Am I a candidate to pursue DIR?

[wunat]

I would agree with many that you may probably want to take the fundies. You might be able to answer many of the questions and concerns yourself after the course.

Readings and talking to people will certainly help you get better idea about what DIR is all about. Even better, get access to an GUE instructor and look into it.

 

[wunat]

This is a common misconception. PADI OW training requires a snorkel but after your four checkout dives are done you are free to configure your gear however you like, including no snorkel or a foldup model stowed in a thigh pocket. Personally I find snorkels useless unless I'm actually snorkeling (a totally separate activity from scuba diving).

Snorkel is a standard equipment required by PADI so certainly during all PADI trainings (except Wreck Specialty and Cavern Specialty), it is required for the students (instructors and DM as well from "role-model" perspective) to have one. When we are out doing fun dive and not doing any training, we don't go around telling the fellow divers that they NEED to have a snorkel (though we do recommend they have one).

A PADI instructor myself and I dive DIR most of the time (except in confine water session). I always have a stowable snorkel in the pocket. A DIR buddy of mine is a PADI Course Director and he says that this is acceptable under PADI standards.

 

[DocWong]

As a newer diver I think you would benefit greatly by taking the Fundies course.

I've been diving since 1974 and just finished Fundies recently and now feel like I have an inkling on how to dive. I had to undo a lot of bad habits but now coming out of it am feeling much better about my diving.

Can one not do DIR/Fundies and still be a safe and good diver? Absolutely! Most of the divers I dive with are not DIR trained. As long as they dive within their skill and experience level, they are fine and relatively safe.

For me the first DIR step I took was Fundies and I found that my diving improved 10x and am diving at a whole new level with a much better experience. Also I've been a lot more tolerant of other divers, their gear, their "buddy" abilities and what they do in the water. I'm much more able to predict diving problems way before they occur. Of course in recreational diving there is a lot more room for error. As my diving gets more technical, of course, I demand a tighter standard for anyone I dive with.

So get some great training (and I feel that the DIR training has no equal), plus more diving experience and you'll feel much more comfortable in whatever diving situation you find yourself in.

 

[RV]

Wheww, Chris, you need to chill a little.
While I do have a DIR-F card, I choose not to go full DIR. It's just not necessary for the diving I do. I prefer my BC to a BP and like using my computer, nothing wrong with either, rather it‘s a matter of personal preference. I found a lot of things I really liked about GUE training and some things I did not care for. I have picked and chose the items that made sense to me and incorporated them into my diving style. I do think the name "doing it right" leaves something to be desired, doing it standard may be better. DIR is as much about being “standard” as anything. I will say the skills traing part of the DIR-F course is likely the best going and was the part of the class I found most useful. There is nothing "wrong" with a BC or not diving a long hose config, it's just different, in the right situations either are perfectly safe. Safe competent divers come geared in all sorts of ways. I would bet it’s rare a REAL DIR diver would refuse to dive with someone simply because they are not “DIR” as long as the dive did not dictate otherwise, internet wannabes are a different matter. Unsafe or careless divers are a totally different matter. Frankly, I would not dive with someone with that attitude, DIR or not, way to macho to be a safe diver.
Diving is not an absolute sport, many divers and locations do things differently, often dictated by local conditions. Your mention of no snorkels is a good example. Tech divers (and DIR trained divers) don’t normally carry snorkels for good reasons. I never dive with one unless required by the boat and then it’s stowed away and not on my mask. DM’s are another example, here in NC we never have DM’s in the water except for training dives. You hit the water with your buddy and go, we assume you are a real diver and know what you are doing. Oking on the surface waste time, with waves and currents we have you stand a lot better chance of getting swept away from the anchor line.
My honest opinion is, chill out some, find several good experienced buddies and spend some time diving and learn from them. Learn what works for you and then if you want to go full DIR, have at it.

To you last questions, why would you want or need a dry suit in the Caribbean? ...Enjoy the warm water and diving freedom of no exposure suits, just pee away.

I agree with herman and I've never been asked to see my snorkel or log book but I do have a question for the group... Why does everyone on this board refer to fundamentals as "Fundies"?

 

[Ben_ca]

Fun-Dies

Just kidding... Just a short cut

it's actually where the fun begins... hard to explain... but imagine finally getting some things like an air share perfect... or finally getting that back kick to work...

 

[Dawktah]

Thanks for all the input. I will consider taking a DIR course. I guess I am curious why DIR is a sub category of Technical Diving? Is it purely based on its GUE and WKPP history? I know this will open a "can of worms" but I either want to pursue this or CCR. My goal is to be as safe as possible so I can further my underwater photography. I have read some information on "DIR-CCR."

I am learning my local dive sites, so I still use a LDS. When I don't, I dive from a 15ft. RIB and the current practice is to donn the BCD in the water while its attached to a tether. Surface swim to each other (my wife and buddy) and then descend. This is still clearly possible after learning DIR-F but I am not sure how this would work with a CCR.

 

[TheRedHead]

Why do you want to dive with a CCR, Dawktah?

 

[Dawktah]

Why do you want to dive with a CCR, Dawktah?

Stealth for photographing underwater subjects, also stability for macro. The bubbles from the OC is what usually scares away most fish. A SCR probably will work just as well. I am finding CCR quite intriguing. Just beginning to learn about them.

--Chris

 

[lamont]

Stealth for photographing underwater subjects, also stability for macro. The bubbles from the OC is what usually scares away most fish. A SCR probably will work just as well. I am finding CCR quite intriguing. Just beginning to learn about them.

--Chris

I talked with a guy recently who sold his CCR because he found that it didn't offer any benefit over OC for getting close to fish. He claimed that most of the problems with not being able to get close to fish are actually caused by divers being unable to hover, and that the noise the CCRs made as they operated was just as bad as the bubbles of OC for scaring off fish.

 

[PerroneFord]

Lamont, given what I have seen when diving with CCR divers, I am going to call BS.