any serious divers here?
- Thread starter David P
- Start date
SeaJayInSC
New member
Re: You win
Re: You win
Nah, man... You win.
1971? I was one year old. You said you'd been doing it professionally since 1973... Commercial diver? Instructor? Charter captain? Too cool.
Heck, I've only been diving since 1986... Like half the time you have. I dove for years, off and on, before actually becoming certified.
I got really serious about it circa 2000, and in pursuit of a variety of different dive opportunities, found myself at Duke, in the Aquarium, serving our local volunteer rescue squad (which worked closely with the local fire dept.), and the like. That, combined with the consistent pursuit of a dive education (hence GUE, which led to being a 'KPP support diver), then owning a dive operation... Well, the experiences have come quickly, in quantity and quality.
I couldn't be happier. The best thing I ever did was quit being a computer guy and follow my passion of diving. I mean, I loved being a computer dink... But I decided to take the pay cut and take the risk of diving full-time... Thankfully, it's never been a pay cut (which is to say a lot), my company has been "in the black" since day one (mostly 'cause nobody would give me a loan), and it's been the most difficult yet rewarding job I've ever had. I wouldn't trade it for any job in the world.
Heck yeah, man... You're only a State away. My boat's always open, the wine always perfectly chilled, and the beer in my house has it's own 'fridge (it's in the dive garage).
C'mon over and let's go diving.
Re: You win
Nah, man... You win.
1971? I was one year old. You said you'd been doing it professionally since 1973... Commercial diver? Instructor? Charter captain? Too cool. Heck, I've only been diving since 1986... Like half the time you have. I dove for years, off and on, before actually becoming certified.
I got really serious about it circa 2000, and in pursuit of a variety of different dive opportunities, found myself at Duke, in the Aquarium, serving our local volunteer rescue squad (which worked closely with the local fire dept.), and the like. That, combined with the consistent pursuit of a dive education (hence GUE, which led to being a 'KPP support diver), then owning a dive operation... Well, the experiences have come quickly, in quantity and quality.
I couldn't be happier. The best thing I ever did was quit being a computer guy and follow my passion of diving. I mean, I loved being a computer dink... But I decided to take the pay cut and take the risk of diving full-time... Thankfully, it's never been a pay cut (which is to say a lot), my company has been "in the black" since day one (mostly 'cause nobody would give me a loan), and it's been the most difficult yet rewarding job I've ever had. I wouldn't trade it for any job in the world.
Heck yeah, man... You're only a State away. My boat's always open, the wine always perfectly chilled, and the beer in my house has it's own 'fridge (it's in the dive garage).
C'mon over and let's go diving.
liverock
RC Sponsor
Me too...
Me too...
" But I decided to take the pay cut and take the risk of diving full-time... Thankfully, it's never been a pay cut (which is to say a lot), my company has been "in the black" since day one (mostly 'cause nobody would give me a loan), and it's been the most difficult yet rewarding job I've ever had. I wouldn't trade it for any job in the world."
My situation exactly...out of college and into the corporate world for a couple of years...they sent me to Key west for some work......that was it , was hooked....you can read about it here
http://www.tampabaysaltwater.com/about/tbs1.html
never looked back....
Richard TBS:rollface: :rollface: :rollface:
Me too...
" But I decided to take the pay cut and take the risk of diving full-time... Thankfully, it's never been a pay cut (which is to say a lot), my company has been "in the black" since day one (mostly 'cause nobody would give me a loan), and it's been the most difficult yet rewarding job I've ever had. I wouldn't trade it for any job in the world."
My situation exactly...out of college and into the corporate world for a couple of years...they sent me to Key west for some work......that was it , was hooked....you can read about it here
http://www.tampabaysaltwater.com/about/tbs1.html
never looked back....
Richard TBS:rollface: :rollface: :rollface:
SeaJayInSC
New member
Wow... Loved that read! I, too, was an Air Force brat... My father a U2 pilot for years. My sweetheart is from Samsula, not far from Cape Canaveral.
