A great time to Go Pro – Meet John Stanley

Posted on April 16, 2014 by admin

Who hasn’t dreamt about waking up in the morning, leaping out of bed and heading off to your dream job?

Come and join us at Scuba Cat Diving, Phuket, Thailand whether you are a certified Diver or not we have a Scuba Diving Career internship for you.

Are you a PADI Divemaster with 100 or more logged dives?

Meet John Stanley:

” Hi all

Just thought I’d let you know what I got up to this winter.

Being a PADI DM in England I thought it was time I went up to the next level, PADI Instructor.

John, Tom and Henrik

So where to start. October 2013 was the dive show at the NEC, Birmingham England. Having trolled round the stalls for two days and talking to everyone several time Scuba Cat came out tops for me for friendliness and genuine, I set of for Phuket. I started my PADI IDC in November and thought I would struggle with my classroom work but they were very patient with me and took me through it step by step (thanks Sarah and Claus). 2 ½ weeks later I’m was PADI instructor!

MSDT

Having decided to do my PADI MSDT with Scuba Cat I then started working with the team of experienced instructors to gain teaching experience whilst getting the 25 certifications required. I team taught PADI Open Water Courses, Advanced Courses, Discover Scuba Diving Programs and a few PADI Specialities too.

Phuket have some nice dive sites and we visited all of them seeing sharks, turtles, and even my first ever manta and whale shark.

Whale Shark

Scuba cat has 3 boats, I spent time on all of them : Scuba Sport- used for ½ day trips, Scuba Fun- full day trips and Scuba Adventure the liveaboard, my favourite! Learning Liveaboards from Kath the permanent Tourleader and PADI IDC Staff Instructor, team teaching Advanced Courses too, we had some good fun and great diving.

MV Scuba Adventure

So thanks to everyone at scuba cat I had great fun and made some good friends.

PS: if you’re looking at diving in Phuket or wanting to go to the next level of your diving you won’t go far wrong with SCUBA CAT. ”

What are you waiting for? Our next PADI IDC here at Scuba Cat Diving with Sarah (Platinum Course Director) and Claus PADI Master instructor is starting on 4th May 2014. There is still space available for you to join us.

PADI Go Pro – Change your life

Posted on August 24, 2011 by admin

Wanted to catch you up on what has been happening since I last wrote to you.

Exactly one day short of a year from my PADI Rescue Diver certification I passed the PADI Instructor Examination. I quickly advanced to PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer and then on to PADI IDC Staff Instructor.

I now teach the PADI Specialties: Deep, Dry Suit, Enriched Air NITROX, Night, O2 Provider, Peak Performance Buoyancy, Project A.W.A.R.E., Project A.W.A.R.E. Coral Reef Conservation, Underwater Navigator and Wreck and I am an Emergency First Response Instructor Trainer.

Scuba Cat Diving Phuket Thailand PADI 5 * CDC

"Tim at work"

I am also the Divers Alert Network instructor for TL Sea Diving and teach all of the DAN scuba safety courses.
I should complete all of the requirements for PADI Master Instructor by the end of 2011.

My goal is to complete the PADI Course Director program within the next two years. At which point I plan to move back to Hawaii and work full time in the dive industry.
Around the time I started my PADI Divemaster program at TL Sea two of our Instructors started a charity called Dive Around The Clock. The concept is we put a new buddy team into the water every half hour for a 24 hour period to raise money for the Seattle Children’s Hospital oncology department. Each year we have a family that has been through cancer treatments at Children’s come and talk at our closing ceremonies about their experience. Some of the children have gone on to become PADI Open Water divers themselves so they can take part in the event. It is really great to see divers from different dive centers as well as all the diving organizations coming together to support our local community. I am very proud to have been a member of the DATC board and help this happen.
To think all of this life transformation started because you told me I should buy a dry suit and dive more often. I can’t thank you enough you truly have changed my life, for the better.

