Northwest Dive Club

Hey guys,
I am thinking about taking some entry level courses for tech, and I was curious which educators/organizations/facilities you had experience with... and most importantly if you had any recommendations.

Thanks!

mtrautman wrote:Hey guys,
I am thinking about taking some entry level courses for tech, and I was curious which educators/organizations/facilities you had experience with... and most importantly if you had any recommendations.

Thanks!

Depends on what you want ... and you have several excellent choices.

My personal experience is mostly with Scott Christopher, of Sound Aquatics. He teaches through NAUI, and I believe he now also offers TDI although all of my classes with him were NAUI classes.

Scott's very thorough, knowledgeable, and persononable. I would recommend him highly.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Take a look at this listing: http://www.nwdiveclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=9126

I did my intro, and am finishing my basic tech courses with Scott from Sound Aquatics. I'd have to echo what Bob said above about Scott being very thorough, knowledgeable, and personable and I've been really happy with my choice to go through Scott.

There are a lot of good tech instructors around here. Find one that fits your style of diving and you feel you will get what you want out of the class. Whether you want a specific agency or a specific type of instruction ask them about what type of diving they do, and just ask questions in general, because the instructor/instruction is more important than what brand of c-card you get in the end.

I only have experience with GUE, but I cant recommend Fundies highly enough! Or UTD Essentials. I havent taken the latter, but from my understanding you basically learn the same things. Fundies for me was an eye opener. It really let me know how much work I needed to do to truly prepare for tech classes. I think it laid fantastic groundwork for myself (and the other students), while still leaving room for the students to decide what knowledge to take, and where to go from there at the end of the course. I dont want to start a GUE or a DIR debate though. I am just stating my experience with the class, and that experience was AWESOME! Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about it

Big +1 for Scott. For me, understanding the "why" in gear configuration, skills, and dive planning is just as important (if not more so) as learning the "how". Scott is fabulous in that regard.

mtrautman -

The PNW is a pretty darned big area and you have not mentioned where you are located.

The instructors on the list that I linked above are all proven, tried and true....but here are a couple that might prove to be excellent for you in terms of location:

Ron Akeson is up in Bellingham and is a highly experienced instructor in all levels of tech diving, not to mention being a world-class wreck diver with a long string of true stories to keep you entertaining while you are learning. I've known Ron for years and have had several friends trained by him - they have all proven to be superb divers. If you live "up North" you might consider taking your training through him.

Don Kinney teaches over in Hood Canal, so if "the Hood" is close to you that might be of great benefit. Don is able to arrange lodging on the Canal as part of his training package. Again, I've known Don for a long time and have had several dive buddies trained by him - also with excellent results.

Good luck on your training!

John

If you're looking for a good entry level course that helps to lay down the foundation of tech diving, I would recommend the UTD "Essentials of Recreational Diving". The local instructor is Brian Wiederspan (BDUB on this board).

The course is a precursor to tech and focuses on the fundamental skills and equipment you you will need before taking more advanced technical training. The underwater class days are videotaped and reviewed afterward which was huge in showing me what skills I doing right and what areas I needed to work on.

I have to agree with John.
Ron Akeson is one of the most if not the most experienced tech instructor in the area. All of my tech training was beat into my head by Ron more years ago than I care to admit. If you live north of Seattle it would be worth giving Ron a call or just stop by for a chat. He is pretty flexible with tech training as far as schedule.
The other tech instructors that have been mentioned have great reputations. Depending on where you live and your schedule you should have no problem finding some quality instruction fairly locally.
While Ron is the only one I have trained with I do know a few of the others personally and would not hesitate to recommend them.
Take a good look at your tech goals. Wrecks? Caves? Reefs? Choose somebody who's interests align with yours for the best results and don't expect an easy road. Go slow DON'T rush it!!!!!!!

Good Luck have fun & be safe.
Rob

+1 for Scott at Sound Aquatics. I got my Trimix 1 and 2 through him, and he drilled the knowledge in to our heads. He teaches with a great amount of detail, and explanation.

