Cave 1 instructors in FL

Stefan Löfgren · April 7th, 2006, 01:03 PM

Im going to stay in Florida between april and october and work at the Eglin AFB. I visited gue.com and had a look at the course dates and i saw that all cave courses are mon-fri. Is it possible to get hold of a cave instructor who's willing to do it as a weekend based course??

Are there anyone here at the forum who lives in NW FL? Im obviously in need of new team mates

//Stefan

StaceyS · April 7th, 2006, 02:05 PM

Hey Stefan:

There are only two Cave 1 instructors in Florida -- JJ and David Rhea. I'm not sure if they would be willing to do the course over several weekends. You should contact them directly.

Stacey

canucksubmariner · April 7th, 2006, 03:40 PM

if there is enough $$$$$$$ involved you'll be able to work it out I'm sure!

diver42 · April 9th, 2006, 01:00 AM

Let me start by saying that I don't know David. I'm sure he's a great instructor and a great diver - that's what I've heard from everyone. He's probably your best bet.
I've met JJ and I think doing cave training with him would be fantastic. But he's pretty busy, for obvious reasons. Finding a schedule that's mutually agreeable, especially just on weekends, seems unlikely. Usually I think he can find a week here or there.

I know this doesn't help your situation - being temporarily stationed in Florida and looking to do cave training - but I think the best option is now to do cave training in Mexico.

There are a bunch of others who have traveled there to do it. Right now Chris and Danny (www.zerogravity.com.mx) are teaching a ton. I think there's at least one class, often two, running every single week. (They take time off for exploration projects... and to travel to teach in France.) Fred will probably be the next GUE cave instructor. There's a guy on this board - eric - who just finished training with Fred. I've trained with Chris and Danny, and I dove with Fred. They're all great. Fantastic divers, fantastic teachers, unbelievably helpful, and completely honest and forthright.

Anyway, again, I know this doesn't help your Florida situation. Sorry about that. But I think Mexico is now the center of GUE cave training. Oh yeah, and your dives are 3x as long and unbelievably beautiful. And a week of good Mexican food!

*peter_steinhoff* · April 16th, 2006, 02:44 AM

Stefan,
I just came back from Florida after teaching a Cave 1 with JJ. Hopefully I'll have my crossover completed by the summer and I will initially be teaching Cave1 out of Florida which is a very good and diverse area to do cave training. You have high flow, low flow, silty, smallish and bigger caves.

Doing classes over weekends are a bit inconvenient because the dive sites are way more busy making it less optimal for training. The best bet would probably be to make it a 6 day class, spanning two fri-sun.

Anyway, your primary goal should be to hook up with two potential buddies, maybe from S.Fl or Georgia who would be interrested in running the same schedule. Most people from overseas would probably want to do their class in one shot.

Feel free to email me privately if there is anything I can do to assist.

Best,
Peter

Stefan Löfgren · April 16th, 2006, 07:28 AM

You have already got mail through your homepage :-)

Quote: (Originally Posted by peter_steinhoff)

Stefan,
I just came back from Florida after teaching a Cave 1 with JJ. Hopefully I'll have my crossover completed by the summer and I will initially be teaching Cave1 out of Florida which is a very good and diverse area to do cave training. You have high flow, low flow, silty, smallish and bigger caves.

Doing classes over weekends are a bit inconvenient because the dive sites are way more busy making it less optimal for training. The best bet would probably be to make it a 6 day class, spanning two fri-sun.

Anyway, your primary goal should be to hook up with two potential buddies, maybe from S.Fl or Georgia who would be interrested in running the same schedule. Most people from overseas would probably want to do their class in one shot.

Feel free to email me privately if there is anything I can do to assist.

Best,
Peter

Mats Edenfeldt · April 16th, 2006, 08:18 AM

Hi Stefan.

