Does UTD have a presence in Florida?

[Daedalus]

The TDI guy when he spends 3000 USD is the fellow who has done 14 real world dives on top of his training. GUE guy on the other hand has spent the same money but he only has the card and no real world experience. Which of the two fellows would you like as your dive buddy for the next cave dive?

Take it 100 dives into the future. 114 vs 100 isn't a big difference experience wise. I think you're not fully considering the value of GUE training and the networking opportunities that come with it. I think they are well worth the premium, especially if you want to dive their way and do not have local contacts.

I have zero affiliation with GUE and these are third party observer opinions because I didn't go down that path.



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[OFG-1]

You know, this is deja vu all over again. I have seen this crap for the last 45 years, with the PADI/YMCA/NAUI/NASDS wars, the NACD/NSS-CDS wars, everyone ragging on IANTD, and the eternal flame that GI3 was, and is. This is the wrong discussion to have.

First, as a student and future cave diver, what are your intentions? Where do you envision yourself in 2 years, 5 years? What kind of dives are you going to be doing? How much money and time do you want to invest? Do you want to backmount or sidemount? Both?

Answer those questions first, pick an instructor and/or agency that suits you. Keep in mind, the average cave diver only is active for about 5 years or less after certification. Then they go and do other things, have families, get different jobs, move.

There are fine instructors that certify in all of the agencies, there are sketchy ones in all of the agencies, I know GUE instructors that are arrogant jackholes of human beings, I know others that are pretty nice people. I know good IANTD instructors, I know good NAUI instructors, good NSS-CDS instructors, I know good NACD instructors. I know good UTD instructors, (even if UTD sounds like Urinary Tract Disorder).

Don't get distracted from the point of the exercise, to make yourself a safe, competent cave diver.

[bent]

If saving nickels is your goal gue isn't for you. Nothing about it is cheap.

Do the instructors make more per day or does gue have higher fees for stuff?

Assume that the cost of a single cave dive after certification = 100 USD. I dont know the exact cost so I am using a rounded number.

You can do a bunch of dives for 100 bucks when you live on Florida or some other place that has cave within a short drive... once you got all your gear that is.
Unless you dive trimix or need the new fancy computer/drysuit/etc. every year, traveling is the pricey part.

[Six Feet Under]

If it hasn't been said yet, TDI doesn't do an apprentice-level course, either. Their curriculum goes from Cavern to Intro to Full.

[cerich]

That's not exactly correct for naui I believe. Unless its changed. You need intro to tech, cavern, cave 1, then cave 2. You may have been encompassing the first two with cave 1.

NAUI CAve 1 includes cavern. You do need intro to tech prior to cave 1, you don't need cavern

[cerich]

There are some procedural issues that are taught differently by instructors within most of the agencies. Jump's and T's are one, but that's easy to cover. However, one of the biggest emergency procedures differences is bump and go versus touch contact. I personally don't teach bump and go, except to discuss that it's "a thing," explain the reasons why I don't believe in it, and stress that a lot of people learn it and that it's an important to discuss procedures (like that) before getting in the water with a person for the first time.

bump and go? proper name is "Bump and lose"

[rddvet]

NAUI CAve 1 includes cavern. You do need intro to tech prior to cave 1, you don't need cavern

Ahh. Ours were separate courses years ago. Maybe it's changed or maybe it was out instructor's preference.

[PfcAJ]

Do the instructors make more per day or does gue have higher fees for stuff?


You can do a bunch of dives for 100 bucks when you live on Florida or some other place that has cave within a short drive... once you got all your gear that is.
Unless you dive trimix or need the new fancy computer/drysuit/etc. every year, traveling is the pricey part.

The daily rate seems to be higher for gue. A cave 1 course (5-6 days) is like 2000-2500 per student.

My rb80 course was 6000 total. Doesn't matter if two or three students, Rhea wanted 6000 for the week.

Tech 2 put me in Italy. ITALY!! And that was the most economical option at the time.

None of these figures include gas, tanks, boat (for tech courses), park entry, instructor per diem, etc.

It's not cheap.

[bent]

Tech 2 put me in Italy. ITALY!! And that was the most economical option at the time.

Wow, that's surprising, going from Florida of all places to Italy. Where did you go? Caves around Valstagna?

[PfcAJ]

Wow, that's surprising, going from Florida of all places to Italy. Where did you go? Caves around Valstagna?

We did it in open water in Portofino.

At the time there weren't as many options for Tech 2 in the US. One of the instructors I was interested in doing the course with (Gideon Liew from Singapore) was going to be in Portofino teaching a tech 1 course with 3 students. Another guy who was from Finland wanted to take T2 as well, so it worked out well as the 5 of us split Gid's airfare. We all "met in the middle" in Italy! My girlfriend and I made a mini-vacation out of it and spent an extra week hangin out in Rome and Pisa. It was an awesome and diving the ww2 wrecks was just outstanding.