Can't find a class that fits your schedule? Not sure how to start? Why
not get personal instruction for about the same price as some group lessons! From referral classes during the winter months,
to certification and instruction, through professional Divemaster training, I can provide a course tailored to your needs.
What do I mean by referral class? You do some self-study with a provided
book and watch a DVD which reinforces the self-study. We get together at night or over a weekend to review your progress and
take short quizzes to check your learning. One or two pool sessions teach you the basic skills required for your certification.
You receive a completion card, and then at another location (usually in your chosen vacation destination) conduct your four
open water dives with the local instructor, leading to certification. The referral is good for one year, so if for some reason
you did not arrange your certification dives on vacation, you could do it somewhere else.
Certification class: After the same self-study, we do pool and classroom
sessions over one weekend, and then open water dives at a local quarry during a second weekend.
What is Open Water? Open water means diving that is not in a swimming pool, or in shallow water that
offers swimming pool like conditions. Locally, this usually means diving in a quarry or lake. Most have special platforms
installed so that training does not stir up as much silt as if we were on the bottom, and visibility remains better. I won't
kid you, the water is cold compared to a tropical vacation, and the visibility isn't as nice as the tropics. Seeing bluegills
or a crayfish is cool, but most of the time spent diving is simply doing skills to meet requirements.
Advanced Open Water: After some self study, conduct five dives over one
weekend. One of the dives will be a deep dive, and another will focus on underwater navigation. The next three are decided
based on your interests - underwater scooters? search and recovery? peak performance bouyancy? your call.
Check out the next page for a full listing of classes I can teach. All classes require the student
to complete a waiver of liability, and complete a medical form. If you have items which may be incompatible with
diving like high blood pressure, diabetes, or asthma, your doctor will need to sign to clear you for diving prior to beginning
training.
