Old dog, new tricks. Fundies.

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JamesK

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I have decided to talk a little bit about Fundies. This past week I took GUE Fundamentals in High Springs.

Before I get in to the class, let me give you a little background on myself. I have been cave diving since 2002. Most of my dives have been in caves. When I started diving I was mentored by GUE divers. For years I dove in what was considered DIR, but lacked "formal" training. I had to get out of diving for a little while because of the army. When I came back, I taught myself side mount. I had not been in back mount for years until two weeks ago.

My normal dive partners are three GUE divers, one back mount only diver, and three other divers who go between both BM and SM. Then poor old me. LoL my diving usually consists of up to two stages and a scooter. Lately it has started to get deeper then I care to go on a non helium mix, and more stages then I care to take in SM. So, with future trimix training on the horizon, I needed to get back in back mount. So in steps GUE Fundies.

Two weeks ago I did a dive with one of my regular partners to wok out the cobwebs. (Thanks Katepinatl) I knew somewhat where I stood.

I enrolled in Fundies with Meredith Tanguay of Wet Rocks Diving | ... more diving! Home of Meredith Tanguay, GUE Instructor. Meredith knew my background and knew how I dove. She also knew what my goals with Fundies were. I will not get much in to the dives or class as you already know what to expect from that.

The class was great. Meredith is a great teacher. Her classroom presence and teaching style are very good. Her in water skills are what you expect of a GUE instructor. Underwater instructions were clear and concise, and feedback was honest and constructive.

So, after 11 years of cave diving, what could I possibly learn. Well, a lot in my opinion. It was an amazing back mount refresher and skills refinement class. It made me understand where GUE has gone in the past ten years and where they are going. All in all, a great class and well worth it, even for this old dog. Will I go back to SM, absolutely. It's needed some of the pales I go. Will I let this week go to waste, hardly. What I learned will carry on with me in all my diving.

So I am still an Undercover DIR agent, I just now have a tech pass.



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A big congrats, James! Mer is good people. She was an intern during my Fundies class and was always there to offer tips and suggestions.

I'm glad you enjoyed the class.

I'm signed up for C1 in the Spring and will be looking for folks to show me some of the caves once I've completed the class. Maybe I can put you on the "to bother" list? LOL.
 
Tech Pass first try is something to be proud of, not matter how long you've been diving!
 
Congratulations! I love to read reports from people with as much training and experience as you have, where folks have found this class valuable anyway.

Mer's rapidly acquiring a very fine reputation as an instructor!
 
A big congrats, James! Mer is good people. She was an intern during my Fundies class and was always there to offer tips and suggestions.

I'm glad you enjoyed the class.

I'm signed up for C1 in the Spring and will be looking for folks to show me some of the caves once I've completed the class. Maybe I can put you on the "to bother" list? LOL.

Cool! Let mw know when you are in town. I would be happy to show you around.

Tech Pass first try is something to be proud of, not matter how long you've been diving!

Thanks. I was pleasantly surprised.

Congratulations! I love to read reports from people with as much training and experience as you have, where folks have found this class valuable anyway.

Mer's rapidly acquiring a very fine reputation as an instructor!

Thank you. It was a great class.
 
What a great report! Thanks for posting it. Congratulations on the tech pass!
 
Congratulations JamesK! It's great to hear that you gained so much from Fundies! Mer is cool. I agree with Cyprian, she's good people & works hard for her student's success :)! Hope to bump into you & say hi one of these days.


I'm signed up for C1 in the Spring a

Good luck Dan! Can't wait to hear your class report ;-)!
 
Thank you! To take a basic class at this point into diving, was difficult. The thought process that went in to it started as a joke, then grew from there. I am very happy I went ahead with it.


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