[Decoing]

AG course report (Trimix 1/2)....

I wanted to write a report on my experience in Andrew Georgitsis's Trimix 1/2 course that he has taught to myself and my teammates. I thought it would be great to share my thoughts and pass them on. Our amazing journey to get to this point all started way back when.......

Around nine months ago my team and I decided that we wanted to further our training and knowledge as much as we could. We all come from different training backgrounds and we’re all from different agencies. We felt that we had a good foundation, however to take the next step we wanted to make sure the level of training was to be unparalleled. We all had multiple 'cards' saying that we were Trimix certified, however no cert card could quench our thirst for more knowledge. All of us had prior training of the DIR philosophy in some sort of way (some more than others) and wanted to continue on that path.
Then came the most important decision.......to find an instructor to teach us and give us the tools that would meet the criteria. We felt that Andrew Georgitsis (former training director of GUE) would give us the “above and beyond” training we were all looking for and the knowledge we were still seeking. We all had exposure to AG in the past and Andrew's approach to this type of training would prove to be crucial.
Since day one, we did not care whatsoever if we “passed” the course or received a card (we all have enough of those!). We were looking for instruction not plastic recognition that our VISA was approved.
In my opinion there still some people that focus too much on ‘passing’ a course rather than focus on the learning curve.

Our initial thoughts were that we would enroll in a GUE Tech 2 course, but doing so raised several issues. The first issue was that our instructor choices were limited. I don't care what people say but it is the instructor and not the agency that makes the course. Of course, the constraints that agencies place on their instructors in terms of curriculum, standards, etc., do play a significant role, but it is my belief that in training of this nature, the instructor becomes the primary consideration. Our second concern was that we wanted comprehensive training that would result in us feeling trained and competent to conduct dives at 250 ft level with multiple deco and stage bottle configurations. Here we identified what we felt was a flaw in the current GUE Tech 2 curriculum among other things. I am not trying to be-little the program in itself, however we did have our issues. Andrew could go well above and beyond what was expected and that is what we wanted. He could do his own thing and made it quite clear we had to be prepared for this.

We knew full well that entering this type of course with Andrew would be ALOT of work. Knowing this, we wanted to work with AG to try to come up with some sort of game plan. To our surprise, one of the things that AG pointed out was that there was NO RUSH to complete the curriculum. We laid out a timeline which we had never thought about doing before. Andrew explained in great detail WHY this type of course should be done in this type of format, and gave us details of what would be expected. Andrew was up front and told us that we would benefit so much more to break the schedule down into segments of which we truly agreed and appreciated. He seemed to care more about how we 'progressed' during this time frame and evaluate not only our in-water skill, but to see how dedicated we were to work and practice on things while he was not with us.
Obviously cost would be in issue to bring Andrew up here quite a few times, however this was the last consideration and we did not mind at all going well beyond knowing what we would get out of the training. Andrew was willing to work with us, and no amount of "Thanks" can come close to the effort he put forth.
So with that in mind.....

At the end of January 2007 we set up a series of two to three day weekends and started our training. We wanted to start off 'easy' so we started with a full couple of day’s of Ratio Deco. All of us had been using Ratio Deco for quite some time, however, we wanted Andrew to concentrate on more advanced Decompression theory and profiles in the Tech 2/Tech 3 range. Andrew has an incredible depth of knowledge with regards to decompression theory- past and present, and we were like sponges just soaking it all in. Amazing stuff...for those who think that this is simply about 1:1, 1:2, 1:3 ratios, you are mistaken. We sat through hours of theory, both past and present, deco modeling, deco set- up strategies, gas considerations and a lot more.
It really does get a little more complicated at this level, but with AG’s teaching, we all feel very confident in using it to various depths.
As we were all Trimix certified already, and had been doing the dives anyway, we started at this point integrating AG's new strategies into our current diving. Andrew went away at this point and left us to concentrate on what we had learned.

