OLD DOG LEARNS NEW TRICKS: Rescue Diver

They say you're never too old to learn something new, with this in mind I decided to add a new string to my bow. I have been a diver for over twenty years first taking to the water in Thailand in 1998, over the following couple of years I increased my skill levels becoming a advanced diver and doing a couple of specialties. After that I felt no need to change much as this qualified me to dive anywhere in the world and I have enjoyed doing just that since in various countries always with my camera capturing what I see.

The Red Sea.

I now find myself living in the Philippines with my wife of 30 years who is working here as a diving instructor, a job I considered doing some twenty years back, anyhow a friend and repeat guest was doing a course with Koz (my wife) and he asked why I didn't have the certification namely Rescue diver, a fair question I thought.

This was something I had never really considered doing but with a wife as a instructor and a friend wanting someone to join him I thought what the hell why not it's a handy skill to have. So what was involved? Firstly I had to do a First aid course/Emergency first responder as it had been some years since my last one, with that done I could now take part in the rescue course.

In short the course teaches you how to recognize diving problems, react accordingly and deal with the victim. We worked through a number of practical scenarios and problems and were assessed on how we reacted and dealt with each situation. Some of these scenarios were search and recovery, dealing with unresponsive divers above and below the surface along with victim recovery and removal from the water, along with many other skills.

I of course hope I will never need to put any of this to use but I am pleased I took part and now know that in the event of a diving emergency I will able to take control of the situation and perform the necessary actions to save a injured or incapacitated diver. Having completed this course I would recommend any diver to get this certification under their belt, having the ability to help anyone in distress is a worthwhile skill.

My SDI Rescue Diver card.

This old dog learnt some new tricks why don't you? Thanks for looking at my post until next time stay safe folks!