LEARNINGCURVE
M / Y Big Blue in the harbour
in the Clyde! There are no problems though, only opportunities, and the candidates took this mantra on board as they produced a fantastic project report complete with sketches, photographs, diagrams and photogrammetry of the tank, along with a good analysis of the survey techniques employed.
Doing a full six-day event was demanding for everyone, but it was amazing to see just how much all the candidates progressed over this time.
As ever, we found our candidates were often capable of far more than they initially believed. We said we would push them hard to get the very best out of them; it certainly wasn’ t a holiday. Some may have found being stuck on a liveaboard for a week with a bunch of First Class Diver Examiners a bit of a challenge; and maybe a little stressful at times. Still, I hope they will look back and realise that, yes, they did actually enjoy it, just as we said they would. This is what is known as‘ Type-2 Fun’!
12 Assessment Areas. We had to ensure we were seeing enough of each candidate, and in each Area, to be able to fairly assess and write comments for their exam report. Due to limitations imposed by the weather, we had to do an additional piece of boat work back in Hurghada harbour in order to complete the Seamanship and Practical Position Fixing sections. As ever on First Class, the need for adaptability and flexibility is crucial.
The team demonstrated that flexibility during the project section of the exam, while carrying out a survey of a T34 Tank. Several groups found they needed to work around a resident lionfish, who was definitely not going to move out of their way. That’ s something I’ ve never come across while running First Class Exams
A visit to the Temple of Karnak
The Examiners
Dave Sydenham at Roots
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