nick kay
18-09-2004, 17:43
Thought I'd start a new post
Took the AI/E a week ago, so here's some personal observations / perceptions...
1. You don't need to drive the boat. As far as I could work out, at least half the candidates didn't. Though that may have had something to do with the fact there were 2 boats for 10 candidates and the weather was ******* awful.
2. Be prepared to get grilled on CPF. Take the course beforehand if you already haven't done so...
3. Teach
- Teach don't tell
- Teach in a "why this is relevant" context
- Keep the Examiners BUSY - especially, keep their hands busy
- They can't do 2 things at once, so this stops them asking questions (only joking)
4. Go down to the area a day early (i.e. for a Sat/Sun exam, go down on the Thursday night):
- Scope out the area
- Launch site
- Dive sites, backup sites
- Buoyage
- KNOW the transits (GPS as a backup)
- Mark up your Chart with the dive sites, passage plan(s)
- Assess boat travel times (launch to dive site)
- Have a practise dive (helps get rid of the nerves, shake down your kit configuration)
- Have a practise "instruct" on the boat & underwater
5. Get a good night's sleep on the Friday
Hope this helps
Took the AI/E a week ago, so here's some personal observations / perceptions...
1. You don't need to drive the boat. As far as I could work out, at least half the candidates didn't. Though that may have had something to do with the fact there were 2 boats for 10 candidates and the weather was ******* awful.
2. Be prepared to get grilled on CPF. Take the course beforehand if you already haven't done so...
3. Teach
- Teach don't tell
- Teach in a "why this is relevant" context
- Keep the Examiners BUSY - especially, keep their hands busy
- They can't do 2 things at once, so this stops them asking questions (only joking)
4. Go down to the area a day early (i.e. for a Sat/Sun exam, go down on the Thursday night):
- Scope out the area
- Launch site
- Dive sites, backup sites
- Buoyage
- KNOW the transits (GPS as a backup)
- Mark up your Chart with the dive sites, passage plan(s)
- Assess boat travel times (launch to dive site)
- Have a practise dive (helps get rid of the nerves, shake down your kit configuration)
- Have a practise "instruct" on the boat & underwater
5. Get a good night's sleep on the Friday
Hope this helps