Training Advice Please...

[tom]

I've been thinking about what training I probably need over the next couple of years to dive in the UK. I'm currently AOW.

The kind of diving I am aiming to do for the forseeable future is relatively standard recreational stuff, judging by what I see in people's trip reports. Technical diving, or deep / long deco stuff is not currently on the agenda. I want to be able to dive safely and comfortably to depths in the region of 30m, with reasonable bottom times.

So, what I see myself as needing are:

1) rescue skills. Number 1 priority.
2) awareness of decompression procedures and ability to handle a little deco if necessary
3) nitrox, for safety and extended bottom times.
4) a club environment for access to training pool, buddies, etc

So, two questions really:

a) is there anything missing from my list in terms of the training I need?
b) what's the most "efficient" (cheapest and fastest, though I'm aware those may be mutually exclusive...) route to acquiring these skills?

I've done all my training through PADI so far. I'm about to join a PADI club / training organisation, been diving with them already, and I'm probably about to sign up to do the Rescue Diver course with them. There are also BSAC and SAA clubs in my area.

Any advice people have on the best way to proceed would be welcome. I don't want to start any kind of agency-bashing thing here - I don't care what the letters on the certification card say, and I'm happy to go for training from multiple organisations (e.g. PADI for Rescue then TDI for nitrox, or something).

So, what should I do?

Tom

[Mr T.]

Hey Tom,

No doubt others will have their own input (this is YD after all), but it appears to me to be a well thought out and comprehensive list of aims/goals - with the possible caveat (if you have put them in any preference of achievement) that you don't need your Rescue Diver to do your Nitrox ticket. I'd get that out of the way soonest mate.

And yes, I'd do the TDI combined Basic and Advance Nitrox course - £135. Like you, I came up the PADI route and binned it at Dive Master. Their Rescue Diver course (assuming you get a good instructor!) is the best awareness course they do IMHO. It's rigourous and makes you think about what to do to prevent accidents becoming incidents BEFORE you get in the water, and then how to deploy if/should you need to on an event, both for yourself and other any divers diving with you.

Like your approach.

Good luck with it all mate.

[daz]

Just second Bren's comments really.

The PADI Rescue course is excellent with the right instructor.  

As for Nitrox then the TDI basic/advanced is more comprehensive than the PADI EANx speciality.

Have a think about redundancy with regard to 30m dives, I would think a pony would suffice for the type of diving you are looking at (oh no here goes another twins vs pony ruck).  (That is assuming you are not already into that way of thinking! )

Daz

[Paul Oliver]

Tom

On the Pony issue, your air consumption rate at the moment would possibly be stretching a Pony from 30-35m with a controlled assent and some safety stops.

However with a bit more experience of our conditions i would expect that rate to come down quickly and the time you would get out of that Pony would improve rapidly.

Then again diving with me, and the exitment of meeting Howards suit probably pushed your breathing rate up anyway

As with Bren i like your thought process on this issue.

Dive Safe, Dive Nitrox

Paul

[Andy Phillips]

Tom,

Like everybody else what you have put seems a well thought out and logical progression, I have add I think a pony is an essential piece of kit.

Perhaps (as long as you don't smoke) the DIR-F course would be a good one to think about as it promotes a good diving position and helps a lot with kit configeration. But beware, the might indoctrinate you, they are after all the sub-aqua branch of the moonies (kidding, honest I am .................I think)

Andrew

[Dominic]

Something you may find worth a look is being organised on UKRS at the moment:
http://calumscott.port5.com/ukrs/rescue_diver_2003
It's basically a few instructors running a bunch of PADI courses plus extras to give your standard AOW-type diver the skills he needs for UK diving - it includes Rescue stuff, dSMB use, buddying rebreather divers...

[Geoff Oldfield]

I too like your thinking Tom. Again, no agency bashing here but experience is key to diving in UK waters. A club is a great way of going diving with like minded people who you can meet and dive with on a regular basis. If you want to you can train with them too as well as use their equipment and expertise at a reasonable cost. As has been said above, instruction depends on the quality of your instructor, PADI courses are fine in this respect but they are focused on ramping up the next course as they are a professional organisatio set up to provide precisely that service. There are PADI clubs, but I have little personal experience of them. SAA and BSAC branches are mellowing now and tend to accept members of whatever code of learning and many are quite prepared to let you stick with the code you set off with rather than insist on a crossover. Diving abroad is OK (just returned from a week in the Red Sea, complete with an enforced 2 day delay thrown in - nice) but it really is easy peasy holiday diving. UK diving, in my opinion is amongst the best in the world and you are right to press ahead and sample it's delights. Enjoy, and dive safe.

Regards

Geoff Oldfield

[MATTBIN]

Dom
like the sound of that but the links not working?

Matt

[Dominic]

It keeps doing that - I think it's a server problem.

Keep trying, it'll come back in a while.

It's being run at Horsea, by the way, so it's more useful for the shandy-drinking contingent I'm taking part as one of the victims people will have to rescue...

[Dominic]

It'a back up.
To forestall any further problems, here's an extract:

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ]Option 1: Everything!

Includes:-

PADI Emergency First Response, course materials and PIC

PADI Rescue Diver, course materials and PIC

DAN Oxygen Administration, course materials and certification

UK Skills training (which I understand will be under the guise of a PADI Discover Local Diving course)

Entry to Horsea Island



Cost: £235





Option 2: EFR Not required

Includes:-

PADI Rescue Diver, course materials and PIC

DAN Oxygen Administration, course materials and certification

UK Skills training (which I understand will be under the guise of a PADI Discover Local Diving course)

Entry to Horsea Island



Cost: £190



Neither option includes accommodation, food or beer.  Should you need accommodation let me know and I'll figure something out.





UK Skills:  The UK Skills course is quite flexible, details of what we are going to get will be posted here once we decide what they will be.  If there is anything you would like to see in the course let me know.



- SMB and DSMB use.

- Buddying a Rebreather Diver

- Rebreather rescue





Prerequisites:



- PADI Advanced Open Water Certification



A drysuit is _not_ a prerequisite for the course but I can guarantee that if you attempt to dive Horsea Island in January in a wetsuit or semidry you will give up diving on the spot (or just go and buy a drysuit).  Frank and Jan have offered, for anyone who doesn't have drysuit training or experience, to do the speciality for £99 and if you do this with them they will do a free drysuit rental for the Rescue Diver course.





Extras:  Frank and Jan can also offer the following extras:-



PADI Distinctive Certification Oxygen Administration -  £15.

PADI Emergency First Response Video - £15.

PADI Deluxe Emergency First Response Binder - £TBC

It's 9-11 Jan 2004, at Horsea dive center.