PADI Divemaster training on Grand Cayman - Recommendations?

[billinwilliamston]

Hi all,

My wife wants to do her divemaster on Grand Cayman in January - February. We've both got our rescue c-card, so she's not totally starting from scratch.

Anyone have a recommendation of who to work with? She would like to do some sort of a dive slave thing to gain added experience, but that's not a deal breaker. The location on the island is not a big deal as we'll pick where we stay based on where she does her training.

Thanks.

 

[tangfish]

Here are some operators you might want to contact:

Lesley/Steve @ Ocean Frontiers

Stacey @ Red Sail Sports

Keith Sahm @ Sunset House

Eleanore @ DiveTech

Good luck!

 

[Alex777]

To make a useful recommendation, I think we need to know more. What is your wife's level of experience? How old is she? WHY does she want to be a DM? Does she prefer to do an internship? (Your reference to the "dive slave thing" probably means "Yes".) How many weeks will she be here? How many days per week and hours per day will she be available? In general, there are loads of good instructors here (and some not-so-good ones).

 

[billinwilliamston]

To make a useful recommendation, I think we need to know more. What is your wife's level of experience? How old is she? WHY does she want to be a DM? Does she prefer to do an internship? (Your reference to the "dive slave thing" probably means "Yes".) How many weeks will she be here? How many days per week and hours per day will she be available? In general, there are loads of good instructors here (and some not-so-good ones).

So many (good) questions.

She's been a diver for 12 years, somewhere between 200 and 500 dives. She's mid-40's and looking at semi-retirement once the last of the kids is out of college. Basic plan is divemaster or instructor for a day job (or to do tag-along babysitting in exchange for a tank or two) and bar tending at night to actually pay the bills. She would like to do an internship, but her having to be on-call for her day job while we're down there may make that impractical. We'll be down for around two months (30 days at a time, of course). One of the things we both did after our rescue was to get in sufficiently good shape to pass the physical requirements (swimming, snorkeling, etc.), so that's not an issue.

It's the not-so-good ones that are a concern. We ran into that in one of our earlier certifications. Would rather not just get a piece of paper in exchange for a check, if you know what I mean.

Thanks.

 

[billinwilliamston]

Here are some operators you might want to contact:

Lesley/Steve @ Ocean Frontiers

Stacey @ Red Sail Sports

Keith Sahm @ Sunset House

Eleanore @ DiveTech

Good luck!

Thanks!

 

[Alex777]

So many (good) questions.

She's been a diver for 12 years, somewhere between 200 and 500 dives. She's mid-40's and looking at semi-retirement once the last of the kids is out of college. Basic plan is divemaster or instructor for a day job (or to do tag-along babysitting in exchange for a tank or two) and bar tending at night to actually pay the bills. She would like to do an internship, but her having to be on-call for her day job while we're down there may make that impractical. We'll be down for around two months (30 days at a time, of course). One of the things we both did after our rescue was to get in sufficiently good shape to pass the physical requirements (swimming, snorkeling, etc.), so that's not an issue.

It's the not-so-good ones that are a concern. We ran into that in one of our earlier certifications. Would rather not just get a piece of paper in exchange for a check, if you know what I mean.

Thanks.

I think Susan at DiveTech and your wife would get on very well together. So, that's a suggestion. Or, TJ at Ocean Frontiers. TJ is actually a Course Director but may well have time to do it.

 

[Ambassador Divers]

We do a free working DM internship. It's the real deal. Humping tanks and DSD's..all the good stuff
Send us an e-mail if your interested.
ambassadordivers@candw.ky

 

[Dr Wu]

My advice would be to avoid DiveTech.

 

[scubacat1]

I think you are an owner at Morritt's. So am I. You can't do any better than TJ Staples with Ocean Frontiers. She is a Course Director, which means she trains instructors. It's right down the road, and the learning environment doesn't get any better.

Steer clear of Red Sail Sports, and the old Tortuga, now Red Sail as well.

 

[scubadada]

My advice would be to avoid DiveTech.

Would you like to elaborate on/justify your negative comment? Personally, I've had several very good experiences diving with DiveTech while staying at Cobalt Coast. I've not done any training with them.