I know you will have a blast if you do the cave course in the caves surrounding High Springs

We most certainly hade.
I am not at all jealous of you spending the next year in Florida...not at all :D

Stefan Löfgren · April 17th, 2006, 01:40 AM

I can't say that i miss the snow, even if it's more or less gone back home. I've had enough anyway.. I'll be back in the middle of October. Maybe a trip to Ojamo in nov/dec? Asuming that i'll get my cert. But with 6months that shouldn't be a problem..

Hope you'll have a great summer with alot of diving and say hey to Linda

Spectre · April 17th, 2006, 03:23 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by Stefan Löfgren)

Are there anyone here at the forum who lives in NW FL? Im obviously in need of new team mates

Feel free to pop me a note when you want to get in the water.

Stefan Löfgren · April 18th, 2006, 04:48 AM

Quote: (Originally Posted by Spectre)

Feel free to pop me a note when you want to get in the water.

You got mail...

April 7th, 2006, 01:03 PM	#1 (permalink)
Stefan Löfgren(Offline) New Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Stockholm Sweden - Niceville Florida Posts: 11	Cave 1 instructors in FL Im going to stay in Florida between april and october and work at the Eglin AFB. I visited gue.com and had a look at the course dates and i saw that all cave courses are mon-fri. Is it possible to get hold of a cave instructor who's willing to do it as a weekend based course?? Are there anyone here at the forum who lives in NW FL? Im obviously in need of new team mates //Stefan __________________ Stefan Löfgren DIR-F, NAUI Technical diver, NAUI Cave 1

April 7th, 2006, 02:05 PM	#2 (permalink)
StaceyS(Offline) New Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Ft. White, FL Posts: 5	Cave 1 Instructors Hey Stefan: There are only two Cave 1 instructors in Florida -- JJ and David Rhea. I'm not sure if they would be willing to do the course over several weekends. You should contact them directly. Stacey

April 16th, 2006, 02:44 AM	#5 (permalink)
peter_steinhoff(Offline) Instructor candidate Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Sweden & Florida Posts: 205	Stefan, I just came back from Florida after teaching a Cave 1 with JJ. Hopefully I'll have my crossover completed by the summer and I will initially be teaching Cave1 out of Florida which is a very good and diverse area to do cave training. You have high flow, low flow, silty, smallish and bigger caves. Doing classes over weekends are a bit inconvenient because the dive sites are way more busy making it less optimal for training. The best bet would probably be to make it a 6 day class, spanning two fri-sun. Anyway, your primary goal should be to hook up with two potential buddies, maybe from S.Fl or Georgia who would be interrested in running the same schedule. Most people from overseas would probably want to do their class in one shot. Feel free to email me privately if there is anything I can do to assist. Best, Peter __________________ Peter Steinhoff GUE DIR-F, Tech1, Tech2, Cave1, Cave2, Cave3, RB80-1&2, DIR-F/Cave Instructor Candidate. NAUI Tec Instructor (Trimix, Technical DPV, Technical Wreck Penenetration etc) WKPP Support Diver, Halcyon Product Development Team, Gavinscooter Representative. Various IANTD, NSS-CDS, NACD, PADI & NAUI. ---------------------------------------------- http://dir-diver.com http://peter.steinhoff.se (swedish only)

April 16th, 2006, 07:28 AM	#6 (permalink)
Stefan Löfgren(Offline) New Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Stockholm Sweden - Niceville Florida Posts: 11	You got mail You have already got mail through your homepage :-) Quote: (Originally Posted by peter_steinhoff) Stefan, I just came back from Florida after teaching a Cave 1 with JJ. Hopefully I'll have my crossover completed by the summer and I will initially be teaching Cave1 out of Florida which is a very good and diverse area to do cave training. You have high flow, low flow, silty, smallish and bigger caves. Doing classes over weekends are a bit inconvenient because the dive sites are way more busy making it less optimal for training. The best bet would probably be to make it a 6 day class, spanning two fri-sun. Anyway, your primary goal should be to hook up with two potential buddies, maybe from S.Fl or Georgia who would be interrested in running the same schedule. Most people from overseas would probably want to do their class in one shot. Feel free to email me privately if there is anything I can do to assist. Best, Peter __________________ Stefan Löfgren DIR-F, NAUI Technical diver, NAUI Cave 1

