liuk3
Contributor
About a month and a half before the class, I received a call to potentially join a team in Grand Cayman for a GUE Tech 2 class with Bob Sherwood. I really hadnt planned on taking Tech 2 for a while, but the dynamics of this class really made it hard not to consider. I had previously dove with Chris Malinowski a number of times on both recreational level and GUE Tech 1 level depth dives, and I knew that we got along well both underwater as well as hanging out on land. I had trained with Bob Sherwood previously, and his reputation precedes himself. There was some unknown guy to me named Ed Parris, but both Chris and Bob spoke highly about him and felt that the three of us would get along well together. Id never been to Grand Cayman, and dive logistics were supposed to be awesome with concierge level service of the dive shop in hauling gear back and forth for us. It really seemed like the perfect Tech 2 opportunity: great team, great instructor, great dive conditions, great dive logistics, and good personal chemistry between everyone. The guys had planned nine full days in Grand Cayman. Bob teaches a 7 day GUE Tech 2 class, and two extra days were built in for contingency or fun.
We all planned to arrive in Grand Cayman around the same time. The plan actually worked perfectly (go figure, no airline delays), and the other guys had already gotten our rental van and were ready to pick us up by the time we arrived. I was finally in Grand Cayman. My first time there. Wohooo!! The first thing I noticed while we were driving is that they drive on the left side of the road. There were times when I saw a big truck coming down right side of the road, and my heart skipped a beat thinking we were going to play a game of chicken. LOL.
We finally arrived to Chris condo on the east end of the island by late afternoon at Compass Point Resorts. The condo is on the beach and overlooks the pier where the dive boat leaves. The onsite dive operation Ocean Frontiers had a night dive scheduled. So, the three of us students decided it would be great to go on this in order to square away our gear before class officially started the next morning. Also, the three of us had never dove together before. When we jumped into the water, I realized it had been a long time diving in tropical water. The viz seemed endless, and the water was so warm. The coral reefs have tons of colorful sponges, gorgonians, and anemones. The tropical fishes are also so colorful. You can tell a lot about a diver by their underwater demeanor, and I could tell that Ed and Chris are both very calm and laid back guys. Great underwater control and communication from them as well. I knew that this was going to be a great week of diving with these guys. When the dive was over, we just left our gear on the boat and walked back to our room for the night.
Because the dive logistics are so amazing there, we ended up saving so much time. There was no driving back and forth, or time spent hauling gear and mixing gas. In the end it lead to just about the most relaxing GUE class I could have imagined. I never felt like we were under tremendous time pressure there. In Tech 2, we are using twin tanks for back gas, a stage bottle, and 2 decompression bottles. I was soooooo happy not to have to haul any of it. Those guys at Ocean Frontiers are champs for taking care of our gear for us. We assemble it, but they carry it back and forth and fill it every night with whatever mix we require the next day.
Typically for the class, Bob would lecture in the morning and then take us out in the afternoon for our in-water portions of the class. The first couple of days he had us in shallow water probably to make sure that we wouldnt drown each other. The dives typically start the same way with valve drills and S-drills at 10 ft, and then a timed descent until we hit the bottom. The first couple of days we ran various drills/exercises and managed failures. At some point the dive would be thumbed, and we would shoot a bag and execute a timed ascent.
The big new skill in Tech 2 is the bottle rotation and managing multiple bottles hanging all over you. Everyone struggled with it in the beginning, but rest assured that Bob gives you a TON of ample opportunity to practice it and tips to help you on your way. You also get tons of time to swim around with all that gear and getting accustomed to how it feels on you. So, I would not say that it is something that needs to be practiced in advance of the class. Rather, I would say just make sure that your fundamentals skills and underwater platform is solid.
The other thing about the class is that I believe that they intentionally keep you underwater longer straight in preparation for obviously doing longer dives in your future. Our first class dive lasted 2.5 hours straight underwater. If you have a drysuit, I would HIGHLY recommend P-valve.
The chemistry of the team couldnt have been better. Everyone was supportive and looked out for each other. When something was amiss, another teammate would come over and help with no drama. Most of all, everyone had a great sense of humor to make the class fun. Bob was satisfied with our shallow water performance on the second day, so we moved to deeper water on the third day. Video was shot on all dives and debriefs given by Bob to help us identify areas of improvement.
Once we moved to deeper waters we could better simulate the sequence of events that need to happen for a Tech 2 dive, particularly with regard to the descent and ascent portions of the dive. You have multiple bottles which need to be used at various points of the dive including going onto back gas and rotating bottles. At first, I found this a little confusing for me, but it all comes together since again Bob gives you ample opportunity to practice the sequences. On some days, we would also even have time to just do an additional fun dive. Again, there was just no time pressure in our schedule which was the beauty of doing the class in Grand Cayman.
The dives get deeper with managing failures until you get to your experience dives. At this point, if Bob is taking you to 150-210 ft depths, its typically because he has confidence in the teams ability. He doesnt mess with you too much, and you can really enjoy the dives. The Grand Cayman reef walls are lush colorful reefs which seem to descend endlessly. Visibility is measured in hundreds of feet. You almost get vertigo hovering in the column because you can see so far beneath you. We ended up stumbling upon a large lionfish colony at 200 ft. depth. Those buggers are there to stay.
The team was successful in Grand Cayman, and we had a blast doing it. Bob again lived up to his well-earned reputation as an instructor. He is probably one of the most dedicated and hard working men that I know. His class is 7 days versus the typical 5-day class offered. That means he voluntarily donates 40% more of his time to try to get you where you want in his class. The man will work tirelessly to help you if you are willing to put forth the effort. I also couldnt have asked for two better teammates than Ed Parris and Chris Malinowski for this class. Super calm divers underwater who are dependable, capable, and always reliable. Thanks for having me on your team. Cant wait to dive with you guys again. Its weird being back at home now and not waking up to all three of your ugly mugs.