"Change your life"

Tim Sherrill
PADI IDCS 235186

How A PADI Instructor renewed his vows

Posted on August 7, 2011 by admin

I am a longtime PADI diver. I have been diving all over the world for 30 years. One of my favorite trips was on the MV Scuba Cat several years ago.

I have over 1000 open water dives, Many cameras and have certified over 300 divers. My PADI instructor status is “emeritus”. I stopped instructing in 1984 — a long time ago. Now is the time for me to re-up my certs, as I plan to work in the dive industry when an opportunity comes along.

A quick search for a place to take an PADI IDC/IE came up with 100 options. Narrowed it down to my local dive shop in the Oregon and a PADI Dive Centre in Phuket, Thailand where I had gone for one of those corporate vacations 10 years ago. Jimmy Buffet came to me in a dream and crooned sawadee krup . The next morning I emailed Sarah at Scuba Cat Diving for the 100^th time and said I will see you in Nov 22 2010.

Scuba Cat Diving PADI 5 * CDC Center Phuket Thailand

"Hi Sarah............"

I arrived with 7 other IDC candidates, from a variety of cold climates. We started 2 weeks of Scuba diving and PADI IDC/IE training. Scuba Cat provided everything: the equipment, a pool, a boat, a wonderful hotel room a block from the beach, restaurants, the materials and a staff of dive professionals. The staff were demanding but still made the course so FUN!

Scuba Cat Diving Phuket Thailand PADI 5 * CDC Centre Phuket Thailand

"working hard"

As classmates, we all helped each other as we all had different talents to share. The PADI IDC/IE was the most challenging two weeks of diving in my life and the most memorable. Lifelong friends were made, dreams were shared, and everyone passed the PADI IE on my birthday. To celebrate I did what every diver should do…… diving trip at the Similans on the Scuba Cat Live aboard with your PADI IDC Staff Instructor as a guide.

Scuba Cat Diving Phuket Thailand PADI IDC

"MV Scuba Cat"

Next, it was time to make the big decision towards using this new skill. A PADI IDC class teaches “how to teach”, not how to work as an PADI instructor. I chose the 3 month Instructor Internship Program to learn how a dive resort operates and how to experience the diving lifestyle .

Scuba Cat Diving Phuket Thailand PADI 5 * CDC Center

"The diving lifestyle"

What did I learn? The dive business is about learning. It is about communicating in languages I don’t speak. It is about finding the local motorbike rental shop and a place to do laundry. It is about getting up at 6 am to haul tanks and gear. It is about sunsets on the boat. It is about late night classes with customers. Diving is about making sure your customer raves about their day of diving, even if the visibility is less than perfect. Here is one of my typical days:

6 am – alarm, shower, shave and pack the days gear ~ Advanced Open Water today, so bring colored slates, extra compasses and fish id slates… eat some Thai breakfast and ride my scooter to the dive shop— (renting a scooter is essential-there are 50 places to rent a motorbike in Patong, just do it)

7am – sort equipment, load the trucks, drive all over the island to fetch customers. (In my old life as a vacationer the ride to the boat just magically appeared at my hotel) Transfer gear onto the boat, Now it is time for the dive instructor in me to go to work.

9 am – Boat ride to the dive site, meet students, knowledge reviews, dive briefing and a cup of coffee with Milo (a kind of chocolate)

10 am – dive You know the good stuff

12 pm – dive More good stuff

1 pm – Lunch (if the customers are not too hungry)

2 pm – Dive Even better stuff

5pm – take customers and dive staff to the Full Moon Brew Pub in Jungceylon Mall (behind the pirate ship)

7 pm : shower, dinner and prep for another day.

11 pm : Sleep awhile, then rinse lather and repeat.

I love the lifestyle that Scuba Cat let me taste.

"All in a Days work"

Honestly, I cannot think of a better place or a better group of people than on my PADI IDC and the Scuba Cat Crew. What am I doing now? Dive guide/ PADI instructor on a boat and planning for that dive shop on the island. Thank you Scuba Cat!!

Thanks Corey “Mac” Parker for your story…………….