Wow, after reading all the posts here (which seem off base for the most part) I really have to chime in since Jinjer and I just got back from staying at the Sunset House and spent several hours over days with Cathy, Kat, and the rest of the group there.
First, let me say, we have been on two trips to the Caymans this year (June and then August/Sept) and both times I spent time with Cathy. Over those two trips, I probably spent (on the clock) over 20 hours with Cathy in a one on one basis. Besides those "teaching" hours, I have spent time there in their store and at dinner and in ALL my time I wouldn't characterize her as "grumpy" or "grouchy".
Cathy is one of the nicest people and is VERY fun to be around. She loves what she does and really has a true excitement in seeing you develop your skills. I have been on 5 dives with her specifically where she was my "teaching buddy" and she is like diving with a divemaster who also knows a TON about taking great pictures. She breaths like a fish. After an hour dive, she can have 1500psi left and I am sucking the tank inside out so she can stay down as long as you can (use Nitrox for maximum benefit). She communicates very effectively with her "doodle pad" and gestures. She even talks through her reg in a fairly understandable way
. She also poses for you on some shots so you can practice shooting your buddy.
In the time I spent with Cathy, I learned more than I ever could from a book and trial and error. Even in one session, you can learn more than you could in years on your own. The reason I use session is, you better just plan on 3 hours or so per session (at $125/hr). You will have the pre-dive setup of the camera and her working with you and your settings so you better understand your camera's capabilities. You have the dive of course, and then the post-dive review and critique. Most of the time, I spent about 4 hours per session (I like to talk about a picture longer
). So, plan on $375 to $500 for a private session with Cathy.
Jinjer (my wife) worked with Kat who is also VERY good and will do all the same things as Cathy for $60/hr.
I guess the fact that we spent so much time and $$$ there should speak for itself. We never found them to be rude, grumpy, grouchy, or anything other than helpful and VERY enjoyable to be around. We went to dinner with Kat a couple of times and Cathy and Herb were at dinner with us a night also. I suppose if you are the personality that is cocky and thinks they "know it all", then you might bump heads with her because she is not affraid to say what she thinks and knows. I have found her very open to ideas when she isn't sure of something and she realizes and admits its a constent learning process. I am very similar to her personality (other than she is FAR more cheery than me
). She is always smiling and runs around like a 20 year old yet she is around 60.
At some point (not in the too distant future) I know she plans on retiring and in fact Ivan delayed that to some degree because it destroyed some rental property she had for income. So take the opportunity to work with her if you can, I sure will. In fact I am planning on getting down there again either this year or first of next year.
