I am often asked to name the course I most like to teach and quite frankly it’s a very difficult question.
I must say that the Open Water course is possibly the most rewarding insomuch as the learning curve is so steep and watching people go from apprehensive nervousness initially to calm and capable divers in a matter of a few hours underwater is very satisfying.
The Advanced course can also be equally satisfying. Deep specialties, night diving and search and recovery also rate very high on my list, but in all honesty it is more about the person you are teaching than about what you are teaching them.
A recent student, her opening statement to me being “I am terrified of water,” was after six Open Water dives a competent, relaxed diver with exceptional buoyancy, excellent airway control and a desire to explore and investigate everything. Such a student is very satisfying.
Spending time in the sea is what I love to do: setting up lift bags, positioning hoops for buoyancy, navigating to specific features underwater, staying down after everyone has returned to the boat as you are diving on nitrox, hanging around an octopus for an entire dive with my camera, or just drifting across the ocean at a safety stop… It’s all a learning curve, and even though I teach someone something everyday about diving, so I learn something new each and every time I dive with a different person. I see something new every time I go diving and no matter how many times I dive the same dive site I will always encounter something different. That’s the ocean, that’s diving, and that’s why I love to dive.
