Tall Pine Divers

STUDENTS TALK


See What The Student Says By Phyllis Ruper Learning to dive with Tall Pine Scuba was one of the most wonderful experiences for my husband and me. We both had a little experience snorkeling, and both of us are good swimmers and do enjoy going to our Lake Home up near Voyageurs. Tom, my husband had the idea to learn to scuba dive before we were to go on our “Second Honeymoon” trip to Hawaii. Our trip was set for the first week in November and we didn’t decide to take scuba diving until mid-October, so we didn’t have the luxury of warm water, or time to study. I was a little apprehensive and took their “Introduction to Scuba Diving” class in the pool. That introduction went better than I expected, even after panicking in the pool while trying to clear my mask for the first time. Having had a really bad “near drowning” experience, kayaking a few years ago, I guess I was more than a little apprehensive at first. Rick and Dave were GREAT! They were very patient with me….and a little persistent with trying new skills. If I didn’t achieve one of the skills, they would come back to it at a later time. My confidence grew every time I tried something new. I discovered that I absolutely LOVE to dive. Being the terribly busy person that my husband is, we weren’t able to take the classes together at the same time. But that wasn’t an issue at all with Rick and Dave. They accommodated Tom’s busy schedule – no problem! Tom did the check out dives in the Gilbert Pit and in the pool when ever he could make it there. He did really well and had absolutely no fear of any of it. Rick and Dave just arranged their schedules so they could be available for Tom. Tom says that taking the course from Rick and Dave was like taking a course from friends. I remember being so amazed when I did my first open water dive in Gilbert. I was “hooked” for life! My favorite part was diving along the “wall”. At first I had a feeling like you would fall to the ground….but you’re weightless and can’t fall! It was truly euphoric. My fears quickly left me when I dove in the Pit for the first time. Imagine floating through old dead tree tops and looking up at the side of a cliff….It really is a whole new world under the water. We have both learned so much and want to learn more. Most importantly, we learned how much fun diving is. Diving with Tall Pine I felt safe. When we went on our trip to Hawaii we did two days of diving on a tour boat with four other couples. We dove down to 90 feet with two instructors and explored a ship wreck. We saw sea turtles and tons and tons of colorful fish. I even had the pleasure of being “inked” by an octopus. Diving in the clear, warmer waters of Hawaii was totally amazing, but we still plan on diving up here, too. We are both looking forward to meeting all the local divers and doing the “fun dives” in Gilbert. I do have to see and explore everything in the Pit . I have just signed up for the Cat Ppalu trip to the Bahamas in March and will be taking the Advanced Open water Course in warm water! My husband will be taking the course right away in the spring. We plan on doing lots of diving next summer up here and we will both be going on the trip to British Columbia…if possible. Thank you to Rick and Dave for such excellent instruction. You have made Scuba Diver Lovers out of both of us. By Josh Gillson When I took my Open Water Scuba Diver course with Tall Pine Scuba I felt very safe and confident that I would pass the class. This is because of the dive instructors and how they would always be very thorough and precise with their instruction. The instructors would always make sure that we understood and comprehended the concepts and procedures befor they would move on. They would always answer any questions that would arise and having more than one instructor in the water with us allowed them to work with anyone that was having problems, well the rest of us moved on.It was a great experience and I truly enjoyed getting my certification with Tall Pine Scuba.