Our IDC started on August 1 with four eager but slightly panicky candidates.
Martin with Petr and Mike getting ready to do skill circuits
First up we had Martin, who is changing careers. He’s making a sideways jump from the snowboarding industry to diving and had been with us for 4 months already. He had spent an unprecedented 6 weeks out of the water due to ear infections and was hurriedly catching up on missed water work prior to the IDC.
Next was Petr, the crazy Czeck children’s brain surgeon. Petr was at TSD last year doing his DM and came back for his summer holiday this year to do his Assistant Instructor course.
Petr’s first few days were full of mishaps. On the day he arrived he was so excited to be back, that as he was getting off the boat, waving at us with his phone in his hand, he managed to drop it in the sea. Very shallow sea, but still deep enough to kill a very expensive Nokia. The next day, he managed to lose a fin on a dive. The day after he broke a fin strap on his brand new pair of fins…. And then he got himself an ear infection. Still, it gave him time to finish his knowledge reviews and brush up on physiology which was not his strong subject (joke only, ha ha, he’s a doctor). Despite all this he managed to do stunningly well on his Assistant Instructor course.
Number 3 was Lil’ Dave who was still recovering from being ill for a week, and it was touch and go as to whether he would be okay in time to start.
Working hard!
The only person that was in tip-top shape at the start of the IDC was Mark. In retrospect, this was to be expected as he had just come from Manila where he was practicing with his teammates in the Volcanoes, the Filipino national Rugby Team. Mark kept his ‘other job’ very quiet from us all until it slipped out after the IDC. His month as TSD was his ‘break’ before he heads off to Malaysia to play for his adopted country. But despite his excellent physical shape, it had been a year since Mark did his DM and some serious swotting up on Physics was required.
So the run up to the IDC was slightly hectic with lots of last minute preparations. But then… we all sat down for the welcome lecture from CD John Taylor, and it had begun…
The IDC begins...
The IDC went very well. Petr finished his Assistant Instructor course and sadly had to leave halfway through… but someone has to save those children’s lives in the Czeck Republic. He plans to come back next year to finish what he started. The others carried on to finish the entire IDC. Everything went very smoothly and by the end of the course our lads were up to speed.
Confined Water Presentations
After all this preparation and all the training, our three candidates sailed through the two day Instructor Exam. No problems at all – everyone passed everything first time, scoring mostly 4.5’s, 4.8’s and 5’s (out of 5).
Classroom presentations
Martin, the poor thing, got Spencer limits to explain, but Mark lucked out and got the same classroom presentation he had given during his IDC.
After returning triumphant to TSD as newly certified Open Water Scuba Instructors, it was time for them each to complete five Specialty Instructor Ratings. Our instructor, Kim, joined them for this one and finally there was some female input on this IDC!
Wreck Specialty Instructor course - learning how to tie off lines inside wrecks without getting yourself all tangled up in knots!
Last but not least, after three weeks of very hard work, was the IE party. We made it into a big party with a spread laid on courtesy of TSD for the candidates, our staff and customers.
Congratulations!
A very good time was had by all.
Mark has already moved on to find work before he has to head off to Malaysia for the Asian rugby tournament. Martin and Dave will be with us for a few more weeks completing their MDST Prep program.
Congratulations guys!
TSD's newest Instructors L-R Instructor Examiner George Wegmann, Martin, Dave and Mark
