Cavern dive instructor recommendations

[boulderjohn]

^^Basically this, I have also heard he has toned things down, but Dan Patterson has the ability to carry a full conversation underwater with the regulator in his mouth. One person, (lets be honest, a woman) was uncomfortable with Dan's style.

I see. When was it you conducted your comprehensive interview of all of Dan's former students to learn that only one person was uncomfortable with his approach? I would guess it would have taken you quite some time.

I don't want to turn this into a forum on one person, but I do think it is important for people to know that different instructors have different approaches to learning, and they can do a fabulous job with some students but still make other students uncomfortable. I know several people who worked with Dan and were extremely happy with him. I have only been with him for one weekend of cave diving, and he was a wonderful companion on that trip. On the other hand....

 

[RJP]

You will have a hard time finding a more gentlemanly person on the surface. Anecdotes of his training, however, suggest that his military background comes to the fore during those experiences. He has been praised for being able to curse at students articulately through a regulator, which is great if being cursed at articulately through a regulator fits your learning style. I have been told that he has toned things down in recent years, though.

I must not have killed myself enough times when training with him (5-6yrs ago) or had water in my ears. (Also never been called "Sir" so many times over the course of a long weekend...)

 

[Seya]

Divewithrob.com

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

 

[lv2dive]

There are several very good instructors who live/dive in the high springs/ft white/luraville area. Off the top of my head, some non~gue examples include (in alpha order): Rich Courtney, Rob McGann, James Draker, Dan Patterson, Ken Sallot... And more. Personality matches *do* do matter as well as diving style.

Since Dan's name came up I feel inclined to highlight he was my intro/app insructor and I was pleased with him and recommended him to others.

Btw my cavern instructor suggested taking cavern alone vs cavern/intro - I did one weekend of diving at cavern level before I scheduled my intro/apprentice class. I personally recommend cavern/intro in most situations.

 

[Hetland]

Heather Armstrong and Dan Patterson are both solid instructors.

+1 for Heather Armstrong. She's located in Pensacola, but frequently teaches in the High Springs area. She's a backmount instructor. Since I've never taken a formal sidemount class, I couldn't recommend anyone, though someone mentioned Cave Adventurers which is a top-notch operation.

 

[kwinter]

his military background comes to the fore during those experiences. He has been praised for being able to curse at students articulately through a regulator, which is great if being cursed at articulately through a regulator fits your learning style.

I am not sure if Dan Patterson's prices have been updated on the website, but his prices of $700 for Cavern/Intro and $900 for App/Full Cave are insanely cheap. Even if he increased them both and you came out to $2000 for full cave that is exactly half. Trace Malinowski (TraceMalin) is another guy whose prices are very reasonable (2K if you split it up, or 1500 if you go zero to hero full cave in 7-8 days) and he has over 30yrs diving experience, technical director for PSAI and an instructor trainer for basically everything.

Just FYI, I don't know how militaristic Dan Patterson is, but I did my OC cavern/intro with "drill sergeant" Mike O'Leary and it was probably the best diving course I ever took. And according to his web site, he does a combo cavern/intro course for $550 if there are at least 2 people in the class, and $850 for a private class. And he absolutely does not skimp on the training. I also think Trace is a great guy, but I haven't done any training with him. I have always said that there is no such thing as a great instructor for everyone. There has to be a matching of learning and teaching styles in order for the student to feel comfortable enough to learn.

 

[karstdvr]

I think you've gotten some good advice on instructors, because the key is finding someone that teaches a lot, versus someone that is a shop instructor that has the certification,but doesn't teach much. Cavern is a great basic course to get a understanding of the overhead,but things you learn will carry forward to regular open water diving. My suggestion is get that instructor, and have a good talk about what you really have an interest in and I then they can help you with your goals. Do you need to sign up for intro course along side the cavern course- No, not everyone wants to advance beyond that. Do you need to make a determination if you want the course in sidemount-Not really, cavern is a course designed to be done in the configuration you use in open water, and then learn how to tweak. Sometimes I think posters here have a strong exuberance, and if you show an interest in math, they want to sign you up for calculus

---------- Post added September 19th, 2015 at 07:08 AM ----------

Personality matches *do* do matter as well as diving style.


Btw my cavern instructor suggested taking cavern alone vs cavern/intro .

Good suggestions

 

[lv2dive]

To clarify, for me, I should have taken cavern and intro together-cavern alone in n fl caves was kind of pointless (also I had some tech training already and control of buoyancy etc).

Otoh, I recently recommended cavern (as a standalone) to two friends who visit mexico fairly often.

 

[kensuf]

I saw my name mentioned, so figured I'd chime in.

I think a good/solid cavern course is a fantastic investment if you ever go diving in the springs, even if you have no interest in cave diving. I also think cavern/intro is a good combination for someone that has an interest in cave diving.

I do not think someone should take cavern/intro simply because a bunch of people on the internet said "do those two courses together!"

Dan has a great reputation and I know several people that took courses from him that were very happy with their training. He's one of the few people I know who still teaches cavern/intro as a four day course, even though he's allowed to teach it in three. I do it the same way, and feel that it's a better way to do that combination.

Best of luck to you!

Ken

 

[tbone1004]

Just FYI, I don't know how militaristic Dan Patterson is, but I did my OC cavern/intro with "drill sergeant" Mike O'Leary and it was probably the best diving course I ever took. And according to his web site, he does a combo cavern/intro course for $550 if there are at least 2 people in the class, and $850 for a private class. And he absolutely does not skimp on the training. I also think Trace is a great guy, but I haven't done any training with him. I have always said that there is no such thing as a great instructor for everyone. There has to be a matching of learning and teaching styles in order for the student to feel comfortable enough to learn.

Ken, saw Mike a few months ago while I was down there for an anniversary party at Cathy's. He's still "Active" but not actively teaching. The usual rate is about $200/day for a pair of students, pretty standard down there and if you take 2 days or 5 days, it gets charged accordingly.