You won’t find many divers with more experience than British born Mick Chapman! With over 14,000 dives under his belt, there is not a lot about diving that he does not know!

Mick will be our resident Course Director in charge of all PADI Instructor Development at TSD and you will not get a better start on your your life as a PADI Instructor!

Mick first started teaching diving in the 1980s, and has been a PADI Course Director for 14 years. He has worked as a dive professional in various guises all around the world in locations as diverse as the Mediterranean (including Gozo, Malta and Cyprus), Norway, six years in the Red Sea and Africa including Israel, Jordan, the Sudan, Eritrea, Yemen, the Seychelles and Kenya. In Asia he spent a fair amount of time in Thailand, with a claim to fame in that he staffed the first ever IDC on Koh Tao many years ago. He has also spent time in Malaysia, Singapore, Borneo and Sipadan. On yet another continent he has worked the US East and West Coasts, Mexico, Jamaica, Belize, Honduras and its Bay Islands.

In a long and varied career in diving, as well as recreational diving, he has also:

• Worked on TV as a double and underwater stunt man!
• Worked with Discovery Channel and other TV networks producing underwater footage including footage of the giant Humbolt squid which he dived with regularly.
• Formed a Search and Rescue/Recovery Unit for the Norwegian Police becoming the only civilian unit to operate with the Norwegian police force on such underwater jobs.
• Previously owned his own dive centers in Norway and in Mexico. Mick has recently sold his PADI 5 Star IDC Dive Center in Mexico so he can get back to focusing full time on what he really loves – teaching.

As well as teaching up to PADI Instructor level, he teaches a wide range of PADI Specialty and Instructor Specialty courses, including his own PADI Reef Diver Specialty which has environmentally based focus – very useful to any PADI professional.

Contact us to find out more about our IDCs, the next one starts on May 13!

Over the last two weeks they have been preparing for this Instructor exam during their PADI IDC, run by PADI Silver Course Director Richard Reardon (me !).  We have enjoyed a great time together learning, working hard and now that work has paid off and they all got the ‘PADI handshake’ at the end of the IE…

Five happy PADI Open Water Scuba Instructors, with PADI Examiner George Wegmann and PADI Course Director Richard Reardon

The IE started with an Orientation Session where the candidates received their assignments sheets for the rest of the programme.  The following morning they headed into Confined Water and all recorded some very high scores to help settle the nerves.  That afternoon it was time to head back to the classroom to sit the written exam part of the examination – everybody’s favourite segment !!  Next came the classroom presentations, and after gathering all their ‘teaching aids’ more very high scores were earned by all…

The Orientation...

And that brought us to the final session the following day – Open Water.  The candidates all headed into the water with PADI Examiner George, and did a great job and spotting and solving the assigned ‘problems’ and eased through this section.  And then after some very solid Rescue Demonstrations came the all important handshake from George and some big smiles…

Confined Water...

Congratulations, guys, on a job very well done !!  And we wish you a happy and successful career as a PADI Instructor !!!

For further information on how you can also become a PADI Instructor, please e-mail us…

Following the morning in the classroom, we then got geared up and headed out into Confined Water for a PADI Skill Circuit.  For some reason everybody seemed to enjoy being in the water a little more.  The skill demonstrations from everybody were of a very high standard, but we will continue to practise these over the next few days to make them even better…

Today we have more exams to enjoy, and then we will be practising skills and rescues in Confined Water in the afternoon again…

Stay tuned for more news from this PADI IDC, or e-mail me if you would like any information about joining the next PADI IDC…

Five happy PADI Instructors, one PADI Examiner and one PADI Course Director...

Following an extremely pleasurable couple of weeks in the classroom with me, and a couple of slightly ‘stressful’ days at the IE, the new instructors are now in a much more relaxed mood.  But it doesn’t stop there…  After a day of rest and relaxation, we are all back in the classroom to start with some Specialty Instructor training.  This training will help improve their skill and knowledge base, and make them much more attractive to potential employers.  This afternoon we start with Nitrox Instructor, and over the coming days we will be training in Wreck, Deep, Digital Underwater Photography, Reef Shark Awareness, Navigation and various other areas…

If you like to follow in the footsteps of the new instructors and become qualified to teach diving all over the world, then please send me an e-mail for further details…

Photos by Rich Reardon

Ryan getting his certificate from PADI Examiner George Wegmann

After arriving in the Philippines, and making the short trip from Cebu City up to Malapascua Island, Ryan got straight into the water for a Skill Circuit, before hitting the classroom for the start of the IDC proper.  After a couple of presentations from myself, it wasn’t long before it was time for Ryan to take centre stage and deliver his Knowledge Development presentations and teach us all about the PADI RDP…

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh......

'Divers, know your limits !!'

Following some very good presentations in the classroom, it was soon time for Ryan to try his hand at teaching in the water too.  Throughout the IDC, and indeed the IE, Ryan recorded some very strong scores…

The CESA...

Ryan giving some 'positive reinforcement' to his student after completing a 'Deep Water Exit'...

