Cool let's break this sucker up and separate them all.
John I don't think you need a flame suit. You make valid points as does Mike (and occasionally so do I). I disagree with you when you say snobbish. I believe the lack of interest in diving from charters is an industry wide problem in our region. If you dive anywhere else where there is a strong charter industry students are taught and encouraged to be trained in open water. In our region we do the complete opposite and run straight to the quarry to certify our new divers. I find it extremely rewarding to take new divers down on the Sport and the strong to work on their skills. These divers are being taught from their first dive experience that they can and should be diving in the Great Lakes. After a few charters I will then encourage newly certified divers to consider diving all year by introducing them to the St. Clair River and then a quarry. The mentality for many in our region is that diving the wrecks or open water is a special occasion. That is silly. It would be great if the GLWC as a whole began promoting and encouraging more group trips to different areas on the Great Lakes. Your trip to Tobe was awesome. The video that came from the trip is monumental. Wouldn't it be great to see a series of those videos created every charter season with the GLWC taking over different ports. And again John, I think alot of this should fall on instructors shoulders. We need to encourage our students to be active in the sport. There are way too many instructors who are not willing to get out of the quarry and take their students out on real open water dives.
Bus
John I don't think you need a flame suit. You make valid points as does Mike (and occasionally so do I). I disagree with you when you say snobbish. I believe the lack of interest in diving from charters is an industry wide problem in our region. If you dive anywhere else where there is a strong charter industry students are taught and encouraged to be trained in open water. In our region we do the complete opposite and run straight to the quarry to certify our new divers. I find it extremely rewarding to take new divers down on the Sport and the strong to work on their skills. These divers are being taught from their first dive experience that they can and should be diving in the Great Lakes. After a few charters I will then encourage newly certified divers to consider diving all year by introducing them to the St. Clair River and then a quarry. The mentality for many in our region is that diving the wrecks or open water is a special occasion. That is silly. It would be great if the GLWC as a whole began promoting and encouraging more group trips to different areas on the Great Lakes. Your trip to Tobe was awesome. The video that came from the trip is monumental. Wouldn't it be great to see a series of those videos created every charter season with the GLWC taking over different ports. And again John, I think alot of this should fall on instructors shoulders. We need to encourage our students to be active in the sport. There are way too many instructors who are not willing to get out of the quarry and take their students out on real open water dives.
Bus