New Diver Going (proverbially) Head First

[The Cosmicist]

Welcome to ScubaBoard, and Howdy! from Texas. Glad to have you aboard! In addition to "Dive, Dive, Dive," I would also recommend finding an awesome instructor, one who is more interested in teaching with an emphasis on safety, than flexing their ego. Then, let that instructor guide you through the advancing scuba education process.

Very good point. I've noticed the consensus is that instructor matters more than agency when you are certifying for more advanced diving. More of a mentor, actually?

There’s nothing wrong with planning. I had a five year plan.

That's my style! haha

Hi! So, where will you be diving primarily?

Good question, but I can't answer that! I'm in GA, USA right now, so FL is the best location, but I'll be moving for work sometime and I don't know where yet. When I do move, I'll be asking for instructor recommendations for sure.

Your location seems to put you somewhere in the middle of the S Pacific Ocean. How's the weather there?

Have fun!

Given the above, and also my sense of humor, the coordinates I put for my location are a joke for H.P. Lovecraft fans...

1. Follow the advice above about continuously practicing buoyancy, finding a patient instructor focused on safety, and diving a lot.

2. Respect the limits of your training and experience. Add complexity and difficulty slowly, with appropriate supervision, and after you conduct additional dives in conditions similar to your certification dives to become more proficient at those introductory dives.

3. Make safety the focus of every dive. Never let a secondary objective obscure the primary objective of having everyone return safe from every dive.

Best wishes,

All very good points. Thanks for that. We all want to keep diving, right? I'm in it for the long run, and I am a firm believer in doing in right (not in the DIR loaded-phrase sense) instead of quickly.

 

[Lorenzoid]

. . . Start with the end in mind, right?

Wait, is that bit of wisdom from Lovecraft or Jablonski?

Seriously, I smell a candidate for GUE training.

 

[The Cosmicist]

Haha, not Lovecraft! He would have said that if you have the end in mind, you're already crazy...

I've read a bit about GUE and I do find parts of their philosophy/approach attractive. I'm open to that if I am a good candidate, and they seem to have a good reputation. Why do you think I'd be a good candidate for them? Is that a good thing?

 

[Lorenzoid]

Haha, not Lovecraft! He would have said that if you have the end in mind, you're already crazy...

I've read a bit about GUE and I do find parts of their philosophy/approach attractive. I'm open to that if I am a good candidate, and they seem to have a good reputation. Why do you think I'd be a good candidate for them? Is that a good thing?

"Meticulous" comes to mind. GUE's Fundamentals course can be frustrating and rewarding and a lot of other things. One thing it is not is like any other dive course you have taken. Have you read class reports people have posted? You can find some Fundies reports here: DIR Class Reports - A Consolidated Inventory? Some more:

GUE Fundamentals (Rec) report (Part I)

GUE Fundamentals Class Report (22 APR 2019)

 

[The Cosmicist]

Thanks for that! I read through both of those as soon as I saw your reply, and I appreciate that you included your own experience. I'll go through the "consolidated inventory" over the next few days, but I already have a bunch of questions based on those two threads. I'll also be thinking about this when I take my AOW course next month.

 

[The Cosmicist]

This is a dead thread (for good reason), but I figured I'd give an update to those who were kind enough to reply. I took "Advanced" Open Water, and unfortunately my instruction was sub-par and it was a bad experience. It also wasn't very challenging.

After that, I was convinced that I needed to search for a different kind of training. GUE Fundamentals was the next step for me. I got into a GUE Fundies class the week before it started... Had 4 days to prepare and I was the only student to receive a (Rec) Pass. I was pretty proud of myself. That is exactly the type of dive training I've been looking for, and my instructor was fantastic! As soon as I can get more experience I'll be back for my Tech Pass and beyond. @Lorenzoid Thanks again for the suggestion and for sharing your experience. That helped inform me about GUE and led me to the conclusion that GUE is the right path for me (at least for right now). Now if I can just find a GUE group to join...

 

[Lorenzoid]

Well done, @The Cosmicist! Glad to hear it was what you were looking for. Who was your Fundies instructor?

 

[The Cosmicist]

Yeah, it was a good experience. My instructor was Danny Riordan. I’ve (obviously) only taken one class with him, but I highly recommend him!

 

[Nosmosis]

Yeah, it was a good experience. My instructor was Danny Riordan. I’ve (obviously) only taken one class with him, but I highly recommend him!

Danny is awesome. Really deep insights about your diving. Chill guy too - I enjoyed his company and learn an enormous amount.

 

[The Cosmicist]

Danny is awesome. Really deep insights about your diving. Chill guy too - I enjoyed his company and learn an enormous amount.

I couldn’t agree more! That’s a great way to describe him. I will seek him out for future courses.