Phuket

kwgregg88 · #1 25-08-2005, 07:12

i am coming to patong in feb. and looking to take deco procedures, xtended range, and intro trimix. any one ever had any dealing with pro-tech dive college with there tech classes? wondering if they are fly by nite or a good quality operation. i know they are hooked up with warm water divers. dove with them a couple of day trips last year. pretty good group. appreciate any feedback.

muffdiver · #2 26-08-2005, 05:47

phil at scuba cat do all tech courses and there are two other shops in chalong, cant remember the names but wil come back with them when i get back home from offshore during the weekend, but i can say that it is pretty expensive to take this courses in los, but will be back with more info later.

Col · #3 01-09-2005, 02:55

Suggest you give Kevan & Chantal a shout a Phuket Scuba - located in Kata Beach, (opposite Ma Tri's Boathouse) good people who've been running a sound diving operation for many years now, they should be able to provide honest info. on courses/contacts.

www.phuket-scuba-club.com

muffdiver · #4 01-09-2005, 03:47

Col www.phuket-scuba-club.com this is an pure padi company and kwgregg88 is asking for tech dive shops wat is something complete different from the padi put another dollar in system, and the only shops i know off on phuket is scuba cat/www.deep-blue-divers.de and then pro-tech dive college who seems to be a new shop in karon run by the same people who runs www.oceanzonedivers.com this shop are using rented boats what will make the course more expensiv than normal, have done some shopping at there shop in chalong but never done any diving with them, since i know Phil at scuba cat and get a good price on tech/trimix dive with him, but will say that the most dedicated tech shop on phuket is the deep-blue-divers, it's run by some german guys but very friendly people and top proff facilities with top off the range equipment, and will be using them my self if i can't go with scuba cat.

kwgregg88 · #5 01-09-2005, 05:06

thanks for the info muffdiver. i looked a the web site for deep blue. the fact that they use there own boats is a big plus. does cut down on the price.

muffdiver · #6 01-09-2005, 07:27

only thing about them is that it can be a bit triky to find the shop, you have to look for the sign of the resort name on the right side of the road when you come from chalong to rawai, i'm not sure but about 1 km from the chalong intersection or so. Another thing to be aware of is that if you start on a trimix courses you will have to stay off the party/drinking for the time of your training due to all the practise and teory in this course, and belive me there will be alot of hard work to be done during a trimix course, but wish you good luck if you go for it.

Col · #7 02-09-2005, 04:35

Hi there,

Understood they're a purely PADI outfit. The reference is as they are good people who can provide info. as they have many colleagues who may well be able to provide additional useful feedback/good contacts. I say that as someone who has dived in a technical sense with rebreathers/twin tanks etc. and crawled up beaches in places I probably shouldn't have been - long time ago now thank goodness! Just trying to help.

muffdiver · #8 02-09-2005, 06:49

did't meen to offend you, but i just know that many padi dive shops on phuket will tell people that padi is the only way to go or if the run padi/DSAT they will tell them that this is the best and any thing else is dangerous and you gona die, but offcourse i dont know your friends so they may be ok guys.

seafox · #9 02-09-2005, 07:03

Hi Muffdiver,

I am a NAUI and PADI instructor, have been teaching for 15 years and diving over 36 years. It is pretty funny that PADI has to constantly indoctrinate their instructors to spout the party line. The store I work for used to be a NAUI store and then we changed to PADI. We went from a store with instructors that had an average of 5 years teaching experience and 11 years of diving experience to one that had 1.5 years of teaching experience and less than 5 years of diving experience. How is that better? The instructor makes all the difference and usually the experience of the instructor, especially in the tech field, is much more important than the certification agency that they teach for. I have watched my store certify people as instructors exactly 6 months after the day they got certified as Open Water Divers

seafox · #10 02-09-2005, 07:09

That is really pathetic, the instructors have almost no in water diving experience on their own, most of their dives have been with classes that they needed to take. They have hardly spent anytime as an assistant at all.

Then they start teaching all kinds of specialty courses and then get into tech stuff. An accident waiting to happen. Unluckily I have no knowledge of the tech diving experience of anyone in LOS. Just make sure you check out the instructors who teach the class. Been there done that might be fine, but been there done that 50 times is much better, and it does not matter who they teach for if they have the experience.

Good luck with the class.

muffdiver · #11 02-09-2005, 09:06

thats why i recomended kwgregg88 to go to one of the dedicated tech shops becouse the instucters i have been talking to there know what they are doing and have many years of experience, what alot of the padi/DSAT instructers dont have, they just do the tech stuff becouse it's a money thing like anyting else in the padi system, one just have to go back 6-7 years and here in norway padi was telling everybody tha nitrox was some thing you would die of if you use it, and then when they found out that there was money in nitrox they change and start running courses in it, and thats one of the reason for me and many other tech divers to avoid padi, and for me i always tell people that ask me about dive courses to start with either a IANTD/TDI or CMAS open water course becourse during this courses they wil learn to dive and not only buy a dive cert, i know there are other good courses but they are not common here in norway, what goes with my self i have up to full trimix from IANTD and TDI including TDI solo diver, due to my vidoe stuff where i prefear to be alone in the water. only thing to say about tech diving in thailand is that it's ****ing expensiv compared to what i pay here in norway. and to kwgregg88 i most likely in phuket sometimes during your time down there in feb. and if you want we can have a few beers at MTB.

kwgregg88 · #12 03-09-2005, 00:12

hey muffdiver, if you are in phuket in feb we will have to meet for a few beers. i saw the prices for the trimix classes. they are kinda high but working in iraq i don't really have the chance to go back to the states. only a little cheaper there and have to go to unfun places like cameron la. or gainsville fla. i have a friend that is an IANTD instructor and he is checking on the experiance of the instructors at deep blue. i have been diving for twenty five years, and don't think someone who has only been diving for six months can tell me a whole lot, but i think someone who is a trimix instructor probably has a few hours of bottom time on me. thks for all the info. really helpful.

muffdiver · #13 03-09-2005, 00:37

Will be in Los at that time but most of the time i will stay back in the house outside pattaya and just take som short trips to phuket for diving/party. but another thing is since you are in irak you will maybe know what oil service companies who is working down there now, since i'm thinking of getting my self a new job soon.

Col · #14 03-09-2005, 02:52

I'm not offended, my bothered pocket is empty - no problem your points are all well made, taken & agreed. I just hope I've dived enough to from the frigid S.Atl. to nice bath-tub stuff to hope I appreciate/understand where you can get an objective opinion that's all I'm suggesting these people will offer. Good luck with the courses & am around for a First Pint Down from 12th Nov for a couple of weeks R&R.

muffdiver · #15 03-09-2005, 07:48

sounds good, but i wll be leaving los before november but if you back in dec/jan/feb we can have some beers ta MTB.

kwgregg88 · #16 06-09-2005, 05:56

hey muffdiver, i work in the logistic supply end of the operation, but i think halliburton has most of the oil related work. the project is called "RIO", or restoration of iraqi oil. i think they subcontract to all the service companys. i worked in the oil field in the gulf of mexico for ten years, and when this started i talked to them about working with there project. the security for the rio project wasn't that great then, so i passed. but i think it has gotten better. if you get on halliburtons web site you probably can find some of the service companys they are using.

muffdiver · #17 06-09-2005, 16:56

Thanks kwgregg88 will have a look at there webside.