Anton receives Divemaster scuba certification

Canyon Lake’s Chef Anton is known for “mastering” many goals such as pool trick shots, magic, bodybuilding, golf, sky skiing and cooking. His latest goal has been realized. After founding the new Canyon Lake Ocean Dwellers Club, Chef has mastered scuba diving. He is not only a Master Scuba Diver but also a Divemaster.

“For many, this may seem like the same certification level, but in reality they are much different,” Chef said. “A Master Scuba Diver Certification is the highest level of certification for a Recreational Diver. Accomplishing this certification has been my short term goal since first breathing underwater.”

To earn this certificate, a diver has to become a Rescue Diver and then get master certifications in five adventure dives such as Wreck Diving, Search and Recovery, Navigation, Underwater Imaging and Deep Diving, Chef said.

Conversely, Divemaster is the first level of professional certification. In order to achieve this certification, a diver goes through an intensive three-month training session. Divemaster candidates need to pass through a written exam covering all aspects of scuba diving knowledge including physics, physiology, equipment and dive planners.

“The written exam was nerve racking,” Chef said. “We had three books to read and understand including the Encyclopedia of Scuba Diving. As a Divemaster, understanding ‘why’ we do certain things is more important than actually doing them. We are responsible for the safety of our new students.”

Once the written exam was passed, Chef’s next challenge was completing a Dive Site Mapping Project.

“I was given the La Jolla Cove for my Mapping Project,” he said. “Basically, we have to develop a map of the complete dive site so if someone wanted to go diving there, my map would give them all the important details.”

Chef researched where the nearest hyperbaric chamber was in case of a dive emergency, then mapped the entry points, coordinates to underwater points of interest and basic topography of the bottom of the ocean.

The next step of the Divemaster certification was to master how to demonstrate and teach the primary 24 dive skills that all new scuba divers must learn.

“We must be able to make these difficult skills look easy so the students do not get intimidated,” Chef said. “Part of our learning process is to audit other instructors’ classes. Being a part of new classes from beginning to end allows us to see how new students interact.”

Being a Divemaster is extremely physically demanding, he said. Candidates have to pass a strength and endurance test including a timed 400-yard swim, a 200-yard diver tow and a 15-minute tread without using their hands.

“I am a strong swimmer, but still had to train for six weeks to get my times within the acceptable standards,” Chef said. “It is crucial we maintain great physical stamina, because we may have to help tow a tired diver, pull someone through the surf or, in some cases, perform rescue breathing to an unresponsive diver at the surface.”

The final step of the certification process was to pass the “Stress Test.”

“By far, the most intimidating test was our Stress Test,” Chef said. “The instructors need to know that we can maintain control during the most stressful moments. Our actions can be the difference between life and death for another diver, so we must be able to keep our cool and not panic.”

For the test, Chef and a buddy had to exchange all of their gear underwater. This required being able to take off their fins, mask, snorkel, BCD, regulator and tank, then give it to the other diver and put on the other person’s equipment, all while being underwater. As if that were not stressful enough, they had to accomplish this exchange while sharing one breathing regulator.

“Basically, I took two breaths of oxygen and then he took the regulator from me,” Chef said. ”We are trained to never hold our breath, so I started blowing small bubbles until I was almost out of air, then I took the regulator from him and he began blowing bubbles. While this breathing exercise is happening, we are exchanging our equipment simultaneously.”

The key to this exercise, he said, was to go slowly and to never panic. It was vital to just think clearly and keep each other safe.

As a Divemaster, Chef said he is first and foremost a role model for scuba divers.

“Many new divers will emulate what they see, so it is important for me to maintain professionalism and role-model behavior at all times,“ he said. “My duties include being an assistant to the instructors during classes, demonstrating any of the 24 dive skills for students, and working with students who may have difficulties with a new skill.”

With the Divemaster certificate, Chef can now help teach and train others. Having a unique magical background, he incorporates magic tricks into his teachings so the students have a good time learning.

“Just like I would do for a Fortune 500 Company at a national trade show, I am able to use magic tricks as a way of teaching the students about diver theory,” Chef said. “I find blending an entertaining magic trick with a meaningful message to be the most impactful way for a student to learn. At the end of the day, scuba diving should always be fun.”

Next up for Chef and his diving career is obtaining additional diving certification.

“My long term goal is to become a Master Instructor,” he said. “It will take two to three years to accomplish, but it begins this month during IDC.“

During the month of September, Chef is in IDC (Instructor Development Course), a boot camp for instructors where students spend 16-hour days to learn how to teach. During Divemaster Training, he learned the knowledge. During IDC, he said he will learn how to teach that knowledge to students.

During the second week of October, Chef heads to the PADI Headquarters (PADI is the leading scuba organization in the world) and will take the Instructor Exam.

“Once I pass the Instructors Exam, I will then be able to teach Scuba Diving to all newcomers,” he said. “And yes, I plan on incorporating magic into all of my teachings.”

Chef is the founder of The Ocean Dwellers, a Canyon Lake scuba diving and snorkeling club that was formed earlier this year and is sanctioned by the Canyon Lake POA. The club is accepting new members

For those interested in getting scuba dive certified with Chef’s help, class signups are handled by Phillip Rexinger at Scuba Center Temecula at 951-506-0252.




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