Force-E presents TDI Advanced Wreck Diving with John Chatterton

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I took the class in Milwaukee, and it was worth every penny. If I had the vacation time, I would sign up and do this class too. If you are looking to pay your money, recite Q&A's and get a c-card, well, this class probably isnt for you. If you want to learn from the best of the best, from years of experience and hear awesome stories to help drive home the lessons he teaches, then this is definitely for you.

Here is a report I posted on another board I belong too:

Friday was day 1 of class. This was all classroom theory stuff, which oddly enough is what I was really looking forward to. How often do you get a chance to learn from someone who fills the books that we read about wreck diving? And as the class began, I was not at all disappointed. John not only taught a very informative class, but shared stories of divers he has dove with that, well, they just didn't make the best decisions on their dive.

Day 2 was our first in water dives. We was diving with Captain Jitka on the Molly V (ship wreck explorers). The dive it self was on the upside down dredge. It was pretty much just basic check out dives, valve drills, showing you can locate cutting devices, back up lights and lift bags and basic line drills, nothing too difficult.

Second dive was more of the same. Line drills, SMB work, etc. This dive was cut a little short due to air issues. I was dealing with a mildly free flowing reg, and Bjorn was having some ear issues.

Next day, we moved to the Willie, and more line drills with the blacked out mask inside the wreck. This was a entertaining dive, because we had no idea where the line was run, and then tried to follow it with the blackout mask on. I caught myself laughing a few times after clocking my head pretty hard. The highlight for me was getting a pat on the head from John as I completed my dive.

Our last day, we headed out to the Milwaukee. They told us this was going to be a dive with no skills, just to utilize what we have been taught. I was fully expecting something unexpected to happen, but it didnt. We found a room, that had something that looked like picture frames in it. Bjorn said it was something much bigger, and he was concerned it was going to come down and trap me in the room. I would like to go back just to see what in the heck that was.

Our last dive, we went back to the Willie for more line and air share drills. Every time we completed a drill, I figured that was it, but John kept throwing more stuff at us, and we kept completing it as requested. I do remember being inside the willie at 80 feet thinking to myself, this is so cool. I am wreck diving with John Chatterton!!!!!!

All in all, this was a great class, and great folks on the boat with us. Water temps was actually pretty warm, and more importantly, the waves were small. We was close to 70 degrees on the Dredge, and in the 60s on the Willie. Gotta love those west winds.
 
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Check out John Chatterton's Part 2 of the 1994 Lusitania Expedition. This focuses on the difficult topside conditions they had to endure to get to the wreck...

Don't worry, your Chatterton Advanced Wreck Course in South Florida will not have conditions like this!



---------- Post Merged on August 3rd, 2012 at 01:54 PM ---------- Previous Post was on August 2nd, 2012 at 08:25 AM ----------

Every time we completed a drill, I figured that was it, but John kept throwing more stuff at us, and we kept completing it as requested. I do remember being inside the willie at 80 feet thinking to myself, this is so cool. I am wreck diving with John Chatterton!!!!!!

Dear diverbob - Thank you for taking the time to post this review! I'm sure that people considering taking this class with us in Florida will find it very helpful. We are looking forward to hosting the class here. In fact, we keep thinking "This is so cool...John Chatterton is teaching a class at our store!" If you are ever in South Florida (we've got some awesome wrecks here too), be sure to stop by and say hello!

To all those considering this class with us: Don't wait to sign up because spots are starting to fill! Call any of our three stores to reserve your space.
 
I had the pleasure of organizing and taking John Chatterton's advanced wreck diving course in Milwaukee WI. The course was presented in a well thought out manner that was easy to understand. John brought many of his personal experiences to the classroom that solidified the importance of the skills needed to safely penetrate shipwrecks. Out of the many classes I have taken I would say this course helped me the most. I would HIGHLY recommend this course for those interested in shipwreck penetration!

Todd Ehrhardt
Dark Water Diver
 
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I had the pleasure of organizing and taking John Chatterton's advanced wreck diving course in Milwaukee WI. The course was presented in a well thought out manner that was easy to understand. John brought many of his personal experiences to the classroom that solidified the importance of the skills needed to safely penetrate shipwrecks. Out of the many classes I have taken I would say this course helped me the most. I would HIGHLY recommend this course for those interested in shipwreck penetration!

Todd Ehrhardt
Dark Water Diver

Thanks Todd. From what we hear, you organized a great class! I know it's hard to pull yourself away from the amazing wrecks near you, but if you ever feel the need for warmer waters and want to organize something, we would be happy to host you here in Florida.
 
I understand there's only a few spots left! If you are interested in doing this, don't wait to sign up :wink:
 
Just finished the class with John over the weekend and it was by far the best class I have taken. John is a wealth of knowledge from years of experience and it has now made me rethink how I even recreation dive with my equipment. I have been an instructor for 12 years and I learned a ton by taking his class to not only make me a better diver, but teacher. The skills done in the class are great confidence builders for seasoned divers and the class is taught like it should be for seasoned divers. If you are interested in wreck penetration this is the perfect class and you get to dive and learn from the best. Come on it's John Chatterton, enough said.
 
For anyone interested in this class ,
It was both eye opening and incredible. It is great for a beginning wreck diver as welll as experienced divers. The classroom work was as informative as well as the dives themselves. I know that I completed tasks in the class that I wouldnt have thought I could complete. My confidence in the water was increased heavily. we also had a great deal of fun as well as john and howard were extremely professional instructors. For anyone who frequently dives wrecks or just interested in wreck diving, this class is a must.The course will identify and offer solutions to difficult situations as well as identify the leading ways to prevent these events. For myself personally, some potential problem areas were identified and corrected. It was a great experience. A wise man once told me we all have alot to learn about diving,and I know for me I came out a far more proficient diver. Thanks again to John and Howard. For everyone else, take this course if you can! Youll have a ton of fun.
 
Thank you for posting your reviews of this class. We couldn't agree more.

It was a honor and humbling experience to host this event at Force-E. While we have been diving on the South Florida wrecks for a long time, a couple of our staff members had a chance to join in on the course. We walked out of it with a different perspective on our equipment, our attitude towards diving, respecting the ship wreck environment, and confidence in ourselves. John Chatterton reminded us that we should never stop pushing ourselves to learn something new, refine our skills and evolve as not only diver, but individuals.

[INLINE=left]https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/557466_491300057547543_950477800_n.jpg[/INLINE]Thanks you to John Chatterton and Howard Ehrenberg for your instruction. We are confident in speaking for the entire class when we say that we are better divers after this course...and we had a lot of fun in the process.

On a side note: We are proud to introduce Howard Ehrenberg as one of our newest Force-E PADI instructors. Howard can be contacted through our Pompano location.
 
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