Instructing in Aurora

[boulderjohn]

The people in our shop who do the local OW instructing, which includes me, have grown increasingly disenchanted with Chatfield, and we have decided to move to Aurora. I have only dived Aurora once, during a bitterly cold and sleety afternoon last October. I could use some advice.

I believe it is OK to set up a platform with floats and leave it for the weekend. Any advice on that?

If one has only a couple of students and don't want to go to the trouble of setting up a platform, is it OK to use the airplane as a staging area so that you can keep track of them and keep them off the bottom, using the wings as a point to hold on to while awaiting your turn to demonstrate skills?

I have heard that it can get up to 50 feet deep in places. While I was there for my only visit last year, I stayed near the airplane, which was only 23 feet. Where can one get more depth?

I have been told there is a navigation course there. Can someone give me information about that?

Anything else I should know?

 

[RonFrank]

Hey John,

I believe it is OK to set up a platform with floats and leave it for the weekend. Any advice on that?

I'd contact the park management, and ask them what is required. Most shops setup their own rectangle of enhancement, but I don't know if that is a requirement.

I have heard that it can get up to 50 feet deep in places.

Chatfield is shallower than the 35' (currently) on the plane. I have hit 50', but you have to go outside of the scuba area to do so, and from my understanding that is not something that is allowed.

I have been told there is a navigation course there. Can someone give me information about that?

The entire site is a Nav course! We discussed this Sat, and I don't know of a NAV course, but it's easy to create one!

 

[boulderjohn]

Thanks, and it was great diving with you this weekend.

I got my questions answered on Saturday, mostly by watching the two shops that were in operation.

 

[knotical]

I have heard that it can get up to 50 feet deep in places. While I was there for my only visit last year, I stayed near the airplane, which was only 23 feet. Where can one get more depth?

We were able to get deeper than 50 feet by descending the mooring lines for the more far-flung buoys that define the scuba area. iirc, we reached 65' on one. But that was several years ago.