PSD/SAR Training

[LuvMyKidz]

At the risk of starting a holy war...

Is one major dive education organization's curriculum "better" than others for basic development of a Public Safety/SAR diver? Also which courses are the most important? My current thinking is (in order of importance) Rescue, Search and Recovery, U/W Nav, Dry, and Night.

I'm not concerned about having my ticket punched by going through class after class to collect patches but I think those are most likely to cover the necessary skills and then practice and experience will improve what I've learned.

Any additional input will always be welcome.

Thanks,
Mike

[DeepDiverBob]

I am not one to say what is more important than another, but I would agree that rescue is very important. Also, looking at your list, I would put Nav in front of S&R, simply because you need to know how to use your compass for quite a few of the search patterns.

I would also include nitrox on your list, but it all depends mostly on what kind of diving you plan on doing.

[juls64]

IMHO....
The agency is not as important as the instructor. An instructor that is familiar with the conditions you plan to dive in can help make the class more challenging and informative as well as insuring that you are prepared for whatever you may need to do.

[VuDuLou]

Have to agree with the above(s)...outside of 'in house' training and LDS, the only other course I've taken was the RDSAR/R from LGS...It was a demading course but a lot of fun...Butch Hendricks was our chief instructor and I really enjoyed the course....

[SLIM]

PSD diving is no way close to rereational diving. The training for PSD and the way you go about it is differnat. If you try to get all these classes before you start PSD then you can devlope bad habits for PSD. There are very few agencyies that have true PSD classes. You need to contact the PSD agency that you will be taking classes from and see what their prerequs are.

SLIM

[VuDuLou]

Roger that, Slim....

[PSDIVERTOM]

Well I'll put in my 2 cents, I went the ERDI route which I guess I'm biased, but it's very good.
Keep away from the PADI course they offer now, WHAT A JOKE!!
I just posted a training blog about low viz diving you may want to check out. I submitted it to PSDMonthly for their use along with CE Questions on Surface Supplied diving.
Take care!!

[theskull]

In your area there is a nearby facility, Brickyard Quarry, that has PSD courses available. And it is definitely a low-vis dive site.
http://www.ominscuba.com
Enjoy.
theskull