News
Choosing your Technical Instructor: Explorers & Educators
By: Allison White
As in every aspect of technical diving, choosing the right instructor should involve careful consideration and sound reasoning. Can this person teach me what I need to know? Do I agree with or can I learn from this person’s diving philosophy? What is this person’s teaching experience? How often does this person do the type of diving that I am hoping to learn? These are all very important questions that may take some time and research to satisfactorily answer. Technical students are often tempted to skip this time and research by basing their decision on one unrelated factor: How well known is this instructor?
Notoriety in any given realm of technical diving often stems from accomplishments in exploration. This is especially true of cave diving. Many divers wanting to take a cave or cavern class look for an instructor who is known in the cave diving community as an explorer. This explorer may be someone who dives sumps, surveys and maps virgin caves, sets new records for depth or time, discovers new cave biota, or researches the geology or hydrology of caves. The student is choosing this person to be their instructor based on these accomplishments, or often simply on other divers opinions of this person’s diving skills. However, these are the qualities that divers should consider when choosing a dive buddy, not an instructor.
When choosing an instructor, especially a technical instructor, divers should consider a person’s instructional skills, as well as their diving skills. While it is important that the instructor is an accomplished diver in the type of diving that they are teaching, have a strong passion for diving, and dive regularly, the student needs someone who can effectively teach them to safely achieve a knowledge and passion for technical diving of their own. This may or may not be an explorer.
Let’s look at a hypothetical scenario
I am a technical diver looking for a cave instructor. I am considering the following three instructors. Instructor A is a famous biospeleologist who has been cave diving for 40 years and still travels internationally at least four times every year to conduct cave diving expeditions for research. Instructor B is not as well known in the cave diving community. Instructor B has been teaching cave diving for fifteen years and also teaches a wider variety of technical diving, including wreck and ice diving. In the past five years, this instructor has done 50 cave dives, 45 of which were for instruction. Instructor C is also not as well known and has only been teaching cave diving for five years. This instructor doesn’t teach as many other specialties as Instructor B, but has done over 300 cave dives in the five years which they’ve been teaching, only 100 of which were for instruction.
I could choose any of these instructors and get a certification card
However, more than a card, I want to really learn about cave diving. I want to be as safe and informed as possible. I also want an instructor who can make me excited about cave diving. Instructor A is obviously very passionate about cave diving and has more experience in it than the other two instructors combined. However, I can’t find any information about his activities as an instructor. Other divers have only told me about his accomplishments as an explorer, and his website is focused on his scientific findings, though it does mention that he is a cave diving instructor and accepting students. I finally find a previous student of his and they tell me that while they learned a lot about biospeleology from him, he left most of the diving instruction to his graduate student, who was a divemaster. Despite being a famous scientist with an obvious passion for cave diving, Instructor A does not appear to have any passion for dive instruction.
Instructor B appears to have a great passion for dive instruction. His website is exclusively an exhibition of the various courses for which he offers instruction and is plastered with pictures of him diving with previous students. However, when I ask around the cave diving community, I don’t find anyone who has been cave diving with him for fun. I do find several previous students of his, all of whom assure me that he was a very thorough instructor and very few of whom ever went cave diving again after certification. Instructor B has the opposite problem from Instructor A: while he is very passionate about dive instruction, he has no apparent passion for cave diving itself.
Instructor C appears to be passionate about both cave diving and instruction. Many of the other cave divers I’ve spoken with have been diving with her and have nothing but high praise for her. I’ve also talked with several of her previous students, all of whom are still active cave divers and didn’t hesitate to share the many things that they learned from her. Her website is a balance between the instruction that she offers as well as her personal cave diving experiences, and has plenty of pictures of both. In the same amount of time, she has been cave diving six times more frequently than Instructor B, and two-thirds of her dives have been just for fun. After speaking with her on the phone, I discover that this instructor also shares many of my personal diving philosophies and has even more insights to offer. Even though she is not a famous explorer, Instructor C is clearly the best option among the three instructors for me to gain the knowledge and passion that I need to proceed.
