My Venture into GUE - Another view

[Scott L]

Jax, I took the opportunity to reread most of the thread and I can tell you that your experiences nearly mirrored my first attempt in 12/09 at High Springs, FL.

With 1500+ single cylinder dives spread out over 20 years I figured I could ignor TSandM's often stated advice to have 20+ dives in the configuration that will be utilized in class. With 4 doubles dives to my credit having completed TDI's Adv. Nitrox/Deco procedures the month before class, I confidently strutted into GUE-F on Thursday morning and by Sunday afternoon I was hiding all sharp objects anywhere in reach. I also e-mailed my instructor the next day chastising him for my shortcomings. As of this date, I have offered 3 different apologies to him and more will probably be forthcoming when I see him in person in an up-coming visit to spring country.

Based upon your initial posts which indicated that you elected to sit out significant in water time during day 3 in Scuba Club's tank, along with electing to sit out 2 ocean dives due to sea-sickness, it is now quite disingenuous to misrepresent the class's in water statistics.

To continue this rant for 30+ days against the finest scuba diving instruction agency in world along with quite possibly the finest instructors in the world is IMO becoming quite ridiculous. The effort and passion GUE instructors put forth for 4-5 days still amazes me. If you desire a good template for an apology please PM me as I have a dandy one.

 

[LiteHedded]

Jax, I took the opportunity to reread most of the thread and I can tell you that your experiences nearly mirrored my first attempt in 12/09 at High Springs, FL.

With 1500+ single cylinder dives spread out over 20 years I figured I could ignor TSandM's often stated advice to have 20+ dives in the configuration that will be utilized in class. With 4 doubles dives to my credit having completed TDI's Adv. Nitrox/Deco procedures the month before class, I confidently strutted into GUE-F on Thursday morning and by Sunday afternoon I was hiding all sharp objects anywhere in reach. I also e-mailed my instructor the next day chastising him for my shortcomings. As of this date, I have offered 3 different apologies to him and more will probably be forthcoming when I see him in person in an up-coming visit to spring country.

Based upon your initial posts which indicated that you elected to sit out significant in water time during day 3 in Scuba Club's tank, along with electing to sit out 2 ocean dives due to sea-sickness, it is now quite disingenuous to misrepresent the class's in water statistics.

To continue this rant for 30+ days against the finest scuba diving instruction agency in world along with quite possibly the finest instructors in the world is IMO becoming quite ridiculous. The effort and passion GUE instructors put forth for 4-5 days still amazes me. If you desire a good template for an apology please PM me as I have a dandy one.

when are you heading up to high springs?

 

[EastTNDiver]

I don't know, Scott...I haven't gotten any impression of this thread being anything close to a rant. I think Jax gave a good, level-headed account of her experience, and a lot of good information has come out of this thread from a good number of people. GUE may very well be the best dive training agency in the world, but no agency should be above the scrutiny provided by such discussions. In fact, I would say discussions such as this are probably a big part of why GUE is what it is today.

 

[Scott L]

I don't know, Scott...I haven't gotten any impression of this thread being anything close to a rant. I think Jax gave a good, level-headed account of her experience, and a lot of good information has come out of this thread from a good number of people. GUE may very well be the best dive training agency in the world, but no agency should be above the scrutiny provided by such discussions. In fact, I would say discussions such as this are probably a big part of why GUE is what it is today.

The bulk of the discontent seems to be coming from only two class participates. If available, can someone re-post the other classmate's experience's/version's?

In short, I am getting a whiff of bruised egos for which I know firsthand takes a lot of time to heal...

 

[Lobzilla]

Jax, I took the opportunity to reread most of the thread and I can tell you that your experiences nearly mirrored my first attempt in 12/09 at High Springs, FL.

With 1500+ single cylinder dives spread out over 20 years I figured I could ignor TSandM's often stated advice to have 20+ dives in the configuration that will be utilized in class. With 4 doubles dives to my credit having completed TDI's Adv. Nitrox/Deco procedures the month before class, I confidently strutted into GUE-F on Thursday morning and by Sunday afternoon I was hiding all sharp objects anywhere in reach. I also e-mailed my instructor the next day chastising him for my shortcomings. As of this date, I have offered 3 different apologies to him and more will probably be forthcoming when I see him in person in an up-coming visit to spring country.

Based upon your initial posts which indicated that you elected to sit out significant in water time during day 3 in Scuba Club's tank, along with electing to sit out 2 ocean dives due to sea-sickness, it is now quite disingenuous to misrepresent the class's in water statistics.

To continue this rant for 30+ days against the finest scuba diving instruction agency in world along with quite possibly the finest instructors in the world is IMO becoming quite ridiculous. The effort and passion GUE instructors put forth for 4-5 days still amazes me. If you desire a good template for an apology please PM me as I have a dandy one.

Scott,

Welcome to the long list of people who project their own experiences and feelings on the class covered in this thread while having absolutely no clue or evidence of what actually happened.

Rather than insinuating what my classmates observed and felt, let me restate my own observations and opinions (that I can backup with facts).

The class in question had some logistic problems that were obvious to both the students and the instructors. In my case, this was discussed with the instructor of record and a solution to rectify this was found. Problem solved.

My respect for the instructors and the agency they represent has greatly increased as a result of this class.

My rub is with the notion perpetuated on this board that everyone, including people who want or need a tech pass, should enter GUE-F 'with an open mind' and no prior preparation.

That advice is as much BS as claiming that at 180' on air you are not narked silly or that you can safely ascent from 180' with a spare air.

One would assume that these stories would die in the wake of reason and because nobody can actually prove this BS. But no, not in diving and certainly not on the internet.

 

[Scott L]

when are you heading up to high springs?

April 28 - May 1 range. Will PM you as that time approaches.

 

[Jax]

Based upon your initial posts which indicated that you elected to sit out significant in water time during day 3 in Scuba Club's tank, along with electing to sit out 2 ocean dives due to sea-sickness, it is now quite disingenuous to misrepresent the class's in water statistics.

:w-t-f: Where did you get that?

 

[Cave Diver]

My rub is with the notion perpetuated on this board that everyone, including people who want or need a tech pass, should enter GUE-F 'with an open mind' and no prior preparation.

I'm not sure where you get that from. I've seen several suggestions in this thread alone that you should have a few dives in the equipment you plan to dive before entering class. That seems like preparation to me.

 

[Lobzilla]

The bulk of the discontent is coming from only two class participates it seems. If available, can someone re-post the other classmates experiences/versions?

I assume that the silent class attendees were smart enough to anticipate that some notions on this board are impervious to facts, evidence, and reason. They most likely decided not to waste their time in an ultimately futile battle.

 

[Cave Diver]

I assume that the silent class attendees were smart enough to anticipate that some notions on this board are impervious to facts, evidence, and reason. They most likely decided not to waste their time in an ultimately futile battle.

That applies to some people as well.