cave certified.

Just remember that education is not a destination, but a journey.

Doug

[Lubold8431]

Hey thanks for sharing...you have a great diving background!! I need to see YOU on an NC Wreckdiving trip soon!!! It is right up your alley...besides getting to dive on U-boats and U-boat victims...you get to capture a piece of our history and if you find a floor tile or bullet...you can keep those as well!!! -ww

Yes, NC is on my short list of dive trips that I want to do. Seeing that its a domestic trip makes it easier for me, and that means it might happen!!!

[Diverbrian]

I am taking the Stress and Rescue class.  

Has the name been changed from "Search and Rescue"??? Gosh...maybe I'm dating myself here! LOL!!!

No, you aren't dating yourself. VAScubaGirl is telling us which agency trained her.

SSI calls their course "Stress and Rescue". The idea is to recognize and allievate "stress" in a diver BEFORE it turns into a "rescue". This covers pre-dive, during the dive and after the dive. The "Rescue" part is obvious, LOL.

[WreckWench]

Hey thanks for sharing...you have a great diving background!! I need to see YOU on an NC Wreckdiving trip soon!!! It is right up your alley...besides getting to dive on U-boats and U-boat victims...you get to capture a piece of our history and if you find a floor tile or bullet...you can keep those as well!!!  -ww

Yes, NC is on my short list of dive trips that I want to do. Seeing that its a domestic trip makes it easier for me, and that means it might happen!!!

Oooh great!!! We have 2 different SingleDivers.com trips there this year...4th of July and first weekend in October and RedWetandBlueDiving.com the charter I use in NC has several more then that this year as well.

Let me know which one you are most interested in!! They are all great of course!! I'll post them in the singles trip section of the Surface Interval but they are also posted under Upcoming Trips on the main website. -ww

[WreckWench]

I am taking the Stress and Rescue class.  

Has the name been changed from "Search and Rescue"??? Gosh...maybe I'm dating myself here! LOL!!!

No, you aren't dating yourself. VAScubaGirl is telling us which agency trained her.

SSI calls their course "Stress and Rescue". The idea is to recognize and allievate "stress" in a diver BEFORE it turns into a "rescue". This covers pre-dive, during the dive and after the dive. The "Rescue" part is obvious, LOL.

Thanks Brian....I didn't realize that but it sure makes sense!! -ww

[WreckWench]

Hey WW. Dating yourself?!?!??!
Isn't that against the singledivers.com rule book?

And as for you my friend...yes I guess that would be against the rules...however it might give new meaning to "single" and "diving"...or is that "single" and "dating"????

[Marvel]

I guess there are a couple more things I wanted to add here. They relate to what I said about the DIR-F class and to taking classes in general.

While I think it IS important to take classes to improve your diving, I kind of disagree with the mentality that seems to stress the progression from class to class being a quick and necessary thing. What I think IS important, if you really want to improve your diving, is to take the time to master what you've already learned in the classes you've taken. I've met many divers who rushed from OW certification straight into AOW class, Rescue, and sometimes even farther, but never developed mastery of the basic skills that WERE taught in their OW class. They don't have total control of buoyancy, they have to stop kicking and use two hands to clear a partially flooded mask, and are lacking in many other basic skills even though they have a nice collection of C-cards in their wallet. Why?

Practice what you learned in the classes you've already taken. Use your 3 minute safety stop to do a practice an OOA emergency ( if you're nice, you'll discuss this with your buddy BEFORE the dive!!! ) or to completely remove your mask, replace it, and clear it while your buddy watches you to ensure there are no problems. practice tired diver tows on your swim back to shore. Many people just do the required skills in OW class and then never touch them again, and never gain the real comfort level that practicing them would bring. Instead they start looking for the "next" class that will "improve" their skills. Sure, taking classes and challenging youself in that way WILL benefit your diving, but only if you are practicing the basics and giving yourself a solid foundation on which those new classes will build.

Which brings me back to the whole DIR-F thing. GUE is an agency that started out teaching more advanced level classes focused on cave and technical diving, ie the extreme types of diving. But the problem they were running into with a lot of the students showing up to take their classes was that the students didn't have a mastery of the basic skills like mask clearing, air sharing, and buoyancy control. They had to introduce the Fundamentals class to re-teach the basics before the students were ready to move on to the more advanced stuff.

So don't let those basic skills get rusty on you in your quest to move on to bigger and better things. Get an idea of where you want your diving adventures to take you, and remember that a mastery of basic OW skills is what will get you there. Once you're truely comfortable with the basics, any class you take will benefit you more, since you'll be able to focus on the new material and skills instead of fighting to overcome deficencies that a little bit of regular practice would've turned into second nature.

Truly some great suggestions here- you are really making me think! Like most divers, I haven't practiced any of the skills I was taught in OW, with the exception of mask clearing & stretching, & would probably not fare so well if I needed them. Guess I need to find a buddy who is willing to work with me on some of these things.

[VaScubaGirl]

Wow..thanks for the info Erin! Yes I will be taking the Stress and Rescue class through SSI. Now please forgive my ignorance but are DIR and GUE philosophies that are taught by agencies like SSI, SDI and PADI? Or are they completely separate?

As for the basic skills...actually I practice a lot of my open water/ AOW skills on dives. Often I am diving with divers who are taking pictures or spearing fish so when I am floating around waiting for them I entertain myself by navigating by landmarks, practicing bouancy, finning, etc. However, I always use two hands to clear my mask...hmm...looks like I have something new to try! The only skills I haven't practice with a fair amount of regularity are things like taking my gear off and on underwater.

So I start my S&R class next month...wish me luck!

[Diverbrian]

Wow..thanks for the info Erin! Yes I will be taking the Stress and Rescue class through SSI. Now please forgive my ignorance but are DIR and GUE philosophies that are taught by agencies like SSI, SDI and PADI? Or are they completely separate?

As for the basic skills...actually I practice a lot of my open water/ AOW skills on dives. Often I am diving with divers who are taking pictures or spearing fish so when I am floating around waiting for them I entertain myself by navigating by landmarks, practicing bouancy, finning, etc. However, I always use two hands to clear my mask...hmm...looks like I have something new to try! The only skills I haven't practice with a fair amount of regularity are things like taking my gear off and on underwater.

So I start my S&R class next month...wish me luck!

I am not DIR, but I do know this much:

DIR is basically the method diving prescribed by the Global Underwater Explorers. They are entirely separate from SSI, NAUI, PADI and the others. Since GUE does not yet teach an OW class, GUE instructors are instructors with another agency as well. However, when they teach a GUE class, it is with GUE standards which are different than the others (I don't wish to get into contest here. So if we have someone ready to jump in on that comment, please keep in mind that I say that with respect not derision.)

In short, DIRf is taught separately from any SSI, NAUI, PADI.... courses that you may take.

Stress and Rescue is a very useful course. Have fun and you will do well!