What Fundies did for us

[billt4sf]

We took Fundies (GUE Fundamentals) and it really helped us.

We are just average divers -- meaning that we’re not into tech diving or cave diving, and we pretty much take it easy. I don’t wish to begin another debate, I’m just very happy with the course and I would encourage others who may be interested to take it.

First off, we had a great instructor: Alberto (Beto) Nava. So patient!

I think we responded well to GUE because it’s a system: it covers weighting, trim, gear, fins, hoses, finning, gas planning, ascending, in-water skills, techniques, buddy checks, … everything. It worked great for us to have a system that we could both learn, use, and rely on. And we both have the same gear and use it the same way, so we both know what to do for the other, and what to expect from our buddy. That might be the most important aspect, aside from a very patient instructor.

It gives us both a great deal of confidence to learn and practice the skills while paying close attention to our buoyancy and keeping a constant depth. We could not have done this without having our gear and trim squared-away. It was very satisfying to see my wife do a no-mask swim and stay calm!

We have only done the pool work so far, using warm-water gear, so no ocean test yet. We might never pass, but so what?!? We don’t need another card -- we’re delighted that we are better divers – much closer to being independent, self-sufficient divers than we were before.

Thanks,

Bill & Emily

 

[KevinNM]

It sucks you in....

 

[AJ]

Diving never have been the same for me after fundies (in a very positive way) No matter if you like the the whole GUE doctrine, you will learn al lot from fundies.

 

[49north]

Glad to hear you are benefiting from it. We are taking the course later this summer and are really looking forward to it. We are just recreational divers as well and don't have plans to go further than that. We want to have good solid skills and be able to take care of ourselves.

 

[Lorenzoid]

My wife and I are relatively new GUE divers, too.

What's going to be interesting is whether after the course you and Emily continue to rigidly adhere to the GUE system, or whether you make some allowances for the real world, especially in places like Bali. My wife and I have so far been pretty dogmatic about our GUE training, but the recreational diving world doesn't always make that easy for us. In, say, the Florida Keys, our gear and the pre-dive checks we do don't raise an eyebrow. But we just returned from two weeks in Bali, and when we insisted on setting up our own gear and going through all the checks, the dive guides rolled their eyes and looked at us like we were risk-averse nerds from another planet. Sometimes it was virtually impossible to set up our own gear due to the way the gear was delivered to the boat and where it was placed on the boat (crammed together at the bow). The Balinese ladies who carry your rig on their heads down to the beach in Tulamben certainly don't know anything about dive gear, and one lifted my rig by grabbing the wing alone. I also don't think any of the dive guides had a clue about the long-hose configuration. "No weight belt, sir?!" "No, it's a balanced rig, and I can get by without one." And I loved this one: "Sir, I analyzed your tank this morning, and it's 32%." I secretly envied the other divers, many of whom rented their gear and dived in blissful ignorance of any "system."

I love the idea of having a consistent routine and diving in a consistent way no matter whether the dive is a challenging one or a lazy 20 foot coral reef dive. But in practice--for the recreational diver--it seems allowances need to be made.

 

[lv2dive]

I may have told this story before before, but on a group dive trip to Indonesia, I insisted on analyzing my Nitrox every day, myself. The US dive leader basically told me I was being silly, the gas came from a bank and it was always 32%. I said, I won't know that if I don't analyze it. Fast forward a few years, I was analyzing my gas from a shop that banks their gas, and I got 36%... They were filling directly from the compressor when I got my fills that day, and someone made a mistake somewhere. The difference between 32% and 36% can be significant if one is planning on spending a fair amount of time at 100' so Lorenzoid, keep on analyzing... You never know when it may make a difference.

And Fundies is where I got disciplined about analysis. I don't know what it is, but after Doug's class, I knew I would always analyze my tanks.

 

[lv2dive]

Oh, and congrats on the class! I'm glad you all took it! I rememember Lynne recommended it to you a while ago

 

[Lorenzoid]

I know, I know. My point was just that in the real world of vacation-type diving, one might have to be insistent--to the point of being perceived as a bit of a jerk for holding up the show. Things were so frenzied in the 15 mins. we had to get ready before departing for the dive site that if I looked away for a few minutes--say, to go get my wetsuit from the drying rack--"my" tank might already have been loaded on the truck and buried under other gear by the time I returned with the intent to analyze my tank. I felt really rushed. (Compare the leisurely pace at which everything is checked in Fundies.) The guide was clearly aware of the protocol under which every diver is supposed to analyze his own tank, as he did seem to make some minor effort to see if I was around and show me the analyzer reading. I am sure that if I had been adamant that the tanks are not to be loaded until I myself have witnessed the analyzer reading, he would have complied, but I caved in to the pressure. I didn't see any customers insist on that during my stay, but I suspect some do.

 

[lv2dive]

Oh I didn't you mean you did anything wrong! And (just guessing) your dives probably weren't below 70 feet? Thousands of people don't check their gas every day, I'm sure, with no ill results. I am primarily glad that you *want* to check gas, and this was an exception!

My point was that a US guide, and a DM at that, gave me grief for wanting to follow standard procedure we are all taught in our in our Nitrox class. SMH.

 

[billt4sf]

I know, I know. My point was just that in the real world of vacation-type diving, one might have to be insistent--to the point of being perceived as a bit of a jerk for holding up the show. Things were so frenzied in the 15 mins. we had to get ready before departing for the dive site that if I looked away for a few minutes--say, to go get my wetsuit from the drying rack--"my" tank might already have been loaded on the truck and buried under other gear by the time I returned with the intent to analyze my tank. I felt really rushed. (Compare the leisurely pace at which everything is checked in Fundies.) The guide was clearly aware of the protocol under which every diver is supposed to analyze his own tank, as he did seem to make some minor effort to see if I was around and show me the analyzer reading. I am sure that if I had been adamant that the tanks are not to be loaded until I myself have witnessed the analyzer reading, he would have complied, but I caved in to the pressure. I didn't see any customers insist on that during my stay, but I suspect some do.

I know. I hate that rushing business, especially on the part of the deck hands and laborers, not so much the DMs. (Although I have rarely met a dive guide that did not do the briefing while everyone was suiting up, thereby ensuring that it's 50% or more wasteful. But that's another thread.)

And for sure in Indo they throw your gear around pretty badly. I've seen them grab the BC by the hoses, even. Sometimes the people transporting your gear are laborers -- they sure can carry a lot!! They are very willing to help, just not in the way you want sometimes, and with the language barrier, the strangeness of a BP/Wing system, and my own physical limitations, sometimes I feel like I have no choice.

I have yet to get to the blessed state that we set up our own gear, always. We should work harder on that.

- Bill