As I recall, there was an article a while back in Quest magazine about GUE diving in Israel . . . if you join the organization, you get access to all the back issues.
I am really, really glad to see you post your report here. One of the things I constantly try to tell people is that GUE diving is NOT just for dark, deep, scary or caves. A logical, standardized system works great for single tank open water diving, too -- and the better you get at buoyancy control and positioning, the more fun you have, because you can STOP to look at things, and not silt anything out, and not drift away from what you want to watch. These skills work fantastically well for photographers, too! And honing your situational awareness means far fewer stressful episodes of lost anchor lines, misplaced buddies, and the like.
I'm glad you had a good experience, and my hat is absolutely off to you for dedication!
One last word . . . you don't have to find someone with whom to "practice" at home. Every dive you do is practice -- pay attention to your buoyancy, use your kicks, chant your SA mantra (if you have one; my instructor told me to think, "What's my depth, where's my buddy, look at the fish.") Plan your dives, and be a PITA and insist on gear checks. Everything will slowly come together. I did 100 dives between my Fundies class and my provisional upgrade, but only 12 of them were "skills dives".
I am really, really glad to see you post your report here. One of the things I constantly try to tell people is that GUE diving is NOT just for dark, deep, scary or caves. A logical, standardized system works great for single tank open water diving, too -- and the better you get at buoyancy control and positioning, the more fun you have, because you can STOP to look at things, and not silt anything out, and not drift away from what you want to watch. These skills work fantastically well for photographers, too! And honing your situational awareness means far fewer stressful episodes of lost anchor lines, misplaced buddies, and the like.
I'm glad you had a good experience, and my hat is absolutely off to you for dedication!
One last word . . . you don't have to find someone with whom to "practice" at home. Every dive you do is practice -- pay attention to your buoyancy, use your kicks, chant your SA mantra (if you have one; my instructor told me to think, "What's my depth, where's my buddy, look at the fish.") Plan your dives, and be a PITA and insist on gear checks. Everything will slowly come together. I did 100 dives between my Fundies class and my provisional upgrade, but only 12 of them were "skills dives".
