It took a bit of effort to work out the calendars, but we finally managed to schedule an Instructor Training Course right after the end of the semester. Grades done, spring classes scheduled, adjuncts lined up to teach - there - now I can go play (oops, I mean work) in the Bahamas...
Wayne (former Disney safety engineer, current NAUI treasurer) and I headed to Abaco to teach two experienced dive professionals to become dive instructors. Tim Higgs is a NAUI DM, boat captain, and operator of Abaco Dive Adventures, the host of the course. Chris Bunner is a PSI Instructor Trainer, ASHI instructor, owner of COVCI (dive gear, cyninder services, etc), and ScubaBoard member. With candidates who are as bright, prepared, motivated, and experienced in this industry as these guys are, an Instructor course can be either a joy or a week of butting heads. (Guess which one it was!)
I was eager to get back to Abaco. This is one beautiful place, and I've written before about the joys of diving there (http://www.scubaboard.com/t46957-.html). But after two hurricanes blew through in September, I wasn't sure what we'd get when we showed up for the class. My concerns were eased as the plane made its initial approach. Some trees blown over, but surprisingly little overt damage is seen. There are folks repairing roofs and doing the stuff that always accompanies storms, but life has gotten back to normal in the isalnds. Banks are open, hotels are filling, and the cracked conch is as fresh and tasty as ever. The dive op is running regular trips; we snuck in 6 dives on a variety of reefs during the class and things were healthy. The hurricanes did very little damage to the reefs.
The instructor course was a gas! With candidates like these guys we were able to focus on fine tuning courses and instruction rather than on basic diving knowledge and basic instructional delivery. Also, graduates of a NAUI instructor course are prepared as complete instructors; they can teach advanced classes, nitrox, rescue and leadership as well as basic open water classes. This gave Chris and Tim the opportunity to teach us lessons on nitrox, rescue preparation, cave/cavern distinctions, etc, as well as the usual lessons on regulator recovery, table use, dive planning, etc.
OK, so this was work, and work that I had to take vacation time to enjoy... but we did get some neat UW time. On a previous trip we named a dive location "Hopetown Prairie" due to its "rolling hills" terrain and its proximity to that beautiful island. While scouting some shallows on this trip, we came across a very nice area beneath the cliffs and merging toward the prairie. That spot is now named "Iowa" (Iowa merges with the prairie right?) It could have easily been named "Dinner" or "G-town" because the grouper there were large and not shy. In my role as a new diver, I spotted a very cool ledge with groupers in the hole and schooling jacks above. How Tim managed to read my mind and keep me out of that hole still amazes me. As I glanced over my shoulder there's Chris laughing and (I'm sure) thinking, "Man I'm glad Tim has to supervise this guy!"
Well, the long and short of it is this. We now have two very talented new instructors. If you're looking for a quality course you couldn't do better. And the fact that they cover territory that includes Vowel States as well as the Bahamas adds the gravy! Kick these guys a congratulatory message. You can reach Tim through the dive op at
http://www.abacodiveadventures.com/abaco.asp. Chris is at http://www.covci.com.
Oh, did I mention the December water temp was a brutally cold 77 on the reef, and 70 outside the harbor? When those northers reach down to the islands, the snow can't be far behind...
Wayne (former Disney safety engineer, current NAUI treasurer) and I headed to Abaco to teach two experienced dive professionals to become dive instructors. Tim Higgs is a NAUI DM, boat captain, and operator of Abaco Dive Adventures, the host of the course. Chris Bunner is a PSI Instructor Trainer, ASHI instructor, owner of COVCI (dive gear, cyninder services, etc), and ScubaBoard member. With candidates who are as bright, prepared, motivated, and experienced in this industry as these guys are, an Instructor course can be either a joy or a week of butting heads. (Guess which one it was!)
I was eager to get back to Abaco. This is one beautiful place, and I've written before about the joys of diving there (http://www.scubaboard.com/t46957-.html). But after two hurricanes blew through in September, I wasn't sure what we'd get when we showed up for the class. My concerns were eased as the plane made its initial approach. Some trees blown over, but surprisingly little overt damage is seen. There are folks repairing roofs and doing the stuff that always accompanies storms, but life has gotten back to normal in the isalnds. Banks are open, hotels are filling, and the cracked conch is as fresh and tasty as ever. The dive op is running regular trips; we snuck in 6 dives on a variety of reefs during the class and things were healthy. The hurricanes did very little damage to the reefs.
The instructor course was a gas! With candidates like these guys we were able to focus on fine tuning courses and instruction rather than on basic diving knowledge and basic instructional delivery. Also, graduates of a NAUI instructor course are prepared as complete instructors; they can teach advanced classes, nitrox, rescue and leadership as well as basic open water classes. This gave Chris and Tim the opportunity to teach us lessons on nitrox, rescue preparation, cave/cavern distinctions, etc, as well as the usual lessons on regulator recovery, table use, dive planning, etc.
OK, so this was work, and work that I had to take vacation time to enjoy... but we did get some neat UW time. On a previous trip we named a dive location "Hopetown Prairie" due to its "rolling hills" terrain and its proximity to that beautiful island. While scouting some shallows on this trip, we came across a very nice area beneath the cliffs and merging toward the prairie. That spot is now named "Iowa" (Iowa merges with the prairie right?) It could have easily been named "Dinner" or "G-town" because the grouper there were large and not shy. In my role as a new diver, I spotted a very cool ledge with groupers in the hole and schooling jacks above. How Tim managed to read my mind and keep me out of that hole still amazes me. As I glanced over my shoulder there's Chris laughing and (I'm sure) thinking, "Man I'm glad Tim has to supervise this guy!"
Well, the long and short of it is this. We now have two very talented new instructors. If you're looking for a quality course you couldn't do better. And the fact that they cover territory that includes Vowel States as well as the Bahamas adds the gravy! Kick these guys a congratulatory message. You can reach Tim through the dive op at
http://www.abacodiveadventures.com/abaco.asp. Chris is at http://www.covci.com.
Oh, did I mention the December water temp was a brutally cold 77 on the reef, and 70 outside the harbor? When those northers reach down to the islands, the snow can't be far behind...
