Search results

I suspect that you will at some stage find the cheaper in fact is not often the better. You've got to look at this as the trade off triangle; You are always going to be trading off between cost, time and quality. As a general rule, you may get two of those - but you will never get...

It may sound glib, but the only "special" thing you would need is the attitude of wanting to have fun. Everything else can be picked up along the way!! ;) Sounds like your local conditions are fairly similar to our ocean conditions - cooler water, drysuits etc.... so you would be able to...

Which begs the question.... how often are you going to use the skills you learn? You have to be diving caves all the time to keep those skills sharp, so if it were me I'd look at what options you've got for learning something that's relevant to where you dive normally - unless you'll be...

To be honest, I'd ignore the ascent/descent techniques issue to start with - no disrespect to those saying "do it slowly, do it horizontally" as they are spot on, but they are also just answer the question as it was asked. I'd suggest that you look at the reasons why you were dropping like a...

Unlikely, to be honest. Most charter companies will just pair lone divers up on the day, so you don't have to turn up with a buddy, or just put them into a guided group.

I would guess, in terms of charter companies, that most of their decisions and policies are driven by minimising operational risk. Let's throw away all certifications, so any Joe Schmo can walk on to a boat and go diving... does that reduce the operational risk of the charter company? I...

I wish I'd done the same with my Self Reliant class, Trace. I was very defensive in it to get it past PADI and one of the exclusions was overhead environments... yet I now realise that a lot of the wreck divers in our area would benefit from a bit more of an overhead-orientated course. C'est la...

A question, though, Thal. Are you both trainer and examiner? Or is that 12 days purely the examination?

I think you have to define failure, Trace. To my mind there is only one thing that would cause a student to "fail" a scuba course - and that is a blatantly unsafe attitude and a disregard for both their and their buddy's safety. Arm swimming may mean they haven't "passed yet", but it's not...

Fundies is definitely becoming a bit of a "problem". The attitude that you "have to pass" does come from the community - most, if not all, GUE instructors are trying to dampen that down a bit and get the message across that it is a class where you learn stuff - not where you have to show that...

Ye gods, such heresy! How do I then become a PADI Master Instructor? If I don't have those cards to count up, what you are talking about threatens the very fabric of the Universe.... ;) Please take with a large pinch of salt, there is rather a lot of facetiousness and self-mockery in my...

What Peter and Bob said! Looking at my own experience, the first two years I was teaching..... I was cr@p. Many instructors don't last two years to give them that experience to reflect on how cr@p they were/are, but burn out and drop out. Of those who last the two years, I reckon half...

There certainly seems to be an upswelling for the "less is more" movement. To be honest, I think that we will see a cycle of trend start to emerge. We could trim off some courses now - but in 20 years, people will be clammering for choice and individuality. Much the same, now we see people...

Hmmmmm, how are you going to know that only OW divers vote in the poll, Trace? I know that I am lacking in trust..... it's an issue I have! ;)

The VR3 does, which comes in a OC nitrox version as well as trimix. It has no gauge mode, though. I've got one for sale if you are interested.... and that should probably tell you what you need to know!!! ;)

My Vytec did as well. The new Vyper Air has a five year warranty, though, as opposed to the 2 years for the older models like the Vytec. The thing I love about my Vytec is that it has a resettable stopwatch that displays seconds. Come up to your 21m stop, reset to zero and then it's easy to...

No you don't. Messner made the first solo ascent of Everest way back in 1980 - no support team, no oxygen etc. It has since been climbed from base to summit and back in a single 24 hour push. These alpine style ascents set the bar, it was what people should be aspiring to do - not just...

Have you got any idea of what is involved in either? As a technical instructor, I am normally busting 12-14 hour days when teaching for a little bit over the minimum wage. When I am not teaching, I am desperately hounding potential students so I can fill the next course. I'm not a...

I friend of mine has an iPod housing with piezo-electric headphones that work underwater. On the last Britannic expedition he was planning to watch a couple of movies...

Man, I thought I was a cynic!!! ;) From a diving perspective, or at least an instructional perspective.... too much emphasis is placed on forms, process and procedures. For me, the best way of avoiding risk of litigation is just train 'em right in the first place so nothing comes back to bite...