I would also throw a recommendation for Marc at spartandiving.com. He is an instructor who was trained by Scott as well. Good people.

D

Thanks Guys!

For clarification, I live in Portland. So John, I will definitely look into Don Kinney. That being said, I am intrigued by all of the instructors you guys have mentioned!

Thank you!

Marshall

Update:

I have since taken GUE fundementals. I would like to clearly state that when I started this thread I was confident that I was ready for technical diving. As it turns out, there is much more to diving than feeling confident because "master" is in the title of your highest certification. I now consider myself 2-3 years away from having the ability to be confident going into a technical class.
Things like trim position, propulsion techniques and minimum gas are extremely important (in my personal opinion) to start getting used to before you place yourself in dangerous environments.
Diving with the GUE community I have met has really allowed me to realize the skill necessary to safely tech dive. I cannot recommend Fundies highly enough to anyone who might possible be in the same position as I was when I started this thread.
Just to be clear, I am not trying to put GUE over any other organizations. I know that there are all sorts of world-class instructors teaching through a broad number of agencies. At the same time, the education I had made me think that I was "ready" and may have launched me on a path that made me think I was in control and safe, yet I would have been neither. This should certainly be a consideration when viewing any class, such as one of technical diving, which ends in a certification that lets you go into challenging situations.

Hey Marshall!

Sounds like you had a great time with Steve Millington in CA, he is a GREAT instructor!

Looking forward to meeting you up here in Seattle sometime for some diving!

best,

Koos

mtrautman wrote:Update:

I have since taken GUE fundementals. I would like to clearly state that when I started this thread I was confident that I was ready for technical diving. As it turns out, there is much more to diving than feeling confident because "master" is in the title of your highest certification. I now consider myself 2-3 years away from having the ability to be confident going into a technical class.
Things like trim position, propulsion techniques and minimum gas are extremely important (in my personal opinion) to start getting used to before you place yourself in dangerous environments.
Diving with the GUE community I have met has really allowed me to realize the skill necessary to safely tech dive. I cannot recommend Fundies highly enough to anyone who might possible be in the same position as I was when I started this thread.
Just to be clear, I am not trying to put GUE over any other organizations. I know that there are all sorts of world-class instructors teaching through a broad number of agencies. At the same time, the education I had made me think that I was "ready" and may have launched me on a path that made me think I was in control and safe, yet I would have been neither. This should certainly be a consideration when viewing any class, such as one of technical diving, which ends in a certification that lets you go into challenging situations.

Congratulations on passing Fundies! Well, you didn't actually say if you passed, but I am going to assume you did. But it doesn't even matter if you enjoyed yourself and learned a lot, which it sounds like you did. If you are an active diver, you probably do not need 2 or 3 years of training after Fundies to take T1. Although, after having taken Fundies, I believe you will know best when T1 is right for you. I waited 8 months to take T1, and I happen to be finishing the course tomorrow. I felt like I entered it well prepared.
Hopefully you make it up here some time and we can dive together!

I did indeed pass! I got a rec pass, and my next goal is a tech pass. Hopefully over summer I will be able to train with the GUE community up here and get up to shape! My first step will be to get a drysuit... but that sadly requires money... so we'll see. Let me know if you would ever like to go diving. I will be available July/August

Well, we (the GUE community) host dives every Wednesday on Alki, and we usually plan weekend dives as well. Or at least a few of us (myself included) do. Send me a PM around July/August, if that is your timeframe, and we can schedule a dive.

Marshall is down here with me. We're gonna go diving to give him a taste what us PNW divers are made of

KaizerWilhelm wrote:Marshall is down here with me...

My condolences, Marshall..

:lol:

I mean no big deal, we're just having a bromance

Have I already been shunned?!?

KaizerWilhelm wrote:Have I already been shunned?!?

..And who are you exactly?