Who knows more now?

[Ari]

My instructor makes a living diving. Not as an instructor but as an UW works diver. He is diving for 15 years, on a daily basis and has been down to about 300'.

I was very lucky to get him as an instructor, as he really knows his stuff and conveys his knowlhow very well.

Anyway, I will probably never get as good, but it doesn't hurt to know that you were thought by the best.

Ari

 

[Ferrara]

I have passed my original instructors in knowlege, skill, diver qualifications, and instructor qualifications and experience. The more I learn the less I think of them. Had I stayed with them I might have remained ignorant. You know "mixed gasses a dangerous fad but 160ft following a Caribbean DM on air is OK". I wont even get into the equipment recomendations which changed every few weeks.

 

[dc4bs]

I still dive with my OW instructor as his buddy.

after 6 years I've almost got my air use down to where his is... Most dives I use less than everyone but him now.

Other than that we have very similar builds/diving style and now gear (our new dive computers are 1 digit apart on serial numbers etc...)

I started getting all my new gear in blue (he will only get black if available) just so people could tell us apart underwater (bright blue drysuit and fins )

He keeps bugging me to get certified as a DM so I can work with him teaching students but so far I have avoided the question prety well. I'm not really interested and due to that I don't feel I would give the students all the effort and attention they need/deserve from a DM.

I'm more than willing to show up and be a "demo dummy" for him on ocation though.

 

[trymixdiver]

I dont think i can ever forget my Rescue diver instructor, this guy was active duty Master Sgt who taught Marine combat swimmers. He can and will always swim circles around me. Good to know he is on my side, wouldnt want to tangle with him in the H2O.

TMD

 

[chiara]

Now, after two years and 112 dives under my belt, I must say my first instructor was good in the pool, but poor in open water.

I still think of him fondly, but I wouldn't make a dive with him unless really, really in an emergency.

All the others have been different, the one who certified me for Dive Master is now my regular buddy.

 

[Texas Tek-diver]

I don't recall how good my O/W instructor was...a lot of time has past and my class was rather large (had about 20-25 students).

My current instructors are the best around. They provide a good experience base to draw from and I have a lot to learn from them, both in and out of the water. I can't hold a candle to these guys.

 

[dkerr]

I can't vote truthfully because I have no idea how good she was. I, like everyone else, knew nothing of scuba diving when I took my OW. I think I am fairly proficient now, but comparing it to someone I dove with in a group 3 years ago? Just can't do it.
Dkerr

 

[MikeFerrara]

In an earlier post on this thread I sort of trashed my OW instructors. I'll stick to my guns on that one but will toss in a pos comment. I recently completed a NACD cave course. Our instructor is one of, if not, the best I've ever seen both as a diver and as a instructor. Having been an instructor for several years myself I think I am a fairly good judge of instructors. The last couple days of class we traveled through some areas with very low (for me) ceilings (only inches of clearance above and below)and very silty floors. We did so without silting (the point of the whole thing), however it was work and required consentration. He does it without even altering his breathing (for buoyancy control). This is of course wearing double 104's.

 

[ebbtide]

MY instructor can still teach me a thing or two ,
and it will always feal like that i hope .
i dont want my head to swell !

 

[Hooligan]

My first instructer was one of the most amazing divers I have ever met. He was one of those old divers who had been in the industry from close to the begining. He was a navy seal for a long time, he used to mix his own nitrox in his garage before any diveshops would do it for him because they thought it was unsafe. Unfourtanatly he had to pass from this world when a piece of shrapmill probably about 30-35 years old got unlodged . I've worked with some amazing instructors but i'd say he's up there with the best, like Bob Smith, NAUI #8 which I had the honor of meeting and chating with. We should all pour out one for all of our fallen hommies.