Ron -- yeah, not being a medical type, I knew the "second vertebra" comment seemed a little strange, but couldn't remember the specifics. I am sure in the class they made the distinction that you did above, but I missed it. Sorry for any confusion this caused.
Cavediver -- yes, I read your report, which was great. I thought mine was long ;-) It sounds like the structure of both of our classes was very similar, but I have noticed some differences with each class summary that I have read, no doubt due to instructor differences, logistical "challenges" and time constraints.
The main "difference" I noticed in my class vs. others I've read/heard about is that the gear critique in my course was rather mild IMO. In some respects, I thought it was too mild and having thought about it some more since the course, I think I should have taken the initiative myself to have them go over my gear more fully. For example, the following were never discussed -- the use of a bungee loop to secure the wing inflator (I've always had mine hanging free), wing size (I use a 45lb Halcyon Pioneer), tank boots (I had mine on all weekend and no one ever questioned them), hose length (I have a 26" hose on my back-up reg, which may be too long -- again, no one questioned it; my inflator hose also needs to be traded out for a shorter length). It could be that people saw my gear and passed over it as being "acceptable" without any direct discussion, but there was never a formal "OK, let's look at your rig from top to bottom" discussion. We all received lots of individual attention on our harnesses, but this scrutiny did not continue with other parts of our rig.
Also not sure if this was done more formally with the people who were diving doubles in the class. I was diving single tanks and made it clear during the introductions on the first night of the class that my ST and LT diving goals are all recreational.......and perhaps this resulted in the more subtle/gentle critique. Some of this may also be instructor-specific. The single tank divers in the class did not dive with Andrew G. until Sunday. On our first dive with him, he started taking one guy to task about his wing (he was using what looked like a doubles wing) and also pulled a suicide clip off of his harness and tossed it back towards shore. Andrew's subtle comment after looking this guy's rig over was, "Who the f@$% checked your rig out yesterday?". No doubt some instructor demerits were handed out for that....
Bottom line, the class was worth every penny, but like any other training, there are always areas for improvement. I e-mailed Andrew some detailed feedback after the class (including the issues mentioned above). Certainly one of the challenges GUE will face as they continue to expand is the quality and consistency of the training.
I realized why.