Technical diving is often much more involved and dangerous than sport diving
It is imperative that students gain the information, passion, and experience that they need to become the next generation of safe and active technical divers. To achieve this is the responsibility of both the student and instructor. In order to ensure that you get the most out of your passion for technical diving, you should always be willing to spend the time and effort required to find the right instructor to help you get to where you want to be.
By Allison White TDI Full Cave Diver AAUS Scientific Diver
To find out more about International Training, visit www.tdisdi.com.
News
Stay Longer for Less at Temple Point, Kenya with Dive Worldwide
Dive Worldwide has recently introduced Kenya to its portfolio of dive destinations, making it a new must-visit for divers. The company has chosen Temple Point Resort, located in Watamu, a small town on Kenya’s Indian Ocean Coast. The resort embodies the spirit of Kenya, with thatched roof buildings and bright white interiors, complemented with local art. The Creek Deluxe rooms enjoy a creek view and sunset vistas, whilst Boutique Garden rooms offer peace nestled in lush greenery.
An abundance of activities such as golf, stand up paddleboarding and kite surfing await those looking for action; while those in search of rejuvenation may partake in a range of yoga classes, or indulge in the spa. Spend evenings dining poolside dining or lazing in hammocks suspended over the creek; there is no detail missed at Temple Point.
The waters surrounding Temple Point Resort are bustling with life, however, there is also an opportunity to explore on dry land. Tsavo National Park is close enough for a day safari, allowing guests to double up on the wildlife experiences Kenya has to offer, from elephants to whale sharks.
Suggested Dive Itinerary: Dive and Discover Kenya
Embark on an adventure to one of Africa’s finest marine parks, Watamu, the first of its kind in the continent. Created in 1968, Watamu offers excellent diving and snorkelling for those of all experience levels. Lively coral reefs and the surrounding waters are home to over 1,000 species of fish, devil rays, mantas, whale sharks, dolphins and turtles.
DEAL: Stay 12 nights for the price of 10 at Temple Point Resort
Price: Dive and Discover Kenya now costs £2295pp, saving £150 per person. Including international flights from the UK, 12 nights’ B&B (for the price of 10), transfers, 5 days, 10 dive pack, tanks and weights. Based on travel in September ONLY. https://www.diveworldwide.com/trip-ideas/dive-discover-kenya#details
For more information visit: diveworldwide.com or call 01962 302 087
News
Dive Worldwide Announces Bite-Back as its Charity of the Year
Over the next 12 months, specialist scuba holiday company Dive Worldwide will be supporting Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation with donations collected from client bookings to any one of its stunning dive destinations around the world. The independently-owned operator expects to raise £3000 for the UK charity.
Manager at Dive Worldwide, Phil North, said: “We’re especially excited to work with Bite-Back and support its intelligent, creative and results-driven campaigns to end the UK trade in shark products and prompt a change in attitudes to the ocean’s most maligned inhabitant.”
Bite-Back is running campaigns to hold the media to account on the way it reports shark news along with a brand new nationwide education programme. Last year the charity was credited for spearheading a UK ban on the import and export of shark fins.
Campaign director at Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We’re enormously grateful to Dive Worldwide for choosing to support Bite-Back. The company’s commitment to conservation helps set it apart from other tour operators and we’re certain its clients admire and respect that policy. For us, the affiliation is huge and helps us look to the future with confidence we can deliver against key conservation programmes.”
To launch the fundraising initiative, Phil North presented Graham Buckingham with a cheque for £1,000.
Visit Dive Worldwide to discover its diverse range of international scuba adventures and visit Bite-Back to learn more about the charity’s campaigns.
MORE INFORMATION
Call Graham Buckingham on 07810 454 266 or email graham@bite-back.com
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