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Darin Duffin - Owner & Instructor
How long have you been diving?
I learned to dive in 1991 in the Bahamas.
What type of diving activities do you enjoy?
I enjoy most types of diving activities, but my favorites are drift diving in Cozumel where you sail along with the current and twilight dives in Micronesia . When you spend an entire dive in one spot you see some of the most amazing things. I have found that, whether lake diving or ocean diving, there is always something new and different to discover.
Where have you been diving?
I have been diving in Australia; Indonesia; Micronesia (Palau and Guam); Florida's springs, sinks, and caverns; the Gulf and Atlantic coasts of Florida; the Keys; the Bahamas; Bonaire; the Turks and Caicos; Cozumel; Cancun; Grand Cayman: Cayman Brac: Roatan, Honduras: the British Virgin Islands: the US Virgin Islands: Sea of Cortez: Papua New Guinea and in the Cenotes in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. I have also been diving in several great locations in Missouri.
What was the most challenging skill for
you to complete during your open water training?
In my open water diver course we were required to leave all of our equipment on the bottom of the deep end of the pool, turn the air off and swim to the surface. Once we got our breath we were to swim back down and retrieve our equipment. At the time I was wearing contacts so finding my equipment with my eyes closed and turning the air back on was a real challenge. (This was 9 years ago. We no longer do things like that!)
Why did you become a dive instructor?
I originally started diving out of a love for water and a desire to travel to sunny, Caribbean destinations. It was not until I completed the Rescue Diver course that I realized how much I loved Scuba Diving. With this realization I began to consider ways of being more involved in Scuba Diving, one option was to become a professional diver. It was during the Divemaster course that I discovered the pleasure in helping someone achieve and experience the wonders of Scuba Diving.
What is the most rewarding part of your
job?
Watching someone overcome a challenging skill and seeing their satisfaction. I also love to travel and leading group dive trips is a special part of my job. Being apart of and contributing to someone's vacation is a very rewarding part of my job.
How do you stay current with the changes
in diver education?
At Midwest Aquatics, we have regular instructor staff meetings where we discuss changes in training standards and share ideas and instructional techniques. I attend seminars and updates put on by SSI and manufacturers at our annual trade show, DEMA. There are several good industry publications that I routinely read.
What courses are you certified to teach?
As a SSI Dive Control Specialist Instructor I am certified to teach all SSI recreational diver courses beginning with the Open Water Diver course through Specialties and the SSI DiveCon course. I am certified to teach the following Specialties:
Boat Diver, Enriched Air Nitrox Diver, Underwater Naturalist, Equipment Specialist, Buoyancy, Underwater Navigation, Deep Diver, Reef Fish ID, Underwater Photography, Drift Diver, Multi-Level Diver, Underwater Videography, Dry Suit Diver, Night & Limited Visibility, Search & Recovery Diver and Stress & Rescue
I am also certified to teach handicapped students the Handicapped Scuba Association (HSA) Open Water and Advanced Open Water courses as well as the HSA Dive Buddy program, which trains able-bodied divers to assist handicapped dive buddies. |
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