Spring Break
A day in the life: Scuba Instructor
Tricy Taylor
Issue date: 6/10/08 Section: Campus Lifestyles
Dave Black has been teaching scuba diving for 10 years and doing his own diving for 20. The scuba instructor at Adventure West Scuba, in South Ogden, sheds light on diving in Utah and teaching others how to get their scuba on.
Signpost: Describe your typical certification day.
Dave Black: We have five classes which last about an hour-and-a-half and then we have five pool sessions which are about an hour-and-a-half to two hours. We learn a variety of skills, then we take them out to certification where they have to do two days of diving - four dives. In the last certification on the first day we did navigation and altitude diving. Then we cooked our Dutch-oven dinners and we entertained. Later we had a night dive. Early the next morning we did a deep dive and search and recovery.
SP: Does the certification happen here in South Ogden?
DB: We do all the classroom pool work here and then we take them to Blue Lake or the Crater up at Homestead. There is also a geo-thermal lake in the Tremonton area. Now we are starting to go up to Bear Lake and Flaming Gorge. We'll also do Starvation and Fish Lake, the Channel Islands and Lake Powell.
SP: What is your Favorite part of your job?
DB: The diving and meeting the different people.We have a variety of people that come in and, it doesn't matter if they are truck-drivers, doctors or lawyers. Whatever the profession is, they get along really well because they have something in common. That's diving.
I work with high-risk teens too. In the first class in the pool they've got to learn how to communicate under water. I deal with a lot of gangbangers and some of them really take to it. They have to trust me underwater. It really impacts them.
SP: Where is your favorite place to dive?
DB: Anywhere there is water. It could be a mud hole. Here in Utah it would probably be Flaming Gorge. Out of the country it depends on the time of year and who I am diving with. Bonaire is great, a lot of offshore diving. It just depends on what you are seeking at that time.
Signpost: Describe your typical certification day.
Dave Black: We have five classes which last about an hour-and-a-half and then we have five pool sessions which are about an hour-and-a-half to two hours. We learn a variety of skills, then we take them out to certification where they have to do two days of diving - four dives. In the last certification on the first day we did navigation and altitude diving. Then we cooked our Dutch-oven dinners and we entertained. Later we had a night dive. Early the next morning we did a deep dive and search and recovery.
SP: Does the certification happen here in South Ogden?
DB: We do all the classroom pool work here and then we take them to Blue Lake or the Crater up at Homestead. There is also a geo-thermal lake in the Tremonton area. Now we are starting to go up to Bear Lake and Flaming Gorge. We'll also do Starvation and Fish Lake, the Channel Islands and Lake Powell.
SP: What is your Favorite part of your job?
DB: The diving and meeting the different people.We have a variety of people that come in and, it doesn't matter if they are truck-drivers, doctors or lawyers. Whatever the profession is, they get along really well because they have something in common. That's diving.
I work with high-risk teens too. In the first class in the pool they've got to learn how to communicate under water. I deal with a lot of gangbangers and some of them really take to it. They have to trust me underwater. It really impacts them.
SP: Where is your favorite place to dive?
DB: Anywhere there is water. It could be a mud hole. Here in Utah it would probably be Flaming Gorge. Out of the country it depends on the time of year and who I am diving with. Bonaire is great, a lot of offshore diving. It just depends on what you are seeking at that time.
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