Beginners doing GUE fundamentals?

[Rich1280]

I helped a friend by "strongly advising" (some might say bullying) him into Fundamentals at about 30 dives experience. He's now competent and more than capable at his diving and looking at progressing, and has maintained good skills and attitude as he progressed. He says it really gave him the ability to enjoy his diving, as he was able to manoeuvre and position to best see what he wanted and move in the water intentionally. I'd say early doing Fundies really helps from my observations.

I'd also suggest that GUE Advanced Open Water diver (Formerly Rec2) has the rescue element and the 30m depth progression combined rather than separated as other agencies do, so might be a logical next step if you want to do those things.

Rich

 

[JoeTPhilly]

I took Fundies early on and found the course great. As mentioned, GUE has revamped their courses a bit so you should look into either Performance Diver or Basic Fundamentals. Below is a link to Performance Diver.

Excellence In Performance: Introducing GUE’s New Performance Diver Course

By Ulrik Juul Christensen, Jennifer Thomson, & Dorota Czerny. Photos by Julian Muehlenhaus unless noted. A transformational course for existing divers not aiming for the technical path—yet… The Global Underwater Explorers (GUE)’s Fundamentals course has long been the primary entry point for...

indepthmag.com

 

[jadairiii]

Has anyone done GUE fundamentals as a beginner? If so, what is your experience? Any regrets, if so, why?

My daughter did Rec1 in 2020 without any scuba experience and was a rock star day 2 of the in-water work. You have the benefit of a certain comfort with the whole "scuba experience". You wont regret it.

 

[rddvet]

Earlier the better so you don’t develop bad habits. Just don’t expect to take and pass it for a tech pass and don’t be sad if you get a provisional and have to come back to finish. Though idk how that works with the new system of fundies. I assume the same.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

My biggest mistake was waiting until 380 dives and being an IDC Staff Instructor before taking fundies.

That was an incredibly cold shower.

Take it now. Don't worry about rec/tec passes, just go for the skills. You will become a solid diver so much faster this way.

EDIT: see next comment

 

[ChrisMBC]

My biggest mistake was waiting until 380 dives and being an IDC Staff Instructor before taking fundies.

That was an incredibly cold shower.

Take it now. Don't worry about rec/tec passes, just go for the skills. You will become a solid diver so much faster this way.

There aren't really rec or tec passes any more. You do Basic Fundamentals or Technical Fundamentals (or fundies-lite, Performance Diver). For a newer diver, Basic Fundamentals looks like the course you're probably after.

 

[DCN]

It appears that no-one regrets taking fundamentals as beginners, and those who have done it later wish they'd done it before.

We fully expect not to pass fundamentals at our age, we've gathered that most people don't pass, but if we manage to get some very good skills and maybe achieve a provisional pass we'll be more than happy.

 

[Tigerpaw]

We fully expect not to pass fundamentals at our age, we've gathered that most people don't pass, but if we manage to get some very good skills and maybe achieve a provisional pass we'll be more than happy.

Yes it is challenging but you can do it! The instructors are very helpful and if you are near a GUE community of divers they will help and encourage you.

Age is just a number. I am 55 and I know of divers in their 60's that have earned their GUE certification. In the event you do fail, you will have the opportunity to retest at a later date. I myself did not pass on the first try but I practiced and passed with flying colors a few months later.

 

[dray_gnv]

Yes it is challenging but you can do it! The instructors are very helpful and if you are near a GUE community of divers they will help and encourage you.

Age is just a number. I am 55 and I know of divers in their 60's that have earned their GUE certification. In the event you do fail, you will have the opportunity to retest at a later date. I myself did not pass on the first try but I practiced and passed with flying colors a few months later.

Yes, I'll turn 65 later this year and passed Technical Fundamentals a couple weeks ago. However, I took GUE Fundamentals six months ago, got a provisional pass, and worked for the rest of the year honing skills over about 80 dives. I'm a slow learner, but I got there.

 

[JoeTPhilly]

It appears that no-one regrets taking fundamentals as beginners, and those who have done it later wish they'd done it before.

We fully expect not to pass fundamentals at our age, we've gathered that most people don't pass, but if we manage to get some very good skills and maybe achieve a provisional pass we'll be more than happy.

Most people do not pass when going for the tech pass under the old system. I recall my instructor saying that only 30% got a tech rating on the first try.

With newer divers wanting to take training GUE updated their courses and now you have Performance Diver which is 2 days and Basic Fundamentals which is 3 days. I don't see why you wouldn't pass these courses. The instructor will be working with you and you will see great improvement. Best wishes on your course.