Instructor/Instruction recommendations?

[alibi 2]

If you are trained as only a basic diver you can take the drysuit training...your next step would be advanced...NAUI basic covered some navigation and rescue but the advanced goes into deep diving with deco and more advanced navigation...it is ok to be PADI basic and take the NAUI advanced...after advanced you should consider rescue diver training/cpr/first aid and O2...after that is complete you can make the step to master diver...divemaster and instructor...

If you arent already doing it make sure you are keeping a written log of your diving as many of the upper classes require a certian number of logged dive....as for instruction...Im sorta biased...I think www.scubawithdave.com is the best but that is in the Santa Cruz area...

 

[Thalassamania]

Dave's very good.

 

[Peter Guy]

I don't know if 5thDX (UTD) is still doing their "Essentials of DIR" but if they are, that could be a good alternative to Fundies. One of the main reasons is that "Essentials" can be taken with "normal" recreational diving gear while GUE's DIR-F requires (I believe) the class be taken in a Hog rig and non-split fins.

BTW, I did the whole 5thDX recreational series (Essentials, Rec2 and Rec3) in addition to DIR-F and found them to be quite complementary.

 

[alibi 2]

Thalassamania, I'm honored that someone with your experianced back ground approves of Dave's background...I think in the past we may have crossed paths...the benefits of an experianced instructor is that they are teaching with the motivation of turning out safe divers and hopefully those diver's have a great time learning and have the desire to continue to grow in their diving education...its not about the money (which sucks)...it's personal ....its a desire to pass the torch..

Dave is one of the few instructors who is willing to teach 10yr olds...he relates well to them having coached little league and soccer...we present each young student with a shark tooth necklace...

We are currently working on getting training to teach disabled divers...our goal is to work with those with sever spinal cord injuries especially returning veterans from Iraq...we feel the soldiers have done so much for us that this is a small way to thank them...

 

[Thalassamania]

Remember, I used to be a University DSO, I lived in Santa Cruz and Dave Nagel (the past UCSC DSO is an old friend). I used to hang with Douglas Nesbit.

 

[alibi 2]

Cecil now is in charge of the dive program at UCSC and her husband Steve is in charge of the scientific dive program...They are both in Anartica doing research right now..very cold diving..

I recognize all the names you mention...we have been diving the bay since 74'..but the family has been here before the state was a state...my great ,,great jumped off a french whaling ship in the bay and swam ashore (I guess he was an illegal alien..lol)...he became one of the first ship builders in santa cruz,,building the ship "Celeste"...my great uncle was the captain of the swim team at the santa cruz boardwalk...so the area and waters are in my blood...

 

[Thalassamania]

I spent a good deal of my life living on Chestnut Street.