Back home in LA, I want to thank local GUE instructors Karim Hamza and Steve Millington for their support in my dive development, and Chris Hirsch for willing to running drills with me a couple of weeks before my class.
Finally, if you've come this far, thanks for reading!
We all planned to arrive in Grand Cayman around the same time. The plan actually worked perfectly (go figure, no airline delays), and the other guys had already gotten our rental van and were ready to pick us up by the time we arrived. I was finally in Grand Cayman. My first time there. Wohooo!! The first thing I noticed while we were driving is that they drive on the left side of the road. There were times when I saw a big truck coming down right side of the road, and my heart skipped a beat thinking we were going to play a game of chicken. LOL.
We finally arrived to Chris condo on the east end of the island by late afternoon at Compass Point Resorts. The condo is on the beach and overlooks the pier where the dive boat leaves. The onsite dive operation Ocean Frontiers had a night dive scheduled. So, the three of us students decided it would be great to go on this in order to square away our gear before class officially started the next morning. Also, the three of us had never dove together before. When we jumped into the water, I realized it had been a long time diving in tropical water. The viz seemed endless, and the water was so warm. The coral reefs have tons of colorful sponges, gorgonians, and anemones. The tropical fishes are also so colorful. You can tell a lot about a diver by their underwater demeanor, and I could tell that Ed and Chris are both very calm and laid back guys. Great underwater control and communication from them as well. I knew that this was going to be a great week of diving with these guys. When the dive was over, we just left our gear on the boat and walked back to our room for the night.
Because the dive logistics are so amazing there, we ended up saving so much time. There was no driving back and forth, or time spent hauling gear and mixing gas. In the end it lead to just about the most relaxing GUE class I could have imagined. I never felt like we were under tremendous time pressure there. In Tech 2, we are using twin tanks for back gas, a stage bottle, and 2 decompression bottles. I was soooooo happy not to have to haul any of it. Those guys at Ocean Frontiers are champs for taking care of our gear for us. We assemble it, but they carry it back and forth and fill it every night with whatever mix we require the next day.
Typically for the class, Bob would lecture in the morning and then take us out in the afternoon for our in-water portions of the class. The first couple of days he had us in shallow water probably to make sure that we wouldnt drown each other. The dives typically start the same way with valve drills and S-drills at 10 ft, and then a timed descent until we hit the bottom. The first couple of days we ran various drills/exercises and managed failures. At some point the dive would be thumbed, and we would shoot a bag and execute a timed ascent.
The big new skill in Tech 2 is the bottle rotation and managing multiple bottles hanging all over you. Everyone struggled with it in the beginning, but rest assured that Bob gives you a TON of ample opportunity to practice it and tips to help you on your way. You also get tons of time to swim around with all that gear and getting accustomed to how it feels on you. So, I would not say that it is something that needs to be practiced in advance of the class. Rather, I would say just make sure that your fundamentals skills and underwater platform is solid.
The other thing about the class is that I believe that they intentionally keep you underwater longer straight in preparation for obviously doing longer dives in your future. Our first class dive lasted 2.5 hours straight underwater. If you have a drysuit, I would HIGHLY recommend P-valve.
The chemistry of the team couldnt have been better. Everyone was supportive and looked out for each other. When something was amiss, another teammate would come over and help with no drama. Most of all, everyone had a great sense of humor to make the class fun. Bob was satisfied with our shallow water performance on the second day, so we moved to deeper water on the third day. Video was shot on all dives and debriefs given by Bob to help us identify areas of improvement.
Once we moved to deeper waters we could better simulate the sequence of events that need to happen for a Tech 2 dive, particularly with regard to the descent and ascent portions of the dive. You have multiple bottles which need to be used at various points of the dive including going onto back gas and rotating bottles. At first, I found this a little confusing for me, but it all comes together since again Bob gives you ample opportunity to practice the sequences. On some days, we would also even have time to just do an additional fun dive. Again, there was just no time pressure in our schedule which was the beauty of doing the class in Grand Cayman.
The dives get deeper with managing failures until you get to your experience dives. At this point, if Bob is taking you to 150-210 ft depths, its typically because he has confidence in the teams ability. He doesnt mess with you too much, and you can really enjoy the dives. The Grand Cayman reef walls are lush colorful reefs which seem to descend endlessly. Visibility is measured in hundreds of feet. You almost get vertigo hovering in the column because you can see so far beneath you. We ended up stumbling upon a large lionfish colony at 200 ft. depth. Those buggers are there to stay.
The team was successful in Grand Cayman, and we had a blast doing it. Bob again lived up to his well-earned reputation as an instructor. He is probably one of the most dedicated and hard working men that I know. His class is 7 days versus the typical 5-day class offered. That means he voluntarily donates 40% more of his time to try to get you where you want in his class. The man will work tirelessly to help you if you are willing to put forth the effort. I also couldnt have asked for two better teammates than Ed Parris and Chris Malinowski for this class. Super calm divers underwater who are dependable, capable, and always reliable. Thanks for having me on your team. Cant wait to dive with you guys again. Its weird being back at home now and not waking up to all three of your ugly mugs.
Back home in LA, I want to thank local GUE instructors Karim Hamza and Steve Millington for their support in my dive development, and Chris Hirsch for willing to running drills with me a couple of weeks before my class.
Finally, if you've come this far, thanks for reading!
