tellin’ it like it is….

My name is Brad Ostaffy, also known as ‘Trang the Dragon-Slayer’ to my friends in the World of WarCraft.  To many, the thought of crossing the bridge from recreational diver to dive professional holds many mysteries and uncertainties.  Having just completed my SSI Dive Control Specialist (Dive Master) with a most excellent and reputable dive shop, please allow me to outline my experiences to put you at ease and perhaps enlighten you on the process of becoming a DIVE MASTER.

You might be asking; why choose Wicked Diving?  A good question. 

To quote form their website:  “We do not offer “short courses” and we are not a factory school. We only enroll a very limited numbers of divemaster interns at one time. We aim for the most thorough training and our goal is to make you an employable, experienced member of the worldwide professional diving community. Our course is twice as long as most other shops, and almost all our former Divemaster students are working as DM’s in the Similan Islands and around the world.”

We wanted a thorough, safety-minded shop and the website and email correspondence with Wicked Diving was exactly what we were looking for.  At one point we were more worried they wouldn’t take us on as students, which is a bit of a role reversal.

We arrived a few days before our program started and were in the water straight away, first a wreck trip and then a liveaboard to Richelieu Rock.  Outstanding.  The diving was exceptional.  Our first dive off the liveaboard was at Koh Bon with half a dozen manta rays circling us the whole dive.  The rest of the trip was stunning: Richelieu Rock, more mantas at Koh Tachai, I could go on all day.

Once back on land we hit the books hard, lectures on physics, physiology, equipment, navigation.  Our instructor, Marcel, was top-notch, with an amazing ability to teach to anyone in a most enjoyable way.  We spent hours in the pool practicing skills and learning how to present and evaluate underwater.  So much time was spent on the bottom of the pool, my knees were actually rubbed bare (of hair).  Only now is it growing back.  We took a field trip to the hyperbaric chamber in Phuket and took a DAN Oxygen provider course with Paul, another top-caliber instructor with a passion for first aid and an overall excellent guy. 

Rescue skills were evaluated, swimming abilities were tested, Emergency Assistance plans were written, Open Water classes were assisted with.  SSI DiveCon is assistant instructor and dive master in one, this means lots of focus on classroom presentations and teaching.  Stating objectives and checking learning by asking questions are some of the new ticks of the trade. 

Balancing all this with 6 liveaboard trips to the glorious Similan Islands, you can imagine how 8 weeks and 60 dives just slipped by.  What a blast.

Making the jump from recreational diver to dive professional is an unexplainable shift.  The first time you take responsibility for a customer underwater is a big deal.  That said, after extensive training you are equipped with the proper “tools” to make the job enjoyable and safe.  I urge anyone thinking about doing there Dive Master course to be prepared for a huge responsibility, make sure you are confident and comfortable underwater this will ensure maximum enjoyment of the best job in the world.

Dive Safe, Bitches.  Brad