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Scott, I do not need any cave training but maybe you could give me a
Peacock to Pothole in Electronic Engineeing, just for kicks, and then a
Phd certificate to go with it. Thanks. 

ScottBonis@ao*.co* wrote:
> 
> Hi Ben,
> 
> My name is Scott Bonis.  I am a full cave and trimix instructor for TDI.  I
> am also an active instructor at various levels for PADI, NAUI, SSI, IANTD,
> ANDI and DAN.  Before retirement I was an engineer in the aerospace industry
> and a ski instructor.  Academically I hold a Ph.D. in EE with a major in
> solid state and minors in math and physics.
> 
> I would simply like to talk about where I stand with regard to your request
> for information.  Asking for information is obviously the correct thing to do
> but first, I think that you could benefit greatly from further experience in
> open water diving.  Cave divers who have had less than several hundred dives
> have been trained, but only when they had the requisite skills, attitude and
> maturity, were perfectly comfortable in the water and had the self discipline
> to not exceed the limits of an agreed upon dive plan.  These are really the
> keys.  If you are still working to master the skills of open water diving,
> then you are not ready to accept the additional demands and responsibilities
> of technical diving.  Almost all of the cave divers I have trained were at
> least open water divemasters and the majority have been open water
> instructors.
> 
> Its kind of like when you first learned to drive a car.  If you are like me,
> at first it seemed as though there were just a whole bunch of things that I
> needed to consider constantly.  Shifting (I'm telling my age), turn signals,
> speed limits, not cutting corners too closely, etc., were all in my
> consciousness.  At that time for me to even consider eating an apple while
> driving was outrageous.  Now, after driving for over 35 years, complying with
> speed limits, hearing a brake squeal, having a rear door not completely
> latched or a headlight out can each be handled with ease.
> 
> So it is with technical diving.  After the basic skills of scuba diving are
> second nature, then it may be time to consider technical diving.  For
> example, in open water diving buoyancy to plus or minus a foot is usually Jim
> Dandy fine.  But in cave diving, in order to not damage the decorations in a
> cave or to not raise silt and obscure visibility, buoyancy to plus or minus
> an inch is sometimes required.  And the mental strength to (non judgmentally)
> turn back and exit a cave only a few minutes before some magnificent vista
> would have come into view, just because your buddy was not feeling
> comfortable and signaled he'd like to leave, is a characteristic that must be
> present.  Cave diving is to a major extent, a mind game where your life can
> easily depend on your judgment, attitude and maturity.
> 
> I believe that several of the people from this list who answered your request
> were really trying to say "We have seen people die because they wouldn't
> listen to what we have learned.  We care about you and don't want you to be
> another one of them.  Please, at least until you have learned that there is
> wisdom in our experience, do not argue with what we are saying.  Just listen
> and perhaps we can help you avoid the same mistakes that have killed other
> divers.  There will be time to discuss alternatives after you have earned
> your bones, so to speak".
> 
> I can understand your request to be convinced (rather than accepting on
> faith), that what is being taught is correct.  It is the way in which my
> education was accomplished.  But it is not the only way to teach.
> 
> Please consider this letter carefully before continuing on your diving career.
> 
> Take care,       Scott
> --
> Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'.
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