How Being a PADI Rescue Diver Changes You
Being a PADI Rescue diver is about giving you the knowledge and skills to better care for yourself as well as other divers both in and out of the water. Divers describe this course as the most challenging, yet rewarding courses they have ever taken. If you're considering diving in, here's what you need to know about becoming a Rescue Diver.
Being a Rescue Diver is about giving you the knowledge and skills to better care for yourself as well as other divers, both in and out of the water. Divers describe this course as the most challenging, yet rewarding course they have ever taken. If you're considering diving in, here's what you need to know about becoming a PADI Rescue Diver.
It Changes Your Perspective
The PADI Rescue Diver course teaches you how to prevent and manage problems in and out of the water. We teach you how to spot warning signs that a diver might be nervous, unwell or potentially about to panic. This ability to anticipate a risky situation, whether it's from other divers or yourself, is extremely valuable. Now you're aware and engaged in a whole new way when you go diving - and we don't just mean in the water! From being on land, to the boat, to equipment, you now see things from a different perspective. Even your outlook and criteria on how you choose dive centers may be different. Together, all of these elements lead you to going diving with far more freedom and increased capabilities as a PADI Rescue Diver.
It Increases Your Confidence
With this new perspective, expect to feel a new level of confidence as a recreational diver. We teach you how to identify possible scenarios like a tired diver, panicked diver and even a non responsive diver and how you would respond to each accordingly. By learning these skills, you are now equipped with the knowledge to help others, and a greater self-awareness in recognizing your own potential problems. This increase of confidence, and knowing that you can help others if needed, is a priceless feeling you can take with you anytime you go diving.
You Become a Better Buddy
Which divers have you admired? All divers have, at some point, wanted to become a better diver. For many, it's the desire to improve buoyancy or air consumption, but as more experienced divers can tell you, it's all about having a good dive buddy. During this course, you learn to become a better buddy by practicing problem solving skills until they become second nature. Keep in mind, that even when you go fun diving, there will likely be more qualified diving Professionals around you like a PADI Divemaster or Instructor. For those divers interested in becoming a PADI Professional, the Emergency First Response & Rescue course is usually the first step in doing so.
Breaking Down the PADI Rescue Course
Rescue students on a dive with Roatan Divers
The PADI Rescue Diver course takes roughly three to four days.
Through knowledge development and rescue exercises, you learn what to look for and how to respond. These scenarios take place underwater, at the surface, and even extend to the shore. Finally once you have practiced how to handle these scenarios, you will go on two open water dives to reinforce your new knowledge and skills.
One of the most fun elements to the PADI Rescue Diver course is the instructor's ability to get creative in how they test your response time and thought process. The goal is to simulate as closely, but safely as possible, potential rescue situations. The Emergency First Response (EFR) Primary & Secondary Care is a prerequisite along with being a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver or PADI Adventure Diver. As for minimum age, younger divers between 12-14 years old are able to work towards a Junior Rescue certification.
Short on time? If you'd like to cut down on course time to take advantage of your time on the island, consider doing PADI eLearning through us to get all your bookwork done ahead of time so you can dive in right away!
If you're ready to start in on a challenging but fun scuba course that helps change your perspective, increase your confidence and generally makes you a better dive buddy, contact us today to get started!
Let's Try Scuba Diving!
You love the ocean and enjoy snorkeling. Sometimes, though, you wish you could get a little closer to the reef and all the fish, and you could do with a less less salt water in your snorkel. You've heard that it takes a few days to get your scuba certification, and you're just not sure you're ready to take such a big step. What options do you have?
You love the ocean and enjoy snorkeling. Sometimes, though, you wish you could get a little closer to the reef and all the fish, and you could do with a less less salt water in your snorkel. You've heard that it takes a few days to get your scuba certification, and you're just not sure you're ready to take such a big step. What options do you have?
Have no fear, the PADI Discover Scuba Diving program is here! In the same way that you can take a car out for a test drive before you buy it, you can try out scuba diving before pursuing your certification course. The PADI Discover Scuba Diving program is a half day course that introduces you to the underwater world while also teaching you about equipment and basic underwater safety skills. You get to experience a real dive, like certified divers do, all under the supervision of a PADI instructor to ensure your safety and comfort.
