Divemaster – Done!

We’re officially Divemasters!

The class schedule was more demanding than I expected it to be. I spent most of the last 8 days freezing cold, soaking wet and tired. You really hit a new level of saturated after 5 hours or more in a pool. I also had fun, learned a ton, met some cool people and solidified my desire to become a dive instructor. I wish I could have continued on to the IDC but my time will come.

Are you thinking about climbing the next rung on the certification ladder? Here’s what you can expect from a condensed 8 day divemaster class.

We took our class with Rainbow Reef in Key Largo. You can read about why we picked this shop here & how it went at the bottom of this post. If you’ve looked into divemaster classes you’ve found that a lot of them take 2 months or more to complete with most of that time being an internship. They get free work and you get experience working at a dive shop – not a bad way to do it if you have the time. We used our vacation time so that wasn’t an option for us.

Before class starts…

• Study the book! Do your best to get the books before the class starts. Read the divemaster manual and complete the knowledge reviews. There were a few people in our class from the USVI who couldn’t get their books until the first day of class. Trust me when I tell you the last thing you’ll want to do at the end of these days is work on the knowledge reviews. Chapter 9 is LONG and dense, save ample time for that one.
• Swim – if you have access to a pool go swim laps a couple times a week for the month leading up to your class. We work from home and swim laps on our lunch hour twice a week and it definitely paid off on the swim tests. You’ll have to do 400 yards in just a swimsuit, 800 yards with mask/fins/snorkel, 100 yard open water tired diver tow & 15 minutes of treading water. If you’ve been swimming these will all be a lot easier. Your score is based on time so doing it faster pays off especially if you score lower in other categories.

Get ready for long days…

At the latest class started at 7:45 with a few days starting as early as 7:00. If you’re like me, that means getting up at 5:45 to have enough time to wake up, drink coffee, pack up your gear, make a lunch to bring, etc. We got home from class anywhere from 5:30-7:00 depending on the day. By the time we rinsed gear, took a shower and ate some dinner I was ready for bed. Don’t fight it, you’ll lose. I was asleep by 8:00 a few nights.

I gained confidence & learned a lot…

Things I’m no longer uncomfortable with…

• Deploying a surface marker from depth – we practiced this a few times. Some launches went well and some didn’t but I learned how to deal with it when it didn’t and what to do the next time. I was always worried it would zoom me to the surface if it got tangled but the small sausages aren’t powerful enough to do that (not to me at least) and I know that now.
• Getting lost – between the mapping exercise, the lost object search and the navigation exercise in terrible visibility I’m no longer worried about getting lost and finding my way back to the boat. Before the class we always dove with a guide, now I’m really looking forward to diving by ourselves more often.
• Using a lift bag –  like the surface marker, these made me a little nervous too – and they should – they can be dangerous if they’re used improperly.

Things I learned…

• That I suck at tying knots – I really need to practice this one before the IDC. I sucked at it on the surface so you can imagine how it went underwater. I completed it but the PADI IE examiners will be much less patient.
• Creating a useful map of a dive site is more challenging than you think it’d be.
• There’s a huge difference between being a good recreational diver and being a good instructor. Demonstrating skills in a way that’s clear and easy for students to follow takes a lot of practice.
• That teaching people brand new to diving will be harder than I thought.
• The logistical stuff: how to fill tanks, organize the dive boat, get customers setup, the role of a first mate during mooring & docking, and breaking down the boat for the night.

I met some great people…

I love the different people you meet diving, we’re an extremely diverse group! Our class had 10 people and everyone came with a different story and background. A professional fashion photographer turned sailboat charter captain/divemaster, commercial divers switching to the fun side, a charter boat chef, an executive looking for a career change and a trail builder for the national park system in the summer looking for a great winter job. That’s a lot of diversity for a group of 10. All of them, including us, taking the leap to follow their passion. You don’t get this far in diving without a strong love for it.

On taking the class with Rainbow Reef

There are a lot of places in the Keys that offer professional level training & I’m glad we picked Rainbow. The class was professional and well organized. They have their own 12ft deep training pool along with a comfortable classroom setup just minutes from the boat. They also offer free accommodations during the class for out or town students (we were the only locals in our class). As I said in my last post – they have a great reputation for training solid instructors across the dive industry. This is the reputation we want backing us when it’s time to look for a job. We’ll definitely be going back there for the IDC & MSDT.

Have questions on something I didn’t cover or an experience to share? Leave it in the comments!

We’re enjoying a few days off now before heading back to work on Monday. I haven’t thought about work one bit since I logged off the Tuesday before class. I can’t wait till I can permanently not think about it.

Stay Warm Friends!