...And I, too, grew up on "my" beach - although to this day it's still "mine," and is otherwise uninhabited.
I haven't worked on the 1715 fleet, but have a good dive buddy that does on a regular basis. I gotta get down there...
Loved your story - very interesting that our stories parallel so closely (despite the time difference) and we both ended up owning our own marine-based companies.
Your job description sounds like more fun, though... And not so mundane.
Let me know if you need help - I work cheap in warm, clear waters.
My sweetheart is from Samsula, not far from Cape Canaveral....And I, too, grew up on "my" beach - although to this day it's still "mine," and is otherwise uninhabited.
I haven't worked on the 1715 fleet, but have a good dive buddy that does on a regular basis. I gotta get down there...
Loved your story - very interesting that our stories parallel so closely (despite the time difference) and we both ended up owning our own marine-based companies.
Your job description sounds like more fun, though... And not so mundane.
Let me know if you need help - I work cheap in warm, clear waters.
David P
Premium Member
Cool, who you taking Fundies with? I have been told Fundies is THE hardest class. Because it forces you to completely change your way of diving. Followed by Tec1. Ive done an equivalent of Tec1 (without all the failures) but whenever finances turn backaround Im ready to take it.
In doubles I've tried Dive Rite, Oxycheq, Deep Sea Supply, and H I do like the Halcyon the best, the trim was almost instantly better without thinking about it. Same thing with my single donut wing.
craiglanda
New member
we havent started yet...We are going through bouyancy class first... Just finished bouyancy 1 and are taking bouyancy 2 the next session. After that we plan to jump into GUE fundementals with Ed over at scuba shack in CT. Once i saw that guy was ablle to back up while staying in perfect trim i said to myself "I need to dive like that!" So i plan to go as far as my finances take me through any of his classes!
liverock
RC Sponsor
Re: Re: You win
Re: Re: You win
Maybe...but the ones I dove for were on the sides of the mountains along the river where the dragger could not get to them....nothing like surfacing, hop on the boat and eat them while still wiggling!
Re: Re: You win
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14462989#post14462989 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by billsreef
I'll argue with you there, Peconic Bay Scallops beat out those big old ocean scallops any day of the week
Maybe...but the ones I dove for were on the sides of the mountains along the river where the dragger could not get to them....nothing like surfacing, hop on the boat and eat them while still wiggling!
SeaJayInSC
New member
That was pretty much my experience, too... Here's my report of my first Fundies class, about five years ago: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/basic-scuba-discussions/21992-dir-class-truth-comes-out.html
There's a number of GUE instructors throughout CA... You don't have to travel 3500 miles to take the class.
craiglanda
New member
I just read through your experience with your Fundies class... Thats pretty much the stuff we went over in Buoyancy 1. Im sure in less detail but its nice to know i wont be going into fundies without a good background of the information they go over. I guess it is a big plus that the shop i got PADI certified through has GUE instructors! So, i guess they teach that style of diving even in the non-GUE classes
I remember one drill in particular that we did that got everyones panties in a bunch... They split up the class so each person had a buddy. Then they made us swim with our buddies from the shallow end to the deep end while staying no more than 3 inches off the bottom of the pool. Once we got in the deep end they made us split so that your buddy would be on the opposite side of the deep end. Finally, they made us kneel on the floor and face each other from opposites side of the deep end...Without any notice they turned off one of our tanks and made us swim across the pool with no gas and go through an airshare drill.
Ill say this...It teaches you really fast why you should never get distanced from your buddy!!! just swiming across the pool without air and do an air share was hard enough and we were only 25ft or so from each other..I wouldnt want to ever experience that in the ocean!
SeaJayInSC
New member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14467232#post14467232 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by craiglanda
I guess it is a big plus that the shop i got PADI certified through has GUE instructors! So, i guess they teach that style of diving even in the non-GUE classes
I'm not really familiar with "Buoyancy I" or "Buoyancy II" - PADI has a "Peak Performance Buoyancy" and GUE has a "Fundamentals" class, but haven't heard of a "Buoyancy I and II." Must be another agency.
