Fundies Tech Pass + Scooter Dives

[Rainer]

I'm with Chris on this one. Do sea hares squirt ink?

I had no idea: The Sea Slug Forum - Ink glands

 

[HenrikBP]

Great video - Thanks for sharing.
And congratulations to Jen on the Tech pass. Steve was an instructor intern during my Fundies Class and he really is a great teacher. Patient and helpful.

Henrik

 

[TSandM]

It's interesting how local diving terrain and conditions affects what you do and how you do it . . . Monterey is the perfect nursery for tech divers and scooter pilots, because the diving just gets more and more beautiful as you get further from shore, but it gets deeper, too! Monterey is the reason we own scooters, although I have to say that cloud sponges are the reason I have a tech cert

 

[ScubaSam]

Sam, are you sure you didn't just try hugging an octopus?

Nope, I do not touch the marine life. My AOW instructor at the time did touch the sea hare and it squirted reddish brown ink at us....very cool.

I'm with Chris on this one. Do sea hares squirt ink?

Yep, they certainly do squirt ink cause I saw it with my own eyes.

Steve was an instructor intern during my Fundies Class and he really is a great teacher. Patient and helpful.

Henrik

Same Fundies class as Henrik and yes, Steve is a great teacher, patient and helpful....especially with remedial me. :depressed:

Again, Jen, a BIG congrats!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Rainer]

Hooray, Jen -- both for your tech pass, AND for what you just said! I spent a bit of time talking to Beto Nava, Susan Bird, and Rob Lee when I was down in Mexico last month. All three were bemoaning the tendency of people to rush into doubles. Get your platform solid in a single tank first, and it makes everything that comes after SO much easier!

Taking the time to really get dialed in with a single cylinder makes the transition to doubles rather seamless. Doubles simply aren't "hard"...*if* you already have a solid platform (buoyancy, trim, propulsion, etc). The initial construction of that platform is simply easier in a single. Taking the time to get dialed in without the extra mass and complexity of doubles just makes the later transition so much easier (especially comparing my own experience to Jen's).

 

[gsk3]

Though, honestly, there's so much great recreational diving here that I don't anticipate taking Tech 1 any time soon.

Rub it in ;-). Although T1 would still let you spend a lot more time at recreational depths, which is a large part of how I intend to use it. If I had awesome 30-60 foot shore dives, I'd probably not be considering T1. But most of our decent wrecks are in the 90-130 range, and the way the GUE curriculum's structured right now I don't see much reason not to get certed to 170 even with no current plans at those depths.

Anywho, I'm rambling. Congrats again . And if you change your mind and want to take T1 with me in September or October, shine a giant light in the sky from the top of Gotham Tower or something like that!

 

[Rainer]

I had never really worked with Steve as an instructor beforehand (took Fundies recreationally with a different GUE instructor) and I highly recommend him. Everything everyone says about him is true! He really only had to do the one check out dive with me, but I got way more than I expected. It was like another mini class...and while I had already taken Fundies a year and a half ago, I learned a great deal from Steve. He was always very patient and did everything he could to accommodate me and make sure I had the optimal conditions for my checkout dive.

Steve was an instructor intern during my Fundies Class and he really is a great teacher. Patient and helpful.

Same Fundies class as Henrik and yes, Steve is a great teacher, patient and helpful....especially with remedial me. :depressed:

Just wanted to add to the above and say I was *very* impressed with Steve Millington as an instructor. I've had the privilege of diving with many of his past Fundies students, but this was my first chance to be around while he was teaching. He's very detail-oriented, patient, considerate, safe-minded, and has a great eye at dissecting dive issues and offering useful feedback. If you're in the SoCal area and interested in further training, it'd definitely be worth getting in touch with him.

 

[ligersandtions]

No plans to take Tech 1. I was actually a little reluctant to get into doubles to begin with. For all the local diving we were doing here in SoCal, a single 130 was always plenty of gas. It wasn't until my dive buddies and I were thinking of going to Lobos for some fun scooter dives that I realized I needed more gas (deep, multi-level dives). Once I was stable and competent in doubles, I figured I might as well get the tech endorsement in case I ever want to take Tech 1. Though, honestly, there's so much great recreational diving here that I don't anticipate taking Tech 1 any time soon.

Whew!! You actually had me worried when you asked if you needed 25 more dives at the Fundies tech-pass level before taking T1 at dinner the other night!

I agree that your path to a tech pass was about as ideal as it gets. You took plenty of time to become solid in singles and then eventually transitioned to doubles without even worrying about upgrading your rec pass. Without the pressure, I think you were able to really get everything nailed down nicely.

Plus, your anti-doubles stance was really funny

 

[jenth]

Whew!! You actually had me worried when you asked if you needed 25 more dives at the Fundies tech-pass level before taking T1 at dinner the other night!

Was TOTALLY joking.

Plus, your anti-doubles stance was really funny

Yeah, I know.

 

[kathydee]

Congrats on your Tech Pass Jen ! ! !