Mailing List Archive Mailing List Archive
David, then why are you selling all the bullshit gear he recommended? Maybe I should post the letter you sent me to the list, to offset this slop. Grow a set of balls - I already sent it to Mount - he knows you are full of shit, and so do I. On Mon, 28 Oct 1996, d846@mi*.ne* (David D. Smiley) wrote: >To the list, > > Having been a former student of Tom Mounts I have got to throw in my >own two cents about his training methods. He is by far and above the finest >instructor, diver, friend, and human being I have had the pleasure of >knowing. I was trained in a full cave course last December which >lasted approximately a week. Throughout the course of instruction Tom >stressed safety and self reliance. He made it perfectly clear that he was >there to teach us how to dive safely and enjoy the cave environment. You >may ask how he did this and I would have to reply through repetition. We >dove. We spent more time than I could have imagined in the water during the >course of a week. > Gear configuration was a stickler with Tom. He made it perfectly clear >that there was no way in hell we were getting wet if we couldn't at least >set up our rigs in a safe manner. That meant that everything was readibly >accessible to us, we knew where everything was, how to use it, and it was >free from entanglements. Once in the water we were stressed. If it wasn't >fatigue that wore at us, it was the combination of that and a spontaneous >drill (i.e. black out drills with an out of air diver - with intentional >line entrapments set). > Methods and use of gear were extensively spoken about and practiced. >The LONG HOSE vs. SHORT HOSE debate was discussed and we practiced both >methods to see excactly what the pro's and con's are of each. We used both >in the begining but by the end we all were useing the long hose over the >short. In my opinion breath the long hose. Paniced divers are more apt, >and I don't care how experienced he or she is, to grab that piece of gold >right out of your mouth. I speak from experience. > I must stress that Tom not only chanllenged me phycially but mentally >as well. There is nothing like being yelled at underwater with explicatives >raining down on you and not haveing a clue as to what you you've done wrong. >If you have never heard Tom speak underwater, well then your definitely >missing out out on a real treat. In many cases we were kicking up silt, a >BIG NO NO. Don't ever let Tom see you do that and especially not >intentionally. He would ofcourse come up to us after every dive and very >politely ask us if we knew what we did wrong. In every case we did and >believe you me we didn't make the same mistake twice because we wanted to >make Tom proud of us. > Tom is a mentor and someone I trust with my life. I would suggest to >anyone interested in furthuring there own expertise or knowledge to pursue >Tom as a source for information and instruction. He is one of the easiest >going professionals out there. He doesn't tell what you should or should >not do but rather offers to different methods of things can be done. Tom is >there to help you grow as an individual and not a clone. > > >David D. Smiley >d846@mi*.ne* > > George M. Irvine III DIR WKPP 1400 SE 11 ST Ft Lauderdale, FL 33316 954-493-6655 FAX 6698 Email gmiiii@in*.co*
Navigate by Author:
[Previous]
[Next]
[Author Search Index]
Navigate by Subject:
[Previous]
[Next]
[Subject Search Index]
[Send Reply] [Send Message with New Topic]
[Search Selection] [Mailing List Home] [Home]