April 16th, 2006, 08:18 AM	#7 (permalink)
Mats Edenfeldt(Offline) Cave is fun :) Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Sweden - Stockholm Posts: 157	Cave 1 Hi Stefan. I know you will have a blast if you do the cave course in the caves surrounding High Springs We most certainly hade. I am not at all jealous of you spending the next year in Florida...not at all :D __________________ GUE: DIR-Fundamentals, Cave 1, Cave 2 NAUI: Trimix 1, Technical diver, Instructor, DM, Wreck penetration, Oxygen service technician IANTD: Advanced Nitrox, Nitrox Various: Apeks tech, Poseidon tech "Doing it right really means to do it properly. No skimping and no compromises. It sounds easy enough but it is not - it requires balls of steel" Peter Steinhoff

April 7th, 2006, 03:40 PM	#3 (permalink)
canucksubmariner(Offline) New Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: GA Posts: 72	if there is enough $$$$$$$ involved you'll be able to work it out I'm sure!

April 9th, 2006, 01:00 AM	#4 (permalink)
diver42(Offline) New Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Durham, NC Posts: 107	Let me start by saying that I don't know David. I'm sure he's a great instructor and a great diver - that's what I've heard from everyone. He's probably your best bet. I've met JJ and I think doing cave training with him would be fantastic. But he's pretty busy, for obvious reasons. Finding a schedule that's mutually agreeable, especially just on weekends, seems unlikely. Usually I think he can find a week here or there. I know this doesn't help your situation - being temporarily stationed in Florida and looking to do cave training - but I think the best option is now to do cave training in Mexico. There are a bunch of others who have traveled there to do it. Right now Chris and Danny (www.zerogravity.com.mx) are teaching a ton. I think there's at least one class, often two, running every single week. (They take time off for exploration projects... and to travel to teach in France.) Fred will probably be the next GUE cave instructor. There's a guy on this board - eric - who just finished training with Fred. I've trained with Chris and Danny, and I dove with Fred. They're all great. Fantastic divers, fantastic teachers, unbelievably helpful, and completely honest and forthright. Anyway, again, I know this doesn't help your Florida situation. Sorry about that. But I think Mexico is now the center of GUE cave training. Oh yeah, and your dives are 3x as long and unbelievably beautiful. And a week of good Mexican food!

April 17th, 2006, 01:40 AM	#8 (permalink)
Stefan Löfgren(Offline) New Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Stockholm Sweden - Niceville Florida Posts: 11	I can't say that i miss the snow, even if it's more or less gone back home. I've had enough anyway.. I'll be back in the middle of October. Maybe a trip to Ojamo in nov/dec? Asuming that i'll get my cert. But with 6months that shouldn't be a problem.. Hope you'll have a great summer with alot of diving and say hey to Linda __________________ Stefan Löfgren DIR-F, NAUI Technical diver, NAUI Cave 1

April 17th, 2006, 03:23 PM	#9 (permalink)
Spectre(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Florida Panhandle Posts: 38	Quote: (Originally Posted by Stefan Löfgren) Are there anyone here at the forum who lives in NW FL? Im obviously in need of new team mates Feel free to pop me a note when you want to get in the water. __________________ -Jeff "This is your life, are you who you want to be?"

April 18th, 2006, 04:48 AM	#10 (permalink)
Stefan Löfgren(Offline) New Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Stockholm Sweden - Niceville Florida Posts: 11	Quote: (Originally Posted by Spectre) Feel free to pop me a note when you want to get in the water. You got mail... __________________ Stefan Löfgren DIR-F, NAUI Technical diver, NAUI Cave 1