NAUI Intro to tech course report

[Slonda828]

I thought I would post this in case any of you were in the Savannah, GA area and were looking for a good Intro to Tech class.

I took the class over the weekend with Shannon McAteer, a NAUI technical instructor. It lasted three days, and there were a total of 5 dives. We covered the following drills and skills:

-S drill
-Anti-silting fin techniques
-"Toggling", which is what Shannon calls task loading.
-Using a lift bag/SMB as redundant buoyancy during BC failures.
-Shooting a bag/SMB with a finger spool.
-Resting SAC and working SAC practical exercise.
-OOG scenarios in open and restricted environments.
-Line drills.
-Rigging and using a stage/deco bottle.
-Lost mask drills.
-NTEC equipment configuration.
-Various academics including VPM/RGBM, reasons behind NTEC, etc.

We had to perform all skills at a horizontal hover, sometimes while in an outflow from one of the caves. Dives took place at Manatee Springs and Ginnie Springs. I will tell you that this course (in terms of individual level skills) was harder than my divemaster course, though in a completely different way. I learned a lot from this class, and the atmosphere was difficult, but Shannon kept it light. There are not a lot of GUE instructors around here (as far as I know), and I was a little worried about the NAUI class not being as difficult in terms of structure as the GUE one. I am not a GUE expert, but this class was very challenging. It is Monday afternoon and my back is still sore from using all my muscles to control my buoyancy while running a line in an outflow. I know there are lots of us who are pretty particular about who we let train us, so I just thought I would mention that I (and the three other divers) had a very positive experience. This class was no joke, and the drive home from Florida yesterday required several coffee stops in order to keep me on the road, hehe. I did not realize how similar the NAUI ITD course is to the GUE DIR-F course based upon my review of availible information via both groups' sites. I would imagine that there is an intermingling of instructors or coursework? The slideshow even said "Just do it right" in quotes right at the beginning.

Anyway, there's my .02 cents. If anyone has any questions, I would be happy to answer them.

 

[Rhone Man]

Sounds like a very thorough course for an intro to tec. Thanks for posting.

 

[TSandM]

I wouldn't be surprised if there are more than a few NAUI Tech instructors out there with some exposure to GUE . . . Four years ago, Fundies was about the only class for rec divers that taught this stuff. I know we have a local NAUI Tech instructor who took Fundies, and he teaches his Intro to Tech pretty much exactly as you describe.

The process of becoming a GUE instructor is not possible for some people (even people who would really like to do it) to get through, due to timing and location issues.

 

[Rhone Man]

I find it noticeable in tec training that there seems to be two schools of thought: the "little steps" approach, and the "big steps" approach.

Naui Tec and GUE seem to dice up their courses in salami sized slices.

TDI, IANTD and DSAT seem to allow you to swallow it all in a few big chunks.

I did a combined adv nitrox/deco proc/extended range with TDI in a single combo course. The logical next open circuit course to do would be adv trimix. It is really odd to think that one can bound from recreational diving to advanced trimix in two condensed steps.

The same seems to apply equally to penetration diver training.

 

[Bismark]

I find it noticeable in tec training that there seems to be two schools of thought: the "little steps" approach, and the "big steps" approach.

Naui Tec and GUE seem to dice up their courses in salami sized slices.

TDI, IANTD and DSAT seem to allow you to swallow it all in a few big chunks.

I did a combined adv nitrox/deco proc/extended range with TDI in a single combo course. The logical next open circuit course to do would be adv trimix. It is really odd to think that one can bound from recreational diving to advanced trimix in two condensed steps.

The same seems to apply equally to penetration diver training.

You made a very astute obversation. GUE's approach is that you can only absorb so much at one time and then, most importantly, you need to go forth and practise this before you can move on. Hence the requirement for a specific number of dives between classes. This allows the student to gain proficiency in the basic skills at that level before moving on. There is absolutely no point in moving forward to more demanding skills if you haven't demonstrated a solid ability to perform the skills at the previous level. The entire framework of GUE training is built upon this "building block" approach. For example, if you have not demonstrated rock solid buoyancy skills, attempting to add further task loading such as gas switching is just asking for trouble. Taking smaller steps forward means you don't have to take any steps backward.

 

[Slonda828]

I really like the way that NAUI organizes their technical courses. My intro course was really just the concepts that created a set of skills for all the other classes. Now I can take deco or advanced nitrox and I already know the basic skills that I am expected to be able to perform. I surmise that the GUE courses are arranged in a similar vein.

Plus it is always comical to slam into your team and get tangled in your own finger spool while open water students bicycle swim around whilst flailing their arms like they are in the midst of a seizure at Ginnie Springs