Has any one done the padi rescue course in bonaire? I am thinking of taking it on this nov. trip. I am a little concerned of how much time it will take up. I do not want to miss those great reefs and photo opps. I do not seem to be getting a staight awnser on how many hours a day of the in the water part of the course I can expect.

Thanks,
Mike

Mike, most of the dive operations will run a rescue course. If you have decided which dive shop you are diving from get in touch with them directly. They should know all the answers and if they don't find a different dive shop! Best of luck with it!

Mike,
What kind of diving do you mostly do? Is it warm Carribean reef diving, or do you do any cold, murky stuff (so sorry if you do!)? If the answer is yes to the latter, I'd seriously consider doing that sort of training in the cold, murky stuff while loaded down with all that gear and exposure protection! This is stuff that you want to get familiar with in ALL conditions. Remember: The more thou sweatst in training, the less thou bleedst in combat (or something like that). The big upside to getting trained in Bonaire though is I'm sure the quality of instruction would be top notch!

Mike

The Rescue course requires you also to complete an EFR course unless you have a first aid/CPR qualification. There's a 3 hour video to watch and a skill session to do that lasts about the same time. Consider doing this at home and spending that time in Bonaire diving!

You also need to do a certain amount of self study. Again I would consider doing this at home you should be able to buy the pack from a local PADI store. At some stage there is a multiple choice quiz you could do this at home if you want to cut down the time in aclassroom still further and get referred to an instructor in Bonaire for the rest

You have to do a number of rescue exercises and then 2 rescue scenarios where you and other students react to a "situation". When I teach it I do it over a couple of days, taking up most of each day's diving. You could probably do it in a slightly shorter time

Two additional considerations. I agree that if you dive in cold murky water ther is much to be said for doing rescue skills there. One of the skills is looking for a missing diver which is a lot easier if you can see 150+ feet!

Secondly, wherever you do the course try to find a school that is going to have a reasonable number of studenmts on the course. Its about the only course where more students are better. You can learn a lot from other students' mistakes.

Finally, its about PADI's best course in my view. I would certainly recommend doing it.

Hope that helps

Will

Just a quick note. Last July, I had looked into doing the Rescue course on Bonaire. They do indeed require CPR (which I have) and First Aid. I was going to try to take the first aid here, and wanted to do the self study and then do the dive work on Bonaire. After several inquiries to several shops on Bonaire, you have to take the full Rescue course from them (book work, diving, etc.) In other words, if you did buy the materials here, you would still have to buy them there and go through their entire course (at least that is what I was told).

I decided it would take up too much "vacation" time and will just do it here (where the water is much colder and a lot less vis, which isn't an issue as we dive a lot locally anyway).

Whatever you decide, good luck!

Cynde

Welcome to the board Mike.
I will just echo the others. Take to rescue at home. If it's done correctly, it's about the hardest course you will take and the worse conditions you can do it in the better IMHO. It's the hardest and most rewarding course I have taken, well worth the time and effort. I wish all divers would take it. That said, I would not want to use my limited time on vacation on the course, both are too important and both need my undivided attention.

Thanks for all the good advice.
I have read the book, filled out the chapter reviews from each chapter, and have done the EFR.
I know what you all mean about missing diving time. I have been struggling back and forth with this. I will decide on the spot in Bonaire. We are staying 10 days this trip instead of our usual 7 days.
Buddys takes 4 to 5 days for the course, The Caribe Inn and the Sand Doller both do it in 3 days. Thats quite a difference in time.

I am sure I will have fun what ever I decide.
Mike