Still, if your shop has GUE instructors (many are both PADI and GUE certified instructors), then you've got the best of both worlds... And the cool thing is that no self-respecting GUE instructor will teach you some of the poor "shortcutted" techniques that PADI encourages in their "for the masses" classes... Techniques that you will have to "unlearn" later as your diving becomes more advanced. Instead, a GUE instructor will always give you skills that you can build opon - no skill will ever be forgotten, and even the most trivial thing that you learn in your very first class will still be applicable later in your dive career when you're into heavy penetration of deep caves or wrecks, mandatory staged decompression diving, scooter diving, rebreather diving, or any other diving referred to as "tech" by a lot of people.
...So you've got the best of both worlds.
Did you find that you could not do that with a flutter kick? How did you modify your kick style to accomplish this task? Did you find that these modifications in your kick style worked for those with "paddle" fins but not-so-well (or not-at-all) for those with splits?
That's kinda surprising. I bet that didn't come from a GUE instructor... Teaching divers to kneel in the very beginning is one of the largest issues to have to deal with later in diving. It's a really bad habit that needs to be "unlearned" as soon as you get out of the pool. You sure that a GUE instructor suggested it?
Wow.
There was a time when this was practiced pretty regularly from a certain few GUE instructors... But since, GUE has come down pretty hard on those select few, and officially made announcements that they do not endorse turning off someone's gas supply "without any notice," even in a pool during a drill.
Something's not sounding right... Who is this instructor? Are you sure he's GUE-trained? Is his cert current?
Last edited:
craiglanda
New member
Ok let me further explain since i did a **** poor job the first go round....
Through the entire class we didn't use the flutter kick at all. We were filmed in the pool doing the frog kick and modified versions of the frog kick. Then we would watch the videos and get critiqued as well as being critiqued while in the water (like if our knees were dropping, our butts were in air, we were plowing etc... They would have us come up for a second and give some instruction on what we needed to fix.)
Only for this drill did they have us kneel...This was done so that we were ready to donate our reg. It was explained in great detail how it is NOT OK to ever be found in this position but for the purpose of the drill and our inexperience with air share drills that for this one instance we are to kneel.
Again i explained this poorly. The person who had their air shut off was shown what was going on by the instructor and dive master demonstrating to them first. However while that persons buddy was on the other side of the pool was basicly clueless as to what was going on. all we got was the stop/stay signal. Next thing i knew i had my buddy hauling across the pool with their gas off (with the instructor swimming above them ready to turn the tank back on and donate their air) and we had to think quick to go through the air share drill when our buddy arrived in an out of gas situation... So, the person that had their tank shut off was well aware of what was going on and what the instructor wanted them to do once their gas wasnt flowing. The other person was the one captured by surprise.
Buoyancy 1 and Buoyancy 2 is not a technically through any agency..they are just classes that my dive shop offers only for you to learn and become a better diver. There is no certificate granted at the end of the class, no license or whatever. It is purely for you to become a better diver.
Through the entire class we didn't use the flutter kick at all. We were filmed in the pool doing the frog kick and modified versions of the frog kick. Then we would watch the videos and get critiqued as well as being critiqued while in the water (like if our knees were dropping, our butts were in air, we were plowing etc... They would have us come up for a second and give some instruction on what we needed to fix.)
Only for this drill did they have us kneel...This was done so that we were ready to donate our reg. It was explained in great detail how it is NOT OK to ever be found in this position but for the purpose of the drill and our inexperience with air share drills that for this one instance we are to kneel.
Again i explained this poorly. The person who had their air shut off was shown what was going on by the instructor and dive master demonstrating to them first. However while that persons buddy was on the other side of the pool was basicly clueless as to what was going on. all we got was the stop/stay signal. Next thing i knew i had my buddy hauling across the pool with their gas off (with the instructor swimming above them ready to turn the tank back on and donate their air) and we had to think quick to go through the air share drill when our buddy arrived in an out of gas situation... So, the person that had their tank shut off was well aware of what was going on and what the instructor wanted them to do once their gas wasnt flowing. The other person was the one captured by surprise.
