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Yum Yum Yellow for shark dives ?
As far as seeing your buddy, that is what a can light and goodman handle is for....instant contact and locationing....Even a normal handheld light can do this, just less conveniently since with a hand held light, you have one hand full.
Bad to who? You? The guy need needed help with gear setup, trim and buoyancy, but since you know the one and holy dive gear set up, everyone should dive it. I am not disputing that the guy was the worst diver you have ever seen, it doesn't make the DIR setup the only way to dive. Don't help perpetuate the stereotype.
Amen Bob, I am the same way, they are in the pool until they demonstrate a decent flutter kick and decent trim.Wasn't this thread's purpose to be nice to beginners? I have reported you to Lamont.
I am nice to beginners ... I won't let my students out of a pool until they show better control than that. And I spend a pretty fair amount of time and effort helping other beginner divers develop their skills so they don't dive like that fellow.
It's because I'm a nice guy, and don't want them to hurt themselves, anybody else, or the environment they're diving in.
How much nicer would you want me to be?
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
Might I be so bold as to suggest that there were many university based reseach diving safety programs who, long before before DIR hit rec.scuba, long before the WKPP existed, long before GI III ever took his first underwater breath, had thoroughly debated, and carefully defined, on a yearly basis, not just what optimal gear configuration was, but had specified it in more detail that either than WKPP or GUE ever have (e.g., an approved gear list at the brand and model level).
Thal, Absolutely. I never tried to indicate George had mostly new ideas...most had been in practice for quite some time, and I don't doubt many ideas had come from your world. DIR "and" the University approach put many good ideas together, and both would mandate the following of these structured systems.
There is a lot of emphasis put on the agency that rightly belongs on the diver. I got to tag along with two "research divers" a few years ago. They were overly impressed with both their skills and their training. Their trim and weighting were atrocious and they could only flutter kick. It took them forever to get ready and while they appeared to be overly cautious about simple things, they took chances with overheads that made me want to scream. Unfortunately, they were the only two I have ever dove with, so I can only base my opinions on a limited sample. Of the many DIR divers I have dove with, only one could be considered a catastrophe and only a few seemed to be overtly critical of other divers. If I had to choose which agency trained diver to dive with, I would probably pick "other".
The point is: reputations are typically earned and they can be incredibly hard to live down. People don't like to forgive and forget. They often hold on to personal sleights and grievances as if their very lives depended on it. In addition, there is often a guilt by association, so that the entire group pays for the offense of one or two. Recently, Dan suggested that I was more DIR than I thought. My immediate impression was that I had recently flamed someone somewhere over their diving, and I could not remember doing that. I am def not a standardized diver as I keep modifying how I dive and the equipment I use. Heck, I am a gear/gadget whore; an early adopter! What really bothered me though, is that his impression about me actually bothered me. Few will deny that I have tried to make DIR just as welcome here on ScubaBoard as any other discipline of diving. My concept of ScubaBoard is that it should be inclusive of all divers and that we'll leave exclusion to the other forums. But somehow, the semi DIR label surprised me and made me take stock. I believe this reticence has to do with Mr Irvine. I have read about him so much, read so many of his infamous rants and heard so many conflicting stories that I don't know. I talked with him on the phone a few years ago when I invited him to have a Gavin Scooter Forum here on ScubaBoard. He even has an account here on ScubaBoard, but I still think I need to meet him one day. Heck, Dan has been inviting me to come diving with both of them, and that's a bit intimidating... but I think the time has come to do just that. I can't speak for others, but I hate to harbor any bias towards a group or even an individual. I have been a proponent of equal rights for everyone from my youth and this seems to be a logical extension of that philosophy. Fear is an element of bias, and it's something that I usually deal with head on. So Dan, let's make this happen somehow! I ain't that skeered!
I was pretty confident that this was the case... Dan's a nice guy! But writing that "DIR is just..." is a gross oversimplification of the entire movement and the personalities behind that movement. Heck, that's like saying that Christianity is great if it weren't for the Christians. Reputations for being judgmental are earned and you can not deny that there is some guilt by association. For a long time, "Rule #1" was universally accepted among the DIR ranks. While there is some current revisionist history going on, you know it's the truth. I remember being chided for describing myself as a stroke many years ago. While I said it in jest, there were a few DIR divers that took offense that I would label myself as such.
