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I did mine in a frozen quarry, snow on the beach, ice on the dock and had to break a thin layer of ice doing the tow. I’m due for a refresher only this time it will be in Florida :)
I was watching a class at a local beach, I take it they don’t teach CPR thru the snorkel anymore.
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I guess it’s once again not course or organization but the instructor thing. Maybe it’s also because I was doing it "off-season" and we wen’t through all this stuff over and over again in confined water (pool) so open water was just formality, but still we’ve learned (and practice) a lot.
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People go into the Rescue course thnking it’s a "diving" course. It’s not. You already know how to dive when you take that course. It’s a course designed to make you a better buddy to anyone you are diving with and how to help you deal with emergencies without becoming one yourself. When any of my folks go into the Rescue class, that’s the first thing I tell them. You learn a lot in the class if you know you aren’t there to learn to dive.
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Sorry to hear that! I thought my Rescue was the best course I have ever taken. I was challenged - stressed - but in the end I became a much more comfortable diver and a much better buddy. I guess it may throw back to the old observation - that being it really is the Instructor who makes the course either good or bad.
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I agree with what others have said it may be the instructor and how the class is taught. Mine as also done off season and when we did our open water skills there was a bonfire (It was March) waiting on shore. It was also inland in a rock quarry so the water was cold and murky with limited visibility. Yeah, we learned stuff, mostly stress management in less than ideal conditions. :-)
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After my third time carrying a 220 lb. diver up 20 steps (yes, stairs) out of the 4’ surf I knew I could call this class the most difficult thing I have ever done. My Rescue class gave me the confidence to handle many situations that I hope to never experience first hand. I could watched other students in the class fail at tasks that I found to be easy. I am now the type of diver who notices things around him, and prevents emergencies before they become one. So the experience was challenging due to the conditions, which you can never forecast, and rewarding for the insight and confidence it taught me.
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Having completed the Rescue course about a year ago, I think the idea is really to bring to the surface (pardon the pun) thought processes that make you a good diver and a good buddy, as well as lay the ground work for becoming an instructor. If you’re comfortable in and under the water, and passed your 1st Aid/CPR/AED class without trouble, adding the skills of the course isn’t going to be a big deal. So Divingbear, I think’s a tribute to your previous training and experience that you DIDN’T find the Rescue course very difficult.
That being said, what everyone is pointing out as being a challenge was the physical aspects, which includes what the individual instructors require during the practicals. My ’final’ was at a reservoir - no surf, but 0’ viz: easy to get our victims out of the water, but searching for our missing diver was virtually impossible.
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I completed my Rescue Diver training in a difficult shore diving location for that type of training on the island with other than desirable conditions of 2 to 3 foot surf that day.
Upon entering the water and trying to get through the surf zone quickly while attempting to get fins on we were hit with several rogue waves that went about 3 foot over our heads and threw two of us onto nearby lava rocks. For the next several minutes we fought to remain in control of the situation as we were pounded on the rocks repeatedly. My mask was ripped off my head and my regulator ripped from my mouth four times. Luckily I always carry a spare mask in my BCD pocket. My computer console came between the sharp point of a lava rock and my chest with enough force to disintegrate the computer, thereby saving me from being severely injured. Throughout this whole ordeal we were getting pounded with enough force that we were still struggling to get our fins on so that we could fight back against the waves. Finally the waves let up enough for us to fin up at last and get off the rocks and out into open water where we continued with the rest of the training.
I ended up having a cracked rib and a bruise about the size of a basketball on the left side of my chest along with my right leg being bruised from my hip almost to my knee from the rock pounding. What I learned throughout the class in dealing with stress in less than ideal situations helped me to remain calm and survive the incident.
When my "panicked diver" at the bottom spit out his regulator and attempted to snatch the regulator from my mouth I jerked out of his way and he snatched my mask off instead. Since I just had my mask ripped off my head by the waves a few minutes earlier, this was no big deal and I was able to remain in control and manage the situation.
From all of the various courses that I have taken through PADI, I think I learned the most from the Rescue Diver course. Both from the way the course was taught, and the unfortunate turn of events in the water on the day of finals. My instructor didn’t let up on me or cut me any slack. Performing the scenarios over and over again each time adding a different "surprise" element made me think more each time we went through them. It has made me a better diver.
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