We brought Andrew up again 6 weeks later for two full days of two-bottle work. (we were prepared for three bottle work but we sucked and Andrew tactfully explained that we weren’t quite ready for three bottles. For those of you that have been 'de-briefed' by AG sometimes .....it hurts Anyway, for the few days we did multiple scenarios with bottle passing drills getting the mechanics down. Andrew is METICULOUS when it comes to doing things correctly....BUT....despite that, you require the most important thing to get the job done....A BRAIN. Boy oh boy I had discovered parts of my brain I never thought I had Andrew really makes you think about what you are doing. He continuously gave us pointers on how to make things right and let us know how to better things. It was a gong show agreed by all, but we did improve (a little) by the third day. There was always lots to work on! The shortest dive was 140 min in 46 degree water. It is amazing what happens to not only your brain, but your body as well after this amount of time in cold water doing these drills. Wow! We had all done in-water times like this before, however never doing drill after drill after drill. It is very important to practice for “worst case scenario”, which means doing drills after 140 minutes! A multiple bottle passing drill at minute 20 looks much better than the same drill performed at minute 120. The most simple thing became difficult and yet VERY realistic. It was a real eye-opening experience as no-one had tested us before in this way, for that amount of time. Two+ hours in 46 degree water with thick gloves and we see what the bottle whipping looks like! At this point, dealing with up to five deco/stage bottles doing drills can take its toll and it was very humbling.
Every single thing that we did had to be thought through and our brain had to be with us the entire time. Even at this point AG did not hit us with failures that much....we were creating our own disasters and he was just there to 'point things out.'
One of the things we needed to do to get over this hump was to forget about the minor details and look at the big picture. This was one of our biggest problems during this time. There were just too many nit-picking things that we would do ourselves that actually inhibited our ability to ‘think’ through what we were doing and trying to accomplish.
To be honest we were all amazed that there were no hard-fast ‘rules’ that were put on us of requirements when doing our in-water drills and skills. Sure there is a great amount of skill needed to accomplish these bottle drills but even in the days that we did fairly well with the drill itself, we still came out with Andrew telling us what to work on. We learned that there is a time and a place for everything and OUR BRAIN had to be the most important at all times and all places. And boy did we ever work at this!
We were really starting to see the benefits of this type of training schedule. When he left this time, we went into each practice dive with the right tools and worked in the pool and in the open water on our own time. Andrew told us what we had to work on and where our weak points were and to focus on them.
We followed up with Andrew with our progress via email and he made a consistent effort to follow up with us. He would offer advice for us at all times.

Six weeks later, we did a couple of check out dives with Andrew so he could see how we were coming along with what he had taught us. We decided to do a couple dives in Sechelt on Stag Wall and the HMCS Chaudiere. The dives were to be at the Tech 1 level, but utilizing three stage/deco bottles so Andrew could see if we had improved. The dives were in the range of 160 ft 25 min, but this time with three deco bottles, followed by more theory. We thought the bottle drill on the dives went OK...but Andrew let us know we still had more work to do and gave us pointers on how to make things better. Andrew left us yet again happy, but told us where to improve.
Our mindset was to keep on working at it. We knew how difficult a course from Andrew was and this was no exception, especially at this level. Each time we felt more and more comfortable with getting things right.

At this point when he left, we really started to focus on practicing with three bottles drills and all types of failures assocaited as we knew this was the next step. The drills would become much more difficult as now each diver would have six stage/deco bottles during drills. During our time practicing, we really tried to make things right and hopefully show Andrew how far we had come to this point. We spent hours in the water concentrating on how the skills were done. All this time while practicing the bottle work there are so many other things to make sure you on top of……you still have to look at the big picture and prioritize what are the most important things to think about? All the while keeping track of everything going on around you.
When Andrew came up this time we were to do a day of skill sets doing bottle work/failures and then two experience dives in Comox, BC on some deeper wrecks. We started three-bottle work with the shortest dive being 150 min. Wow this was tough even though we had so much practice!!! Keep in mind...if you carry three bottles you have to be able to proficiently handle six bottles...yours and your buddy’s. Give that a try...and remember that now you have two leashes to deal with along with everything else! On this same weekend we did two experience dives with an average depth of 180ft (max 200') on the wreck while carrying three bottles. The dives were fantastic!
Andrew had said at this point that he was very impressed what we had accomplished and said our bottle work and skill development had dramatically improved. Our confidence had gone up tremendously after hearing those words of encouragement.


