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Hope some divers can answer for me. My husband is PADI certified but has not been on a dive for about 5 years. Will he need some sort of refresher course or will he be able to dive with no problem.
Also, is he allowed one dive or two per day. The Couples website says they offer a morning dive and an afternoon dive but then they say that certified divers are allowed one dive per day. Very confusing.
I have similar questions that I hope someone will advise. We have not done a dive in 2 years but are thinking of diving locally right before our trip to CSA so that we have our dive log updated.
1) Does every certified diver still have to do an 8:45 AM pool checkout - regardless of when you last did a dive?
2) What is the actual procedure and skills requested during the certified checkout ?
3) How long does it take, and Do you still have time to make the 9 AM morning dive after the checkout ?
4) I didn't want to waste time at CSA doing a scuba review, if I can do it locally and be ready to dive the first morning at CSA. Has anyone done the scuba review?
5) Do they use weight belts or integrated weights?
Thanks for the info - this is our first trip to Couples CSA (and our previous diving was at Sandals - we were newly certified, and all we did was sign up and dive).
At Sandals you could dive in morning and in afternoon, but I am thinking you have to pick only one trip or the other at CSA since it is 1 per day - correct?
He may have to refresh before you go. Then he can do the daily dive once you get there.
We haven't been diving in several years either and had planned on diving at CSA last October, I was having some sinus problems and was concerned I couldn't clear my ears so we skipped. However, we were going to take a refresher course at our local dive shop. Even if Couples doesn't require it, if I hadn't been diving in 5 years I wouldn't consider getting in the water without a refresher course. Scuba isn't one of those things you want to tackle without being quite sure of what you are doing and you don't want to refresh yourself as you go. You could be a danger to yourself and others around you if you don't remember what to do in the event of an emergency.
Couples had two dives daily, a deep dive and a shallow dive on their schedule. One dive daily is included free of charge.
Yes, he will absolutely be required to do a refresher since he hasn't been diving in 5 years. That can either be done at Couples (for a fee), or he can do it at a local diveshop. Just be sure if he goes that route to get some sort of certificate or something in writing saying he did one.
He will be able to dive twice a day everyday you are there, if he wants to. Usually the boat comes back in between dives, and goes out with non-certified/resort divers. So he can choose to do morning dive, afternoon dive or both... except Saturdays (if the same at all resorts) where they just do a 2 tank in the mornng.
Hey ClearwaterFlorida I had the same question about the one dive per day. I e-mailed Brian who runs the Watersports Centre at CN and he said "no - it is 2 dives per day; weather permitting". He didn't know where I got my info about "one dive per certified diver". I just replied to him now saying it is on Couples own website under FAQ. :)
Maybe you can get the e-mail address for CSA.
Where did you hear about the 8:45am pool refresher? We dove for a week in February so it will be about 6.5 months when we get to CN. I sure hope we don't have to do any refresher. I'm okay with my 9am dive being a checkout to see who we are and how we dive. Just being AOW doesn't really mean anything. :p
Betty
If it has been more than 6 months since your last dive you will need to get a refresher course from somewhere. If you do it at Couples it will cost $50. There is also a medical questionaire you will need to fill out. If you answer 'yes' to any of the questions, you will need a note from your doctor letting the dive staff know it is cleared with your doctor for diving. You can find the medical questionaire on the FAQ page under "scuba diving". If you don't get a clearance from a doctor at home, you can get one at the resort for $100
You will have time to get checked out before the morning dive.
If you are certified, you are allowed to go on both dives each day if there is room. We have been to Couples 5 times and there has always been room.
Thanks for the dive info.
So if I do my scuba refresher dive locally - then do I still need to show up for the
"8:30 AM Certification Dives Evaluation"
And what exactly is that?
(is it checking your dive card and dive log ? or is it a practical skills test in the water ?)
When you get there, go to the dive shack and bring your cert card and log book or dive computer (as proof of recent dive). You can then sign up for the next day's dives and get all the paper work out of the way ahead of time. Then when you do your first dive you're ready to go and just meet at the time they tell you and you won't need to bring your card or logbook.Quote:
Originally Posted by ClearwaterFlorida
Just curious where it states 6 months? (many places only require within the last year) I couldn't find any info in fact about needing to do a refresher!?!Quote:
Originally Posted by Coloradojuli
Does anyone have any hard info about this? We do a dive trip once a year so it will be 53 weeks between dives for us. Will they require us to do a refresher??Quote:
Originally Posted by jamaicamecrazy
I've been diving at CSA a few different years, and was always OK to go without a refresher as long as I had been diving in the last year. If it's now within 6 months, that's a policy change. It's worth emailing the dive shop (I don't know the email address, but have seen it on this message board before so I would search for it) to clarify the requirement, and what you'd need to bring to prove you'd done the refresher at home.
If you do have to do a checkout dive, I'm sure they'll do it as efficiently as possible so that you could be on that morning dive. The guys at the dive shop are great about making sure that everyone is both happy and safe, and will do their best to make sure you dive as much as possible, I'm sure.
In the past they've always allowed two dives a day. I'm guessing the one dive a day language is just in case there are lots of divers down when you're there. I've always been able to do 2, but frequently just do one since my other half doesn't dive.
We're heading back in a few weeks and since it's been 2 years for me, I'm expecting to do the refresher. As someone mentioned earlier, I'm happy to do it to make sure that I am safe and don't endanger anyone else I'm diving with. I know it's an additional cost, but definitely worth it.
Enjoy your trip!
We go a year inbetween dives and have never had to do a refresher. Both dives are included. The part about 1 dive being included is for those who take the resort course and are not certified.
They use weight belts to answer Clearwater's question, unless you bring your own gear.
turtlegirl4ever:
Your husband will need a refresher, because it has been more than 2 years and I can absolutely verify that he will get to do any of the dives that go out. The "one per day" note on the website is inaccurate.
ClearwaterFlorida:
The checkout is not a big deal if they do want you to do it. All they do is make sure you can assemble your gear, remove your mask and put it back on, show you can control buoyancy, show your hand signals, and ask you about safety stops, etc. This is usually at 8:45a. The 8:30a checkout is for divers actually going on their certification dives and wouldn't apply to you.
radsman:
I also replied to your other thread, but you will be fine. The "6 months" is inaccurate. 2 years or more between dives requires a refresher. If you went a year prior, you're good.
To all others:
If you are a certified diver, you can dive every time they go out, including the night dives ($50 extra), if they have them. As an experienced diver (over 80 logged dives), I can say that last November, it had been 3 years, since our last dive, so we had to do a checkout with Sugar at CN, and rightfully so. Even though I thought I would have been fine, it made the first dive way more comfortable knowing that we had reviewed everything. Even if it has been a year and a half since the last dive, it would have made sense to demonstrate the skills, because the last place you want to be when you're trying to remember diving skills is 80ft underwater.
As for the PADI Medical Questionnaire, this is a form required by PADI dive centers anywhere in the world. Before you can dive you have to answer no to all of the questions. If you answer yes, you have to get a dive checkup from a doctor before you can dive. If you do the dive checkup at the resort, that's where the $100 comes in.
With that said, our last 17 dives have been at Couples, and I can verify that these responses are accurate.
contact CSA dive team on Facebook "couples swept away dive club"