Frog77:
I am really looking forward to get going with the class and would appreciate any advice
Having taken DIR/F, and ushered many (MANY) of my friends into the class, I get this question a lot. In fact, I was just speaking with a buddy about this last night. I've given this some thought, but I haven't polished it yet... so bare with me as I try to memorialize this for the first time in writing.
Kenny's DIR/F Primer
Before Class
1) Clear your mind. You've doubtless read a zillion posts about DIR. You have some friends that embrace it. You have some that oppose it. All with variances in their passion towards the subject. Go in without a truckload of pre-conceived notions, and let your instructor take you through the process.
2) Read the book. Go get the Fundies book and read it. Then get a pencil and a highlighter and read it again. Highlight the stuff you have a problem with and take it to your instructor when you get to class.
3) Don't get hung up on the gear. DIR is not about the gear. Don't twist over a halcyon plate vs. DSS vs. Dive Rite. Borrow what you can for the class and don't invest another $700 in gear before you get there. That said, be sure you get some dives in on the stuff you'll be taking into the class. But for Pete’s sake, don't try to get your kit 100% dialed before you hit the class. There is a list of gear you need for the class - secure that and then fine tune it once you've gone through the class. Your instructor will fit you and have recommendations for your region.
4) Don't take the class alone. if you can, recruit some buddies. Its more fun that way, and it will give you someone to practice with before the class and someone to dive with after the class.
5) Get your buoyancy pinned. I cannot stress this enough. Most people do not pass the first time through because their buoyancy control is not up to the task. You need to practice this before you get there. You need to be able to hover motionless - this is your objective. At all depths. Not just a foot off the bottom. 10' off the bottom, mid water, at 10 feet, etc. Once you get your buoyancy pinned (no hand jive, no kicky-kicky... I mean don't friggen move) you can start working on the essential skills. Air shares, mask drills, the basic 5, etc. Practice these at all depths. Look at your gauge before you start the drill, and after. If you're drifting 3, 4, 5 feet you need to do it again. This is the most important thing you can take into class - having your buoyancy under control.
Class Time
1) Ask lots of questions. If something doesn't make sense, or is contrary to the agency teaching you've received elsewhere, question it. Make your instructor tell you why. Always ask why. If he / she can't defend it, you need to ask yourself why you're even there. This isn't blind following. It needs to make sense to you. You gotta speak up and ask why. You may not always agree. OK. But you gotta ask.
2) GUE isn't nearly as polished as some of the more venerable agencies. Don't expect pretty, glossy materials. The content is the thing, not the paper. Take lots of notes. Be sure you have things clarified before the class moves on.
3) Bring your wetnotes to class. Trust me on this one. There is stuff you'll want to write in there. Also, bring a small calculator to class. Its helps.
In Water
1) Keep the team together. When the team is together, fewer bad things happen. You'll all drop together, but you'll be amazed at how fast things break down once the task loading begins. Keep the team together. This is why going into DIR/F with your regular dive buddies is more fun and more productive.
2) Keep your gear together. Clip stuff off. Tuck stuff in. No flailing stuff, no wandering SPG's, no un-clipped long hoses. Every piece of gear is a team resource. You better know who on the team has a spare mask, who's back-up light is on, etc. Your gear is theirs, too. My advice on gear: Keep it close, clipped and clown-free.
3) Keep your head together. Don't ever forget this: the in-water stuff is designed to task load you and the team until you break. You will be executing skills at shallow depths in a team environment under difficult circumstances. You will fail. Again and again. Its OK. Don't get frustrated. Learn and move on. Give your instructor less and less to work with on every dive. Don't keep making the same mistakes, keep your buoyancy pinned, keep gas in your buddy's grille and keep your head in the game. Not in that order.
Parting Thoughts
1) Fitness matters. No matter what you read here, or hear from other divers, fitness is important in diving. If you're strong, lean and have good flexibility and are in excellent cardio health, you will simply enjoy diving (and life) more.
2) Identify the "Provisionator". Every class has one. Sometimes more than one. You know who I'm talking about - this is the person without even the basic buoyancy skills or experience to be in this class. They may get there soon, but for now their role is to bring down the team and prevent you and your team from completing the class. They're the "Provisionator." If the Provisionator is on your team, you'll never get past the basics. You'll never get to the valve drills, never get to shoot a bag. You won't complete the class. Here's my advice: ID the Provisionator as quickly as possible (hopefully before the class starts) and make sure they're on somebody else's team. Don't get on a 3 or 4 person team with the Provisionator, or your team is doomed. Your objective is not to make the Provisionator a better diver. That's not your job. Your sole objective is to learn as much as you can in DIR/F, and this person will keep you from this objective. Be firm. If the instructor sacks your team with the Provisionator, it sucks to be you. Avoid this at all costs.
3) Respect the probation. When you leave DIR/F (fully certed or provisioned) you need to remember not to come to ScubaBoard, to your buddies or your family and pop off about their diving and spewing your newly minted DIR/F-ness all over us. Get a bib. You may not comment as learned dive scholar. Put a cork in it for 90 days. DIR/F reports are fine. Advice is strictly prohibited for 90 days or 100 post-DIR/F dives... whichever comes last.
I'm sure there is more I'll come up with once I give this a little more thought. Have fun. I went into my DIR/F with 16 pound and though I was properly weighted. I came out diving 8. I went in doing 30 dives a year, I'm now doing over 200. It changed everything for me. Not just diving, but health & fitness as well.
Its the single best thing I ever did for my diving, taking DIR/F.
Come back and tell us all about it!
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Ken
