Well given that I am currently meant to be in St Abbs supping larger in a pub
I now have time to post this over due report about the above course with Mark Powell.
I am not going to do a blow by blow account of every dive but needless to say that everything that could go wrong went wrong and on occasion Mark did not even have to create the havoc
. On each and every dive, including the final 70min skill dive, we were pushed out of our comfort zones and everytime we caught up they were pushed slightly further
The reason for not doing a full account of every dive is that it has been done before and should you do this course in the future it will be taylored to your individual skill set. Basically if you demonstrate a weekness in a certain skill set you can be guaranteed that this will be tested on every dive
The primary reason for not posting a blow by blow account of each dive is that whilst demonstrating the required skill level is important this is not the primary lesson learnt. By pushing you out of both your comfort zones and skill set it demonstrates to you that you are not a "diving god" and that you do infact have limitations.
When Mark told me I had passed, subject to passing the final exam, it was not a jump up and down with joy feeling it was far from that. For starters I didnt think I had done enough to pass, but the expectations I put on myself had been raised and I was just not satisfied/happy with my performances.
For example prior to the course I was happy if I just did a shut down drill, however during the course my expectations grew and I am nolonger happy with that and now strive for more. I am constently thinking buddy, bouyance, task and am not happy unless I achieve all three.
Marks course is not just about rasising your skills level it is also about raising your awareness in your skills and abilities. At present although I will hopefully soon have a ticket to 45m with unlimited deco I am well aware of my skill level and untill I have continued to develop my skills and a number of build up dives will not be even contemplating a dive of that magnitude.
Thanks for a great course Mark.
Cheers
Alan