So...again we get in the water while he is away and practice....and just at the end of August, Andrew came back yet again so we can hopefully complete our course. Yay! The end was near. It was a three day weekend planned. Our first two days were filled complete with ascent failures from depth utilizing multiple bottles. Over the two days we set a bag in 100' of water with no reference and did full days of ascent failures. This was truly amazing and built upon what we had already done with AG prior but we put it all together. Depending on how many failures you and your buddy had, you had ten+ regulators/bottles to keep track of, a deco schedule, up-line with no-mask scenarios of course with many many many failures integrated into the ascents. I think you get the idea. Couple this with running a line on a bottom with failures in the 80-100’ range and you really have your hands full.
This experience really really tested us for sure and AG wants to know where each divers limits are. He had been testing us since we started the course and this was no exception.
It was A LOT of work and many mistakes were made but we kept on pushing. You and your equipment have to be as ‘one’ as it’s humbling to see what can happen when things start to go south.
Those who think that diving a bottom stage is just 'diving with a stage' then you may be mis-informed. Adding it really increases complexity and overcoming that was a real challenge in the failures.


Despite all the punishment and all the 'killings' it was great fun. It showed all the aspects that you have to keep track of and you really have to be on your game. I have never been through so much rigorous humourous hell in my life ......but it all paid off...........

Finally, the payoff was our experience dive to 240’ the following day. Despite current and questionable “viz”, it felt like one of the best dives ever. We all believed that the reason this dive felt that way was that it had been earned through the multiple days of training that came before.
Everybody can draw their own conclusions. All I know is that our commitment to Andrew and vice versa has made us better divers all around at this level.
I'm not here to advocate a new platform for teaching or promote Andrew G. (like he needs it anyway :-)). I'm simply describing our experience during this very intense course. That being said, would I ever take a course again that runs in consecutive days......no way! Our experience has shown that you truly need to absorb at this level (even though most people think that they are ready) and work on the new skills that are introduced to you during a course as demanding as this was. I would like to encourage everybody who is thinking of advancing their diving training to talk to your instructors and see if you can spread your training out as we did. It may not be as easy as ours, but at least try instead of trying to think of how quick it can be done. The time between the segments allows you to practice the new skills without exaggeration, invaluable.
As a Trimix instructor myself I have always adopted the same approach of spreading the training over multiple weekends to allow students to practice newly learned skills. The feedback from students is overwhelmingly positive and I enjoy seeing their progress. They don’t feel rushed and in addition there is time to clarify any questions or issues identified during their practice period. I personally was learning both as a student AND an Instructor during this course.

We also need to pass on a big “THANK YOU” to Andrew Georgitsis who tirelessly provided us with exceptional teaching and instruction that was unparalleled. It was his suggestion to spread the training over multiple periods to ensure the highest quality of training available. Throughout the duration of the course Andrew was able to identify our weaknesses very effectively and focus the training accordingly. This training has proved invaluable. Not only did we achieve our goal of finding training that would significantly enhance our knowledge and skill, but we have all gained confidence and can say that we are all better divers and better team members at this level thanks to Andrew.

So....the next step???
We will continue to work on things and keep pushing to be better. We are done this journey, however we are not finished.
This overall experience has been a great one as they are all when we are with Andrew and we will take with us what we have learned and continue to tweek things here and there.

This is what it's all about.

Thanks for listening!!

tp