SeaJayInSC
New member
Cool! I didn't mean to put you on the spot or make it sound like I was grilling you... I just didn't want some dude telling you that they were showing you "how GUE does it" and then proceeding to show you something else entirely. I've seen it quite a bit - people who have never attended a GUE class (much less passed it) try to claim that they're GUE-certified and teaching GUE "classes." It's very odd, and can give the agency a reputation for things that it does not deserve - including the idea that the instructors randomly shut off a diver's tank. That's simply not part of the curriculum, and has been addressed several times by Jarrod.
Anyway, you won't get a better education about diving than through GUE. And yeah, "Fundies" is really tough, but the sooner you do it, the easier it tends to be. Develop years of bad habits, and taking a Fundies course can turn really tough.
Having an instructor both PADI and GUE certified is a huge benefit.
Getting filmed underwater is a huge deal, too... It's a great tool. Did you find out a lot of things about your diving that you didn't already know? I know I did...
Anyway, you won't get a better education about diving than through GUE. And yeah, "Fundies" is really tough, but the sooner you do it, the easier it tends to be. Develop years of bad habits, and taking a Fundies course can turn really tough.
Having an instructor both PADI and GUE certified is a huge benefit.
Getting filmed underwater is a huge deal, too...
It's a great tool. Did you find out a lot of things about your diving that you didn't already know? I know I did...
craiglanda
New member
I wasnt concerned about you making me feel on the spot...I just didnt want to give the instructor a bad rep for my poor explanation... According to GUE's website, the instructor is 100% GUE certified and an amazing instructor to say the least!
The more i read about GUE fundamentals class the more i think that the buoyancy classes are basically an intro to GUE fundamentals. The buoyancy 1 class was basically going over proper use of our equipment, better breathing techniques ( like controlling your location in the water column with only the use of your lungs.. they had the numbers 1-3 on the wall of the pool in the deep end and had us go up and down while staying in trim/proper body position to a given number that the instructor would hand signal to us ..for one example) , and A LOT of propulsion techniques!!!!
Getting filmed was the best tool to help me progress at a much faster rate! I honestly feel that if we had the same class content but without the video... than i would have gotten less than half of what i accomplished in those 6 weeks just because i was able to see the mistakes i was making!
The more i read about GUE fundamentals class the more i think that the buoyancy classes are basically an intro to GUE fundamentals. The buoyancy 1 class was basically going over proper use of our equipment, better breathing techniques ( like controlling your location in the water column with only the use of your lungs.. they had the numbers 1-3 on the wall of the pool in the deep end and had us go up and down while staying in trim/proper body position to a given number that the instructor would hand signal to us ..for one example) , and A LOT of propulsion techniques!!!!
Getting filmed was the best tool to help me progress at a much faster rate! I honestly feel that if we had the same class content but without the video... than i would have gotten less than half of what i accomplished in those 6 weeks just because i was able to see the mistakes i was making!
SeaJayInSC
New member
That's how I felt about it too... Getting filmed was totally humbling - but completely helpful. I learned so much from that.
The funny thing is that nobody saw what I saw... It was ME that was so tough on me. The instructors, who were positively amazing, were very encouraging and positive about the entire experience... But I had a pretty tough time seeing my mistakes and admitting them.
...But that was where it all began for me. From that point I began to focus on the things that I needed to work on, and I was able to learn and excel in skills that I had no idea I was lacking.
Glad to know that you had such a good experience with the instructors - I did too. I learned more in that first weekend of Fundies than all of my education and experience to that point - which, if I remember right, was PADI OW, AOW and Rescue, plus SSI's Nitrox class and more than a few hundred dives.
One weekend. Amazing. Tough on the ego, but amazing. I don't think I'd be a professional diver today if I hadn't gone that route.
Sounds like your instructor is spot on. Who is it?
The funny thing is that nobody saw what I saw... It was ME that was so tough on me. The instructors, who were positively amazing, were very encouraging and positive about the entire experience... But I had a pretty tough time seeing my mistakes and admitting them.
