Not quite 16 Reasons to Go Pro

The Dive Guru posted in September last year 16, actually 15, reasons Go Pro or to become a professional scuba diver. In PADI terms this means Divemaster or higher. 

While I agree with a number of the 15 statements (the 16th reason is a fill in the blank) I responded with:

Additional income shouldn't be a reason to GoPro. You won't get much additional income, in fact you'll more than likely loose money by becoming a pro. (Hence the tax write-off portion, although depending on your local laws this may or may not work.) Essentially you'll be disappointed if you join for the money. 

My favorite things are meeting new dive buddies and learning to become a Scuba Guru. The free boat rides are nice and the deals on equipment can be killer but still don't justify it [I should add doesn't justify the time commitment]. 

The time you spend in the water as a Pro isn't the same as by yourself / with your own buddies learning the sites since you are worried about compeleting skills, the safety of students, etc. Professional divers should always set aside fun diving from "work" diving otherwise they run the risk of burning out. 

[Besides] I like to think of Scuba Diving as the closest thing I'll ever come to experiencing Space Exploration. =)

PADI might approve the comment but regardless I think it's best to be realistic with becoming a professional scuba diver. Don't promise the world and not deliver. =)

Up and running again

Back up and running again. Our domain issues should now be resolved as we've officially dumped 1&1 internet services!

Offline

SearchNrecovery.com will be offline for a few hours as we attempt to switch our hosting provider.

2012 IDC Crewpack

For 2012 PADI is going to change the materials found in the IDC Crewpack by adding the Prescriptive Lesson Guides as stated on the PADI Instructor News blog.

I start my IDC in January (wahoo!) but I know from experience trying to find an accurate and up to date PADI IDC crewpack was difficult. (I'm having that problem now with the EFR crewpack). I don't know from past experience how often the crewpacks are updated but it seems like a single store could easily accumulate several versions and sell someone out of date items - especially slates!

Regardless I posted a comment which might be approved that said something like:

I'd like to see a mostly / all digital version of the IDC Crewpack at at reduced price or with more materials. The lesson guides, instructor manuals, exams, DVDs, etc. can all be put on a flash drive - no binder required. You'd still need the physical cue cards but even the application forms could be digital. $500 for a Crewpack seems a bit expensive for the amount of materials you get. Essentially we are paying $350 for a sticker.

I'd like to add digital products are easier / less costly to update. If you had a flash drive in the IDC Crewpack and it became out of date, PADI could recall the packs and simply update the flash drive (along with the slates). PADI could also throw in some other value like the Recreational Encyclopedia of Diving or something to that affect.

Picture with Scuba Santa

Two weeks ago Sports Chalet did their Discover Scuba Diving with Santa Claus. Did you get your picture taken with Scuba Santa?

Turns out almost as many certified diver's got in the pool with Scuba Santa as did new potential students! See below as Steven and Santa (Tony) smile for the camera.

The entire thing was free - including the prints of the photos. Marry Christmas!

First Photography Award

A few weeks ago the dive club I belong to (Pacific Explorer's) had their annual Holiday Party at BJs which involves food, a raffle with lots of prizes and a photo and video contest. I submitted this jellyfish photo in the macro category:

Moving

We're planning to move our domain name to a different service (our blog platform will still remain Blogger) in a few days and there is no telling what types of outages we will suffer from. Hopefully it won't be too long. We apologize in advance!