RAID International has announced the release of the first in their new series of wreck diving courses; the RAID Basic Wreck Course. On making the announcement RAID International Director Terry Cummins said: “We at RAID believe this is the most diver responsive wreck program ever released. Many divers feel wreck diving is a super advanced form of diving, when in reality it does not have to be that way. In the RAID Basic Wreck Course we acknowledge some divers just want to go down and look around the wreck site and may never want to penetrate the inside, or in other cases the wreck is just not suitable for penetration with artefacts spread across the bottom. Unfortunately, this means that many other courses do not deliver the sort of relevant information these divers need to enjoy such a dive. So what we have with the RAID Basic Wreck Course is a program that responds to 80 percent of wreck dives the average diver will do – all very none technical, in shallower depths, but at the same time extremely informative and enjoyable. And of course, like all RAID Courses, all the academic section of the course is online.”

The RAID Basic Wreck Course brought together keen and experienced wreck diving enthusiasts like Paul Toomer, Mark McCrum and Karl Grady. Well known wreck researcher Joane Edney assisted with ground breaking sections on wreck conservation and preservation. Cummins himself has a long history in wreck diving, is an OZTeK and other awards recipient and has personally developed the RAID 10 Point Guide to Wreck Diving which is a great guide to how all divers should approach wreck sites. Cummins added: “As the primary author, I was lucky enough and honoured to have a tremendous team working with me to cover not only the practical side of basic wreck diving, but also experts like Joane Edney to cover important issues like wreck conservation and preservation that just don’t appear in other wreck courses. The result is a program with information found no other place.”

RAID International Training Director Paul Toomer said: “We conducted a Beta Test on the new RAID Wreck Diver programs and Deep 40 Course in the UK and were super impressed with the input we received. The RAID wreck diver programs are unique in the diving industry. For the first time there are state of the art programs enabling divers to engage in wreck diving in a manner that suits their own desires. These programs have been designed, written and reviewed by some of the world’s leading wreck explorers. They are highly informative and go way beyond the scope of any other recreational wreck programs available on the market today”.

When asked why he thought the new breed of RAID wreck diver courses were so special, Toomer replied: “Divers can choose to swim safely, photograph and map wrecks from the outside on our RAID Basic Wreck Diver Program or take things to a whole new level with the soon to be released RAID Advanced Wreck Diver Program.”

RAID International Recreational Training Director Mark McCrum said: “the Basic Wreck Course covers general information about wreck diving, but also goes into specific detail on equipment required and various gear configurations, dive management and open water considerations.” McCrum concluded: “At RAID we are proud to have created a wreck diver program that has cutting edge ideas, sensible practical training and seamless integration to our other RAID programs. It is a great addition to the RAID extensive list of courses.”

RAID International CEO Jim Holliday added: “What the RAID Team has produced with this course is ground breaking. For a long time I have been hearing that many divers just want to go down and look at a wreck, tick the box as it were and do not want to do a whole lot of extra training to make their way inside when that may never be their intention.”

One of the key features is the program allows Open Water 20 divers to take the course. Knowledge and dive credits dovetail into the new RAID Advanced Wreck Course, also due for release this month. Cummins stated: “You will have to wait for what we have in store for you with the Advanced Wreck Course, but I must say that one is awesome and again brought together some of the most experienced wreck and overhead environment diving educators available.”

To learn more contact your local RAID Regional Office or find all the information you need on all RAID programs at www.diveraid.com and www.freedivingraid.com.