It's always a tragedy when we lose one of our own. I'm sorry for the loss of a colleague. I'm not sure if I agree with Nekton being a "boot camp." In some rspects you are correct--I worked aboard the Pilot for over 8 years (1995-2003) and in the office for two and I probably saw over a hundred crew members come and go. On the other hand, I worked on the boat long enough to have a better perspective and I can name over a dozen crewmembers who stayed for at least three years (which is an eternity in the dive industry!). There are two things which should be noted:
1. Employment on Nekton is usually cyclical--they go through "up" periods where the crew gels and stays on for long periods of time (I particularly remember 1997, when the average crewmember had been around for over two years--when we won World's Best Liveaboard from Rodales. There are laso "down" periods where there are internal problems with the crew (and office) and people stay for less than six months. This cyclical nature is something I observed on a regular basis over a ten year period.
2. It is important to consider the transient nature of the dive industry in general. There are a lot of young instructors out there willing to work for peanuts but also looking for their next great adventure. For someone with no responsibilities the idea of diving for six months in Belize, than six months in Cayman, than a year in Roatan, than a few months in the Bahamas (ad infintum) is appealing. This is not a Not a Nekton phenomenon but a dive industry phenomenon.
As for not diving alone, I'm not comfortable making those types of judgements. I dived thousands of dives off the Pilot--many with guests, many with crewmembers, but also many by myself. This is a judgement that should rest with the individual diver. Before becoming an instructor I had over 500 dives (more than half of them cave dives) and I feel strongly that I have the diving skills necessary to dive by myself. That being said, I currently have over 3,400 dives and I now prefer to dive with a buddy--just for the companionship.
On a lighter note, is Raul Cruz working for you guys? He worked at Nekton for a few years but then left for either the Agressor or Dancer (I don't remember). If he does, tell him Captain Jon said "hola."
1. Employment on Nekton is usually cyclical--they go through "up" periods where the crew gels and stays on for long periods of time (I particularly remember 1997, when the average crewmember had been around for over two years--when we won World's Best Liveaboard from Rodales. There are laso "down" periods where there are internal problems with the crew (and office) and people stay for less than six months. This cyclical nature is something I observed on a regular basis over a ten year period.
2. It is important to consider the transient nature of the dive industry in general. There are a lot of young instructors out there willing to work for peanuts but also looking for their next great adventure. For someone with no responsibilities the idea of diving for six months in Belize, than six months in Cayman, than a year in Roatan, than a few months in the Bahamas (ad infintum) is appealing. This is not a Not a Nekton phenomenon but a dive industry phenomenon.
As for not diving alone, I'm not comfortable making those types of judgements. I dived thousands of dives off the Pilot--many with guests, many with crewmembers, but also many by myself. This is a judgement that should rest with the individual diver. Before becoming an instructor I had over 500 dives (more than half of them cave dives) and I feel strongly that I have the diving skills necessary to dive by myself. That being said, I currently have over 3,400 dives and I now prefer to dive with a buddy--just for the companionship.
On a lighter note, is Raul Cruz working for you guys? He worked at Nekton for a few years but then left for either the Agressor or Dancer (I don't remember). If he does, tell him Captain Jon said "hola."