At Roatan Divers, our typical PADI DSD program looks like this:
1. Your instructor explains the essentials of what you need to know about scuba diving, your equipment and some basic scuba skills. You'll also watch a short PADI DSD video to help you visualize your underwater experience.
2. Now it's time to start blowing bubbles! You'll enter shallow water with your instructor for some underwater skills practice. We normally do this in beautiful Half Moon Bay, located right next to the dive center, where you can get comfortable with your scuba diving gear and practice what it will be like diving in open water.
3. You've built up some confidence, and now you're off to do a dive to maximum 12m/40ft in the Caribbean Sea. Your instructor will evaluate the weather and water conditions and select a dive site that's just right for your experience. We have over 30 dive sites within a 10 minute boat ride from the dive shop, so there are a ton of possibilities!
When you embark on your PADI Discover Scuba Diving experience, you will always have your experienced PADI instructor with you to help things go smoothly, and to allow you to have the best experience possible as you dive and explore the healthy, vibrant Mesoamerican reef.
If you enjoyed your PADI Discover Scuba Diving experience and want to dive some more, then let us know and we can arrange additional DSD dives with your instructor! And if you're hooked on diving and are ready to further your skills and education, then the PADI Open Water Diver course is for you. Please contact us if you have any questions or are ready to get started on your scuba diving adventure, and let us help you plan the experience of a lifetime!
What makes up a PADI Open Water Diver Course?
You have decided that you want to embark on a scuba certification course. Congratulations, you've come to the right place! We get a lot of questions regarding what makes up a PADI Open Water Diver course, so we thought we would lay it all out to give you a better idea of what to expect.
You have decided that you want to embark on a scuba certification course. Congratulations, you've come to the right place! We get a lot of questions regarding what makes up a PADI Open Water Diver course, so we thought we would lay it all out to give you a better idea of what to expect.
There are four components to the PADI Open Water Diver course: theory, confined water work, waterskills asessement, and open water dives.
The PADI Open Water Diver course normally takes 3-5 days to complete. This course certifies you to dive to a maximum depth of 18 m/60 feet.
As with all PADI courses, our PADI Open Water Diver course is performance based and not time based, meaning we will spend the time needed to make sure you will be a competent, safe diver at the end of the course.
We like to create variety in each day, so each day we will combine classroom work, confined water work, and open water dives. Most days will start at 9AM, but it all depends on performance. We have a general schedule that we like to follow, but we personalize each course to match our students' strengths and needs.
Theory
There are five chapters in the PADI Open Water Diver manual, with five Knowledge Reviews (one per chapter), four quizzes and one final exam. You will watch the PADI Open Water Diver video during your course, which works in conjunction with the PADI Open Water Diver manual. Everything in the PADI Open Water Diver course is about reinforcement - the video reinforces the knowledge you learn in the manual, which is reinforced by the Knowledge Reviews, which is reinforced by the quizzes, which is reinforced by the final exam. We like to spread the theory out so that your in-water work will then reinforce everything you learn in theory.
If you'd prefer to do your theory work prior to arrival so that you can get in the water right away, PADI has you covered! You can do your theory online through PADI e-Learning or offline through PADI Touch. Both options are a great way to get the most out of your time on Roatan and get diving!
Sign up for PADI eLearning now!
Confined Water Dives
After learning and practicing how to set up your scuba equipment, you will go into shallow water for your confined water dives. The majority of your skills practice will focus on hand signals, mask, regulator and buoyancy skills, but we will also practice different emergency skills, such as out of air, Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent (CESA), breathing from a free flowing regulators and removing and replacing your gear underwater and on the surface. We work with you until you can complete the skills comfortably. Some of these skills you will continue practicing on your open water dives, while some of them will just be done in confined water.
Waterskills Assessment
One of the requirements of your PADI Open Water Diver course is waterskills assessment, where you show that you can swim, float and complete skin diving. You will complete a 200 meter swim and a 10 minute survival float early in your course, as well as practice skin diving skills.
Open Water Dives
The best part! You will complete four open water dives during your course. On each dive, you will have some skills to complete, like mask clearing, regulator recovery, and different buoyancy procedures. All of these skills you would have practiced in your confined water dives, so it's just a refresher of the skills you already practiced. The majority of the dive is just spent diving, since practicing diving is just as important as practicing skills.
Does this all sound good to you? For more information or to sign up for your PADI Open Water Diver course, contact us at info@roatandiver.com and get started on your scuba certification course today!