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Don Kirwan - Instructor
How long have you been diving?
I learned to dive in 1982 in Crystal River, Florida.
What type of diving activities do you enjoy?
I enjoy drift diving on a coral reef in warm, clear tropical water with my wife Margaret (who is known as “Magoo”. She is a PADI and SSI Instructor). Magoo and I also enjoy diving in the local lakes and quarries and I enjoy diving in the Missouri caves. I always encourage my students to try the diving in the Midwest. It is fun, it is a great environment to train in, and weekend trips to the local dive sites keep your dive skills in tune. My favorite dive activity is cave diving in Florida and with Magoo and Jim Gustin in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.
Where have you been diving?
I have been diving in Australia; Indonesia; California and the Channel Islands; Florida's freshwater springs, sinks, rivers, and caves; the Gulf and Atlantic coasts of Florida; the Keys; the Dry Tortugas; Minnesota; the Bahamas; Bonaire; the Turks and Caicos; the Cayman Islands; Cozumel; Cancun; and in the Cenotes and caves 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 not provided with an alternate air source and we had to practice buddy breathing from a single regulator repeatedly and under stressful situations (this was over 20 years ago. We no longer do things like this!)
Why did you become a dive instructor?
I was a Master SCUBA Diver and I decided to take the next step and join the Professional ranks as a divemaster. While working as a divemaster, I enjoyed seeing students experience the same excitement that I had during my open water diver course. I became an instructor because I wanted to do more to help people enjoy the underwater world.
What is the most rewarding part of your
job?
Introducing new divers to the underwater world and helping already certified divers acquire additional skills and experiences. I also enjoy the opportunity to travel to new destinations.
How do you stay current with the changes
in diver education?
I attend instructor updates and I pursue additional instructor qualifications and technical dive training. I read several publications written for dive professionals as well as publications written for the recreational dive community. I also read cave and technical diving books and publications and there are several diving related Internet sites that I regularly visit. At Midwest Aquatics, we have instructor staff meetings where we discuss changes in training standards and share ideas and instructional techniques. I also keep in touch with instructor friends in other parts of the world via e-mail.
What courses are you certified to teach?
I am certified to teach all SSI and PADI recreational diver courses, the PADI Divemaster and Assistant Instructor courses, and the SSI Divecon course. I am also certified to teach the following Specialties:
Boat Diver, Enriched Air Nitrox Diver, Oxygen First Aid, Cavern Diver, Equipment Specialist, Peak Performance Buoyancy, Deep Diver, Fish ID, Project AWARE, Underwater Naturalist, Drift Diver, Multi-Level Diver, Underwater Navigator, Dry Suit Diver, Night Diver, Rebreather Diver, and Wreck Diver.
I am certified to teach the International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers (IANTD) Nitrox Diver, Deep Air Diver, Advanced Nitrox Diver, and Divemaster courses and the Divers Alert Network (DAN) Oxygen Provider course. I am a certified IANTD Enriched Air Nitrox and Trimix Blender and I am certified to teach the TecRec Nitrox and Trimix blending courses. I am also certified to teach the new IANTD Recreational Trimix and Advanced Recreational trimix courses.
I am 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.
Additional Information
I am interested in technical and cave diving as well as recreational diving and I have IANTD Technical Nitrox Diver, Trimix Diver, and full cave diver certifications. I also have full cave diver certifications from NACD and NSS-CDS.
I am a member of the following organizations:
PADI (Instructor member)
SSI (Instructor member)
IANTD (Instructor member)
DAN (Instructor member and Instructor Sponsor)
HSA (Instructor member)
Historical Diving Society
National Association for Cave Diving (NACD)
National Speleological Society- Cave Diving Section (NSS-CDS) |
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