First certified as on Open Water Diver through the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) in 2004 and over the next two years I advanced to the rating of Dive Master with that agency. I hold specialities in Nitrox, Deep, Wreck, Underwater Navigation, Drysuit, Rescue and Equipment Specialist. I am also a factory certified technician with Oceanic. In 2006 I began technical training with the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI) and earned certifications for Into to Tech and Helitrox. I chose the YMCA program for Scuba Instructor because of my tech instructor, who was also a YMCA Instructor Trainer, and because the philosophy and training methods fit my idea of what dive training should be. In addition the program fit my moral and ethical beliefs of skills, education and student needs before all else. I became YMCA Silver Instructor in 2008, and upon the close of that program made the crossover to Scuba Educators International, whose philosophy was the same.
Since becoming involved with SEI Diving, I have worked to promote and support the agency by starting a worldwide email campaign to familiarize reports and dive operations with the agency and insure that SEI Diving certification cards will be accepted worldwide without question. In February of 2009 I received my SEI Diving Ice Diver certification. Another accomplishment has been to rewrite the SEI Diving Underwater Navigation Specialty (currently under review by our training department) to reflect the high standards and training philosophy of the agency. I am also involved in new guideline development for the AOW and AOW Plus courses and have created two new dives for these. The Advanced Skills Dive and the Buddy Skills and Assist Dive.
In addition to my formal training, I have over 300 dives in conditions ranging from warm clear water in the Florida Keys to the cold depths of Lake Erie. The Florida Springs, reefs in the Keys and off of the Caribberan Island of Bonaire. Wrecks in the St Lawrence River, the Florida Keys and Lake Erie as well as Monterey Bay in California are in addition to numerous local lakes and quarries in my logbook. I'm a very big proponent of the "Every Dive is a Skills Dive" philosophy and strive to pass this on to my students.
In my "other life" I work as a Waterjet Operator and Quality Control Inspector for Accutrex Products, Inc. and as a Home Health Care Aid. My wife, Denise, is not only my inspiration in life but is the reason I began diving as well. Sometimes she regrets that, I think! I have one son (23) servingj in the United States Air Force and a daughter (21).
This presentation deals with the importance of underwater navigation to “new divers” as well as the more experienced divers. It includes not only the “hows” of the discipline, but just as importantly the “whys”.
This presentation deals with the apparent lack of re-enforcement of the basic idea in entry level dive training. It includes buddy skills, positioning and responsibilities of the dive buddy. It also addresses the “insta-buddy” situation and the “DM is my buddy right” misunderstanding so many new divers have. It includes a paper on “diver responsibility”.