TESTIMONIALS

 

 

"I did my PADI Cavern course with Barry Allen at Vortex and Morrison Springs. Barry was a confident and competent instructor, and took great care of us in every regard. With everything from helping us set up our gear, to supervising our dives, to teaching theory, Barry was absolutely great. We not only enjoyed a good class with a professional instructor, but also enjoyed a good weekend with a fast friend. Working with Barry was everything I hoped it would be, and I would recommend this course and instructor to anyone wishing to expand their diving experience."

 

 

"Barry is the most enjoyable Scuba Instructor I have ever worked with. When we took the Cavern Diver Course with him, his easygoing manner (and flexible schedule), paired with his confident technical abilities and excellent instruction made for a very enjoyable and educational weekend. The class inspired me to continue towards achieving my Full Cave Certification and I am grateful for it."

 

 

"Two and a half years into my diving, I developed fears of depth and darkness. I wish I could have blamed it on an incident that frightened me out of the water, but that's not what happened. I considered giving up diving but there was still a desire to dive, so I kept diving trying to overcome those fears on my own, but the anxiety continued to grow. Then one day I stumbled on Reel Fun Diving and decided to challenge myself through instruction instead of giving up."

 

"What I lacked was confidence and focus in my diving. Instruction with Barry Allen gave me new dive tools to work with and a new thought process as to why I wanted to dive and ways to dive safely. I soon realized I needed to be in control of my diving, rather than just following and depending on my buddy. I needed to know the plan, maintain a focus during the dive, understand the gear I was using and get back my confidence."

 

"Barry Allen provided a wealth of educational materials through video, articles, web sites, and then with verbal and demonstrative instruction during the classes. But more than that, Barry Allen maintains a professional level of instruction whether it is through an email or in the water. I never felt like I was being sold to, to buy the latest gear, nor did I ever feel like an inferior diver even though I lacked the confidence and skills. In fact, Barry Allen's class also opened up a creative side as to how many configurations one can have for diving comfort and safety. Barry put a reel in my hand, which gave me a focus point, demonstrated new buoyancy techniques, which gives me control during the dive, light distribution, gas calculations, and so much more, that during the Cavern class I knew I would never consider giving up diving again! Thank you Reel Fun Diving for the confidence building skills and for putting the FUN back into my diving!"

 

 

"About 8 years ago, there I was with my 13 year old son, in a small New England classroom, studying SCUBA. It was a refresher for me and my son's second exposure to SCUBA. I had made the mistake of exposing him to the SCUBA experience while we were on a trip in Grand Cayman. Trepidation was certainly lingering in the air due to my son's exposure to 100' visibility versus 5-10' up here in NE."

 

"During our classes there was always this noise, although discrete, coming from the back of the shop. A gentleman was back there working on "tanks" and whatever else excited him at the moment. Although he was like a shadow in the back, he always appeared to be listening in on the class. One day, my son had asked me a question that I did not know the answer to. At that time, this shadow emerged from the back of the shop and came to sit down with us. He introduced himself as Barry and helped my son with the topic at hand. He was calm in his nature and reassuring with my son's understanding. Since then, I have relied on Barry Allen to instruct me in many different SCUBA related issues. Some of them were for helping me with other certifications and yet others were out of classroom; sometimes in open water and sometimes general questions. He would always answer in his calm voice and would make sure I understood the response."

 

"Barry has the ability to interact with individuals that are just starting to learn SCUBA, technical divers, and anyone in between. He will break down the problem and express it in layman's terms. It can be anything from how to clear a snorkel to how many tanks should be brought on a four-hour dive, what gas mixes to use, the percent of each gas, the bottom time, etc."

 

"His teaching is methodical which inspires others to follow suit while diving. He makes you think of the next step before reacting prematurely. Barry is hands on and will be in the water with you. His motions in water reinforce what he teaches in the classroom. Students often learn more from observing than from verbal commands. Barry is aware of this and teaches by having his students observe each particular step. This, along with the classroom sessions, makes a well-educated student."

 

"If you want to make Barry shudder, just say the word "tank" around him. His technical training in the field of inspection has made it clear to him (and me now) that we all use "cylinders" while diving."