...But that was where it all began for me. From that point I began to focus on the things that I needed to work on, and I was able to learn and excel in skills that I had no idea I was lacking.
Glad to know that you had such a good experience with the instructors - I did too. I learned more in that first weekend of Fundies than all of my education and experience to that point - which, if I remember right, was PADI OW, AOW and Rescue, plus SSI's Nitrox class and more than a few hundred dives.
One weekend. Amazing. Tough on the ego, but amazing. I don't think I'd be a professional diver today if I hadn't gone that route.
Sounds like your instructor is spot on.
Who is it?
craiglanda
New member
Im sure i still messed up explaining what actually happened in the class in comparison to what i "remember" happening hahah! But as our instuctor said many of times "when we get in the water as relatively new divers our brains get short circuited"
Ed Hayes was the instructor.
The one problem i had with the video is that once i saw what i was doing wrong i got almost too focused on fixing that one in particular thing .So in effect everything that i was doing correctly went out the window while focusing on fixing the specific thing i saw myself do wrong the previous class on video. haha
Im pretty amped for buoyancy 2. From what i understand we basic;ly take everything from buoyancy 1 and build on it by taking the material from the first buoyancy class and applying it to team diving (teams of 3?) Ill let you know once I start that class
Ed Hayes was the instructor.
The one problem i had with the video is that once i saw what i was doing wrong i got almost too focused on fixing that one in particular thing .So in effect everything that i was doing correctly went out the window while focusing on fixing the specific thing i saw myself do wrong the previous class on video. haha
Im pretty amped for buoyancy 2. From what i understand we basic;ly take everything from buoyancy 1 and build on it by taking the material from the first buoyancy class and applying it to team diving (teams of 3?) Ill let you know once I start that class
SeaJayInSC
New member
Lol... Yep, that was me.
Well, that was me pre-cancer at 238 lbs, about four years ago. I lost a whopping 70 pounds or so in the first six weeks of chemo. Today I've leveled off at a much trimmer 215 or so, and have readjusted to a little healthier lifestyle, so my appearance is a little different than it used to be. In fact, I'm actually trying to get back down to about 195 or so - which isn't difficult when you dive every day and favor green foods and water to cheeseburgers and Cokes like I used to.
Photos taken more recently: http://www.DeepSouthDivers.org/seajay
But yeah, thanks for noticing the show. I'm super-pleased with the way it turned out; it made us all look like the pros that we strive to be.
Shooting for Discovery was fascinating - until that point, I had never actually met with Art Arsenalt (the dive controller for the US Navy in 1958, who was responsible for the dive searches at that time) and two of the four pilots involved who actually did the bomb-dropping (the other two are dead). Talking to them had the amazing benefit of cutting out all of the "noise" created by years of legends and media coverage, basically allowing our team to get the most accurate, real story that we possibly could.
Consequently, the story aired is as accurate an account that I've seen - there's a lot of myth and folklore about the bomb - that it's no longer there, that it was never there in the first place, that it doesn't have a trigger onboard and that it's "nothing but a big paperweight" (actually cited in the show). The truth is that the weapon is COMPLETE - that it DOES include all of it's parts... Even the trigger. Yes, it is there - and is still there. Yes, it's right off the coast of Savannah, and yes, it's buried in the mud. Yes, it's true that nobody knows it's exact location, and yes, it's still lost. No, it's not leaking, else we'd have found it already.
Accidental detonation - at least of the nuclear kind - is nearly an impossibility. The conventional explosives on the bomb (about 400 lbs of TNT) could detonate, creating a "dirty bomb" in the middle of the ocean - only dangerous because the area is fished and shrimped so much. That could endanger human lives indirectly.
Of larger importance is the fact that the bomb may leak weapons-grade uranium and plutonium into the sea or down into the water table - creating a very large problem with all of the population that uses that aquafer for it's drinking water... Which is pretty much everyone from Jacksonville, FL to Atlanta, GA to Charleston, SC. Of course, the government is testing these waters regularly, so we feel that any leak should be picked up pretty quickly, before human lives are threatened.