We also found plenty of time to conduct some dives towards Specialty Instructor ratings and to complete EFR Instructor training for Ryan. We completed Specialty Instructor training in Deep, Wreck, Nitrox, Equipment, Night and Navigation specialties.   On a couple of mornings we got up nice and early to venture out to Monad Shoal to dive with Malapascua’s most famous residents – the thresher sharks…

Using a reel on Lighthouse Wreck

Navigating at Bantigue...

Spotted during Deep Specialty Instructor training...

Ryan demonstrating infant CPR...

We had a great two weeks during the IDC, then we headed down to the city for the PADI Instructor Exams.  Throughout the two-day examination process, Ryan excelled himself with some outstanding scores – including a few perfect 5.0 scores !!  At the end of the two days, Ryan got the all important handshake from PADI Examiner George Wegmann, and then it was time to celebrate…

The IE Orientation

Getting a 5.0 in Confined Water...

The handshake...

Another happy PADI Instructor...

If you’re interested in becoming a PADI Pro, then feel free to e-mail us for further details.  Also, check out the Thresher Shark Divers website to see our PADI IDC schedule for the coming year…

This is going to be a very small and personal IDC, but if you are interested in signing up, there is still time!

Isn't it time you became a PADI Instructor?!

Contact dive@thresherdivers.com for more info!

Simulating an 'Emergency Decompression Stop' during Deep Specialty Instructor training...

A thresher shark - spotted during Reef Shark Awareness training...

And this little fellow was spotted during the Wreck Specialty training...

The new instructors are all now PADI Enriched Air, Wreck and Deep Specialty Instructors and various other courses have been taken by some of them too.  We have also completed training in Digital Underwater Photography, Emergency Oxygen Provider, Underwater Naturalist and of course Reef Shark Awareness.  Over the next couple of days we will also be completing Search & Recovery, Night and Underwater Navigator Specialty training as well as others…

Using a reel during Wreck Specialty training...

Help spread the word about the plight of sharks...

Earning PADI Specialty Instructor ratings is a great way of improving your dive skills, teaching methods and, perhaps most importantly, of increasing your employability – making it even easier to find that dream job in paradise…

Assembling the oxygen unit whilst 'blindfolded'...

There are a couple of PADI Specialty instructor ratings that are also available to PADI Divemasters.  Divemasters can also become qualified to teach the Digital Underwater Photography specialty and the Emergency Oxygen Provider specialty.  If you’re a Divemaster thinking of becoming an Instructor in the future and are curious about teaching, then this is a great way to gain some great experience of working with students before completing a PADI Instructor Development Course.

During Digital Underwater Photography training, we had a look at post-dive production, and went from this....

... to this!

If you like to know more about professional level PADI training, please contact us via e-mail for more info…

Three very happy new PADI Instructors, with PADI Examiner George Wegmann and PADI Course Director Richard Reardon.

Jo, Max and Ant spent the two weeks prior to the Instructor Exams working very hard in the classroom during their PADI Instructor Development Course at Thresher Shark Divers.  The hard work paid off, as during the IE they all recorded some very high scores and passed with ease…

The first morning of the IE started with the orientation, and then after a small break continued with the written exams in dive theory and an exam on PADI standards.  This is usually people’s least favourite section of the two-day examination process, but the candidates passed this first hurdle without any problems…

Orientation at the IE...

Some very good scores during the classroom presentations that afternoon brought the first day to an end.  the following day the candidates were in the water presenting skills in confined water and in open water with a mini skill circuit and a rescue demonstration too.  They all walked back up the beach from the boat as very happy PADI Instructors !!!

One happy instructor...

And another...

And a third...

After an awesome party at Oscar’s Bar & Restaurant that evening, the following day was spent relaxing/recovering.  Now the guys are continuing their training and are completing various Specialty Instructor Training courses to ensure they have no problems finding that dream job in the sun…

Congratulations guys, on a job very well done !!!

Time to celebrate....

Interested in following in Jo, Max and Ant’s footsteps ?  Feel free to drop us an e-mail for more details on upcoming PADI IDCs or Divemaster courses at Thresher Shark Divers….

We've heard some awesome classroom presentations...

Max demonstrates his skill during the Confined Water presentations...

Jo briefs her 'students'...

In addition to the mandatory candidate presentations we have also conducted workshops to help the candidates be better prepared for life as a PADI Instructor.  Workshops on CESAs, liftbags and on conducting DSDs have taken place so far, with more planned over the next few days too…

Max getting to grips with the liftbag...

And I demonstrate how a C.E.S.A. should look...

The weather and conditions have also been near perfect, and here’s hoping it stay like that for the PADI IE to be held here on Malapascua Island on the 28th and 29th October…

Jo, Ant and Max...

Ant shows us 'snorkel/regulator exchange'...

Jo's CESA demonstration...

In the afternoon, we transferred to confined water and the candidates again played instructor and taught a skill from the Open Water Diver course.  All the candidates are getting to grips with the structure of the presentations, and some more high scores were registered…  ‘Rescues’ were also practised again…

Practising 'rescues'...

Max 'rescues' Ant....

Today, we once again start in the classroom with another Knowledge Development presentation from Jo, Ant and Max, before venturing out on the boat for more Confined Water Presentations in the afternoon…

A few days ago the candidates all passed their EFR Instructor courses too…

Jo watches Ant perform CPR...

Max showing his CPR skills...