IDC Guide

Grand Cayman –

Ash McKnight

Ash McKnight – Go Pro Diving.

Category

PADI 5 Star IDC

Address

P.O. Box 1706 Grand Cayman KY1-1109 Cayman Islands.

Ash McKnight – Go Pro Diving

Why not consider taking your PADI IDC in the Caribbean with Go Pro Diving and PADI Platinum Course Director Ash McKnight.

About Ash

Ash has been diving for over 25 years and teaching for over 20 of those.  With over 15,000 logged dives to his name, he has trained thousands of divers from Open Water to Instructors.

Heavily involved in the day to day operations as  Manager at Cayman’s leading 5 Star Instructor Development Centre, this keeps him current with the most recent diving trends which translate to his IDC candidates getting the most up to date training and standards available.

As an Instructor trainer in over 20 PADI Specialities, you can expand your dive knowledge with a wide variety of specialities once your IE is completed.

Ash is also an Instructor Trainer in Emergency First Response. He prides himself on the fact that he makes these courses fun and extremely informative, ensuring that his students pass with confidence in the knowledge that they are ready to act quickly and calmly in any emergency.

His knowledge, experience and industry connections have helped 1000’s of Instructors find employment. 100% of Ash’s IE graduates who wanted to find employment found work in the diving industry he is extremely proud of this fact.

  • Canadian PADI Course Director
  • Platinum Status
  • Cayman Resident 20+ years
  • 7 IDC’s Per year
  • Over 15,000 logged dives
  • 1000’s of Instructors trained over 15 + years
  • Excellent Job Placement service, if you want to find work, he will find you a job.
  • 20+ Instructor Specialities, EFR Instructor Trainer
  • Actively still working full time in the dive industry
  • Dive Centre Management 15+ years

Complete your IDC with Ash in the beautiful Cayman Islands and you can be assured of the best training around. With the prestigious Platinum status from PADI this shows his dedication to the PADI system of education and that he is amongst the worlds dive industry leaders.

What is the philosophy of your company?

The philosophy of Go Pro Cayman is to teach you, not only to get you through an exam but to train you for a career in the dive industry. Go Pro Cayman prides itself on its rounded approach to teaching, ensuring that their candidates are ready to work on day 1 of their new career.

Ash’s history

Ash discovered diving while on vacation in the Caribbean in the mid 80’s and upon returning to Canada quickly became certified through Rescue. He then continued his education at The PADI College in Canada where he completed his Divemaster and IDC ratings.

Ash then taught for a couple of years in the cold waters of Canada, gaining invaluable experience along the way.

Ash has over 15 years experience in managing dive centres from his time in Cayman and the Dominican Republic.

Has anything funny happened during your IDC courses?

On an IDC some years ago I had the students complete their 800 metre snorkel out in front of our dive shop. We had 8 candidates and they all set off in one big group to complete their swim. After a few minutes myself and my Staff noticed that one of the candidates was missing.

So we immediately stopped the exercise and we begun looking for the individual in question. After a few brief anxious moments we found him clambering over the iron shore out side of a fast food restaurant near to our Dive Shop. To date he is the only person ever to get lost on a snorkel exercise. He must have been hungry and wanted an early lunch!

What is the reason Divemasters and Assistant Instructors should take their IDC with you?

Attention to detail and because of the fact that candidates are trained for a career in the industry not just for another qualification.

What else do you like non Diving?

My Wife and my Cat… In that order!

What are your personal diving obsessions?

Diving is my obsession!

What type of diving do you like the best?

Shore Diving! Here in the Caymans we are spoilt as we have fantastic diving across 3 stunning islands.

While the majority opt for boat dives on the famous Cayman wall I always prefer shore diving on unexplored virgin reefs around Grand Cayman. I regularly take my students on these dives and they rave about them.

Why do you love being a PADI Course Director?

I love being able to help People aim high and dream big and allow them to pursue their career in diving. It give’s me great satisfaction to see my candidates pass through my program ready and eager to teach the world to dive. That never gets boring.

What does the future hold for you?

I am going to continue teaching IDC’s and building on our success from last year and we will also be Implementing boat captaining licences into our programs through our affiliation with IYT.

These are exciting new programs aimed at giving Divemasters and Instructors the skills and knowledge to competently skipper a dive vessel, meaning of course they will be more employable. We are very excited about this new addition to Go Pro Cayman.

What do his IDC students think of Ash?

I completed my professional diving internship with Ash and Go Pro Cayman in late 2010. The instruction I received from Ash and his Staff was second to none, I felt well prepared for my IE and also well prepared for my new career in diving.

Once my IE was finished I received assistance from Ash in finding employment. The day after my IE I was offered a Job on Grand Cayman with the help of my Course Director. I am now working full time as a Dive Instructor/Boat Captain and I’m having the time of my life.

I would highly recommend Ash and Go Pro Cayman to complete your IDC as they give you the personal touch that many dive centres lack.

Joshua K. Foster
OWSI #268872

Want to see what goes on during our IDC classes ?

Click on the photo to the right to view a photo gallery from a recentIDC class

Where are we?


Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 1706
Grand Cayman KY1-1109
Cayman Islands

Locations:
On the Waterfront/Wreck of the Cali
69 North Church Street
George Town

Treasure Island Resort
269 West Bay Road
Seven Mile Beach

Scroll to Top