The biggest worry that we have is that the bomb is still nuclear-capable, and it's placed nicely to destroy basically the entire East Coast of the US... If our enemies find it before we do... Well, we've got a problem. They wouldn't even have to move it to make it effective. All they'd need would be the bomb's location and a suicide bomber to set it off, and 9/11 would look like child's play compared to the destruction.
Yet, the US Government says, "No big deal. Can't find it. It's nothing but a big paperweight."
This "paperweight" is a fully armed 1.5 megaton nuclear bomb - 100 times the power of the bomb we dropped on Hiroshima.
...So we're looking for it.
It amazes me that our small group of admittedly super-qualified professionals (see the show - credentials are impressive) is the only hope we have of finding this bomb.
All I know is that it's good for 25,000 years - SOMEONE is going to find it, eventually. I just hope that they're on our side.
Well, that was me pre-cancer at 238 lbs, about four years ago. I lost a whopping 70 pounds or so in the first six weeks of chemo. Today I've leveled off at a much trimmer 215 or so, and have readjusted to a little healthier lifestyle, so my appearance is a little different than it used to be. In fact, I'm actually trying to get back down to about 195 or so - which isn't difficult when you dive every day and favor green foods and water to cheeseburgers and Cokes like I used to.
Photos taken more recently: http://www.DeepSouthDivers.org/seajay
But yeah, thanks for noticing the show. I'm super-pleased with the way it turned out; it made us all look like the pros that we strive to be.
Shooting for Discovery was fascinating - until that point, I had never actually met with Art Arsenalt (the dive controller for the US Navy in 1958, who was responsible for the dive searches at that time) and two of the four pilots involved who actually did the bomb-dropping (the other two are dead). Talking to them had the amazing benefit of cutting out all of the "noise" created by years of legends and media coverage, basically allowing our team to get the most accurate, real story that we possibly could.
Consequently, the story aired is as accurate an account that I've seen - there's a lot of myth and folklore about the bomb - that it's no longer there, that it was never there in the first place, that it doesn't have a trigger onboard and that it's "nothing but a big paperweight" (actually cited in the show). The truth is that the weapon is COMPLETE - that it DOES include all of it's parts... Even the trigger. Yes, it is there - and is still there. Yes, it's right off the coast of Savannah, and yes, it's buried in the mud. Yes, it's true that nobody knows it's exact location, and yes, it's still lost. No, it's not leaking, else we'd have found it already.
Accidental detonation - at least of the nuclear kind - is nearly an impossibility. The conventional explosives on the bomb (about 400 lbs of TNT) could detonate, creating a "dirty bomb" in the middle of the ocean - only dangerous because the area is fished and shrimped so much. That could endanger human lives indirectly.
Of larger importance is the fact that the bomb may leak weapons-grade uranium and plutonium into the sea or down into the water table - creating a very large problem with all of the population that uses that aquafer for it's drinking water... Which is pretty much everyone from Jacksonville, FL to Atlanta, GA to Charleston, SC. Of course, the government is testing these waters regularly, so we feel that any leak should be picked up pretty quickly, before human lives are threatened.
The biggest worry that we have is that the bomb is still nuclear-capable, and it's placed nicely to destroy basically the entire East Coast of the US... If our enemies find it before we do... Well, we've got a problem. They wouldn't even have to move it to make it effective. All they'd need would be the bomb's location and a suicide bomber to set it off, and 9/11 would look like child's play compared to the destruction.
Yet, the US Government says, "No big deal. Can't find it. It's nothing but a big paperweight."
This "paperweight" is a fully armed 1.5 megaton nuclear bomb - 100 times the power of the bomb we dropped on Hiroshima.
...So we're looking for it.
It amazes me that our small group of admittedly super-qualified professionals (see the show - credentials are impressive) is the only hope we have of finding this bomb.
All I know is that it's good for 25,000 years - SOMEONE is going to find it, eventually. I just hope that they're on our side.
