Cavern Training at Ginnie...what gear am I going to need?

[BabyDuck]

you are mean, jason! my minor abrasions are already healed.

hope you have a great time, kid. i just finished last week, and it was a lot of fun.

 

[darylm74]

I have my PM's ready to send off to various cave dive insturctors on the board. I am curious about the torn fingers. I wonder if it will be bad through all the huge calluses I have on my hands.

Short of a cannister light, I think I have just about everything else. I am curious on how much someone spends on the cavern+intro to cave education. There is a good instructor here but the cost of sending him to Florida might buy me better education from someone that is already in the the area. Anyone else choose someone local to Ginnie Springs instead of taking along an instructor that is local to you?

 

[H2Andy]

Anyone else choose someone local to Ginnie Springs instead of taking along an instructor that is local to you?

that's what i did... but of course, my commute to Ginnie is only about 2 hours

 

[Dayo Scuba]

Check out these folks. Give them a call for information, they will be very helpful. www.floridatechnicalscuba.com

 

[H2Andy]

johnny richards (as listed in that link) is my instructor... we're doing Apprentice
in early April. i would highly recommend him

rexco, i also note that your homepage is www.floridatechnicalscuba.com

are you affiliated with them? it's ok to "promote" a site in answer to a
question, as you did, so no worries about that. you can also put the link
in your signature if you like.

 

[darylm74]

that's what i did... but of course, my commute to Ginnie is only about 2 hours

Must be nice. I'm located in Pittsburgh so quite a big difference. Though I know the local guy and trust him, I figured it would be better to learn with someone who knows Ginnie Springs extremely well and also specializes more in cave diving. The local guy here does his share of cave diving and has a good background but not like someone who is there every weekend. Unfortunately there really aren't too many caves to dive in around here, but it is something that I have my heart set on and will give me more excuses to go to Florida .

 

[KidK9]

So if I dont have any personal preference with any of the instructors at Ginnie, should I just schedule a cavern class with however is teaching the weekend I want to go? Or should I seek out an instructor on my own that is down in cave country and schedule the weekend separately thru them?

 

[Corigan]

So if I dont have any personal preference with any of the instructors at Ginnie, should I just schedule a cavern class with however is teaching the weekend I want to go? Or should I seek out an instructor on my own that is down in cave country and schedule the weekend separately thru them?

My advice would be to seek out a cave instructor in cave country. Someone that teaches or dives caves if not every day, almost every day. Ask many questions and make sure you get an instructor that matches your learning style. Some people respond well to the military drill seargent style of training, while others would have a more laid back approach. With something as important as good training for overhead diving, make sure you pick your instructor, and don't end up with a pot luck instructor that you may not click with.

Matt

 

[KidK9]

What kind of style would Reggie Ross and Johnny Richards have?

 

[Corigan]

Johhny is the laid back but thorough style. I have no experience with Reggie and his teaching style. I have only read that he is highly regarded.

Matt