To Catch the Dream: My Journey from Open Water to Dive Instructor

[ScubaWithTurk]

It sounds like you are learning and improving your skills. Keep up the hard work and dedication because it will pay off. I like reading your updates and I am glad that they are frequent. You are not the only one to have lost a buddy while diving. I am guilty of this also. We rectified this by establishing that I would always be on his right side, ten feet away and if we were to separate we would shine our flashlights at each other and surface after a one minute search. We also made the rule that pictures are taken together by having one hover close by watching the other. You learn from your mistakes and good divers try hard to learn and not repeat them. I am far from perfect and like you, eager to learn and correct all that I can. Keep up the great attitude and I look forward to your next episode. Keep blowing bubbles young Jedi. ( reference to the continuing saga of your adventure ).

Yes my skills are improving. I am glad you enjoy the updates. I am trying to stay in top of them and get them out sooner rather than later.

Losing my buddy sucked and half-terrified me but since then I have yet to lose a buddy. I did end up with a totally different dive team, but that is for a soon to be published update. I like your picture rule as I often shoot video on dives. I will have to incorporate something similar so that my buddy is watching me as I am filming.

Your reference to the Jedi is not lost on me as I am a HUGE Star Wars nerd...but alas, I am Sith Master in-training. Dark side forever!

 

[ScubaWithTurk]

Catch the Dream: Diving Not Posting
APRIL 30, 2018 TURK VANGEL CATCH THE DREAM (TURK'S JOURNEY)


I have had a problem lately, in order to “Catch the Dream” I have had to dive a lot. Diving not posting is a severe problem not for the faint of heart. Can you sense the sarcasm here? When I last posted it was about a new tradition being born and ended with dive number 12. My dive numbers have skyrocketed and I am now sitting with 74 logged dives, am advanced certified as well as a sidemount diver! Now do you see why it has been hard to keep up with the weekly dive trip posts?

I have teased about some big news I have but I am still unable to discuss it in full so I will just say this, I have been accepted into a training program in the RAID system. For now that is all I can say but look for a post coming soon about this program.

I have spent a lot of time in Dibba, Fujairah with one weekend trip turning into a two week stay. Diving my butt off and learning a lot.

My evil instructor Marine getting in a photo bomb
Marine Owen has been a huge help in getting me comfortable in the water and working with me to progress my skills. Marine is a UTD Instructor Trainer, a Technical Instructor, PADI Staff Instructor as well as an EFR Instructor. Quite a lot but that isn’t all! She is also a cave diver, rebreather diver, hypoxic trimix diver (100 meters plus), tech scooter and drysuit instructor as well as a boat captain! Diving with someone of her caliber, it is easy to understand how she has helped me progress.





In the process of diving my rear off and staying salty, I was sorted of adopted by the dive center. All the instructors and captains, to include the owners, have taken me under their wing. So when they were short-handed of course I offered to giant stride in and help out in anyway I was allowed. I lugged tanks around, got gear out for those who needed rental gear, buddied-up with the customers who were alone and anything else asked of me. During this process there was discussion about me doing some PADI courses; something I thought I was through with now that I had been diving and training under the RAID system. Take some PADI courses and be able to do more here at the Freestyle Divers to help them out.

I gave it some thought and realized it could only make me a better diver and future instructor. If I know how two different agencies teach, I can adjust my teaching style, within standards, to incorporate the best of both worlds in hopes of making my students highly skilled and environmentally conscious right from the start.

Where does that leave me now you may be asking? Diving not posting of course. Ok, I kid.. I will discuss that in my next post which is coming soon.