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Hey there. We're no longer teaching, but here is some helpful info when searching for an instructor.
We took enormous pride in the quality of training we provided and our students were our best spokespeople…their skills and knowledge spoke for themselves. Unfortunately, many of our students came to us after bad or less-than-desirable experiences in other classes. While it was extremely satisfying to help those students build confidence and watch them grow and enjoy diving, it always broke our hearts because for each one of those students who decided they wanted to give it another try with another instructor, there were likely several whose bad experiences killed their enthusiasm for diving, or scared them out of the water for good. Here are some considerations and questions for potential instructors to hopefully save you money, time, and headaches.
First things first…what is your (the student) budget?
The saying “You get what you pay for” holds true in dive training. Quality training comes with a higher price tag. Lower prices often mean less pool time, class time, a minimum of open water dives and bottom times, and larger class sizes.
Confession- early in our professional diving careers, we worked as divemasters in very large classes that were sold very cheap. Classes were always full, often with the maximum student:instructor ratio (more on student:instructor ratio below), and unfortunately the classes often were just not fun for the students, as they had to wait for the rest of the students to perform their skill while kneeling on the bottom, getting colder. Rinse/repeat for each skill. Class dives had to be at least 20 minutes in order to count as a dive, and we were out of the water at exactly 20 minutes. Barely enough time for all the students to complete their skills, once, and if a student was struggling, there was no time for extra attention to get them caught up. At the end of the class we would almost always ask in hindsight if they would have paid more if it resulted in smaller class sizes, smaller student:instructor ratios, more dive time, etc and 75% would respond that they would certainly pay more. It’s no coincidence that this set our path for smaller classes and more in-water time when we became instructors.
For more advanced & technical training, we recommend seeking out an instructor who is doing the dives you want to do / learn to do. That instructor will be able to draw from personal experience when teaching, which is extremely important. Teaching diving is not the same as diving and there is absolutely no substitute for real world diving and experience at your highest certified level, and this includes instructors.
QUESTIONS FOR THE INSTRUCTOR
How long are the class dives?
Some agencies have a minimum of 20 minutes. Typically, depending on the gas plan, students can dive much longer than 20 minutes. Ending the dives when the first student hits their gas plan turn pressure builds awareness with the students by forcing them to monitor and manage their gas (under the watchful eyes of an instructor), and often results in longer dives than the class minimums, and ample in-water time is critical to learning safe diving practices. 45 - 60 minute dives are ideal and reasonable, gas plan allowing.
Will the dives be conducted while neutrally buoyant?
This is a non-starter
In real life, we dive neutrally buoyant, in order to prevent damaging the bottom, hurting sea life, and because sometimes we are in the water column and not able to see the bottom let alone kneel on it, among numerous other reasons. Many instructors feel classes are easier to teach with the students, and sometimes the instructor, kneeling on the bottom. However, this teaches bad habits from the very beginning that will be very hard to break. Diving and performing skills while neutrally buoyant is a fundamental skill that should be taught from the very beginning of the diver’s training, starting in their first pool session for their Open Water class. Additionally, each subsequent class should teach the diver new skills, performed while neutrally buoyant.
How many pool sessions are there?
Pool sessions allow the student to learn and practice the skills they will be performing in open water, but in a controlled, shallow environment. How long are the pool dives?
How many open water dives?
Open water dives are arguably the most critical part of class. This is where you will be performing new skills under the watchful eye of the instructor. Maximizing this time is extremely important.
Are the agency’s Standards & Procedures published and public?
They should be. If not, request one from the instructor. Read them.
What is the student to instructor ratio?
This directly impacts the safety and learning experience. Many recreational classes have a maximum of 6:1 (1 instructor to 6 students) or more. We found that ratio to be rather difficult even on Puget Sound's good visibility days. 3:1 should be the max for technical classes. Any ratio higher than 3:1 should be a non-starter for technical training.
Are there any experience dives?
For our first several classes as new divers, we learned new skills, but when it came time to utilize those skills, we weren’t sure how to go about it. We did a deep dive in our Advanced class, and did a puzzle at depth to show us our narcosis. When we wanted to start diving a little deeper, we really just knew to stay aware we were impaired. This resulted in a couple of low-on-gas situations, because we weren't taught how to plan the dive, or develop a gas plan. Experience dives allow the students to plan, prepare, execute, and debrief the dives at their new training level, all under the supervision of the instructor.
*NOTE- INSTRUCTORS SHOULD BE IN THE WATER, WITH THE DIVERS, AT ALL TIMES ON EXPERIENCE DIVES! Students doing the dives while the instructor is on shore is not a proper experience dive and defeats the purpose of the experience dive. Additionally, no skills or "failures" should be introduced by the instructor on the experience dives.
Are dives video’d for class review?
This is a non-starter
Video doesn’t lie, and while it can be painful to watch yourself stumble through a new skill, we have all been there, and there are few better tools than the student being able to see themselves performing a skill underwater.
*Important- Class video should be just that…video review/debrief in the class only. It’s extremely important that the students are comfortable in making mistakes, and seeing those mistakes with their classmates and instructor. Video should not be posted anywhere public, or shown to any others outside of class.
How many non-class dives does the instructor do per year?
While challenging in its own regard, teaching diving is not the same as diving. Diving in different conditions, at different sites and experience levels allows the instructor to stay current with his own skills, and draw from experience, mentioned above, they wouldn’t be able to do if they always simply taught classes and didn't do any personal fun dives.
What gas plans are taught and used in class?
This is another non-starter
Gas plans are the most basic, fundamental skill / knowledge to safely plan and execute a dive. “Thumb the dive at 500psi”, while considered by some to be a gas plan, is not managing gas. It’s memorizing a number that has no “plan” behind it, and can quickly get the diver into a dangerous situation. Rock Bottom, Minimum Gas, Thirds, etc are all examples of gas plans. Rock Bottom / Minimum Gas should be taught in Open Water, and reiterated and expanded upon in subsequent classes.
What skills are taught and performed in class?
What equipment configuration is taught and used?
Shipwreck exploration in the northern Red Sea with Red Sea Explorers
Connecting Sac Actun and Dos Ojos, creating the world's longest flooded cave
Our collaboration with GoPro on the highly successful official GoPro series
Shipwreck exploration in the Giants Graveyard and Needles areas of the Olympic Coast Marine Sanctuary off Washington State.