Can you pass fundies at all on your first try?

[lamont]

Also, keep in mind that just diving with DIR divers won't necessarily do enough to get you through fundies first shot with a tech pass.

I've got a love/hate relationship with the word "mentoring" since its a bit flawed in that it sounds more formal and more training-like than it should be. Really its just trained divers helping other trained divers get a leg up, but when you talk about that term with instructors it'll gank on their buttons that produce all kinds of liability concerns and 'overtraining' concerns, and i think a lot of fear of competition for dollars (which is silly). At the same time mentoring is more than just diving with buddies. You've got to be getting useful feedback as part of that process, so it is an ongoing process which is more than just getting out and diving. And a lot of trained divers aren't any good at it. Generally fresh post-fundies divers have a huge "don't know what they don't know" issue going on, and pre-fundies divers being mentored by newbies is going to lead to the issues of training for the wrong things. Even senior divers that have C2 or T2 certs aren't necessarily any good at it.

 

[50Fathom]

I imagine he also does it because it helps the local community grow, which in turn gives more well-trained, fun buddies to dive with. I know that's what we're always going for down in socal when we invite new divers to come out and dive with us.

That is the motivation for my "mentor". I asked him one time, why he was so gracious to always come out and dive with me, even when it was a "boring-ass drills dive", and he responded that aside from loving those dives, he loved doing it because it gave him a more solid team to go diving with. He is of the attitude, (as I am and many here), that he'll dive with ANYONE, (unless they're blatantly unsafe), but he prefers diving in a well-oiled and practiced and familiar team. After having dove with the same team for a few months now, (him, myself and a fellow Fundies grad from my class), it IS a nice feeling when everyone is on the same sheet of music, and EVERYONE is on the same "team". I'm done with the "same day, same ocean" divers. I'll dive with 'em, (good ambassador and all that), but GAWD I do love the solid team.

 

[kathydee]

That might be true....but I imagine he also does it because it helps the local community grow, which in turn gives more well-trained, fun buddies to dive with. I know that's what we're always going for down in socal when we invite new divers to come out and dive with us.

If we have similar motives, then just watching the lights come on, and sharing those "Ahh Haa!" moments is reward enough ;-)!

We already have a huge local community though, so we're spoiled ;-).

 

[TSandM]

When you take someone under your wing and help them out, such as the diver mentioned above, what do you get out of it? This is not meant to be a smart butt comment, I just really want to know. Do you accept payment, free fills, friendship, dive buddy, just because, what drives you to do this, esp, if no payment is involved?

For me, it is an absolute joy to dive with someone who wants to join our community. I found DIR diving fairly early on, and although I did NOT pass Fundies the first time through (and only got a rec pass on reeval) and none of my GUE classes have gone easily for me, to this day I believe this is a wonderful system in which to dive, and I truly and honestly love sharing it with other people. Nobody can start worse than I did (unless they're scared, anyway) so I know that determination and a love of diving will get people where they want to go, if they can get good help. I got good help from immensely generous people, ranging from NW Grateful Diver (who was MY mentor) to Double Dip, who was my practice and class partner for years, and is still one of my absolute favorite dive buddies. It really is a village, whether you're in Seattle or Los Angeles or New York . . . An almost invariant part of being a DIR diver is the enjoyment we take in helping others along the same path.

It doesn't take any payment or even thanks -- having a diver throw their head back and say, as I said five years ago, "I don't know why EVERYBODY doesn't want to dive this way!" is quite enough.

 

[tddfleming]

I'm just sick and twisted...

Do your dive buddies know this, it could make you unsafe (insert smilie here). Thanks to everyone that has answered my questions. How about food?????? I just finished my primer up this weekend. Lets just say, it was very ugly. It will take more than just some practice and mentoring. Maybe an act of congress, which will take very long.

 

[gsk3]

Do your dive buddies know this, it could make you unsafe (insert smilie here). Thanks to everyone that has answered my questions. How about food?????? I just finished my primer up this weekend. Lets just say, it was very ugly. It will take more than just some practice and mentoring. Maybe an act of congress, which will take very long.

I think you'll be surprised at how you come along. You've got the pieces now; just have to start putting them together. Just fixing one or two key things (caveat: you never know which things it'll be ex ante) will often make others snap into alignment and you'll suddenly feel how it's supposed to be, even if only for a moment. Then the challenge just becomes extending those moments of rightness into long moments, then quarter dives, then most-of-dives, then all your dives.

 

[elan]

In the Common mistakes FAQ it states: Going into Fundies expecting a Tech pass.


As a diver that is striving to do GUE and go through the process I have some concerns. It seems that you get an amazing amount of info, and amazing training, and life long dive skills from the fundamentals class. Does anyone pass the class on the first try? Is it designed to take twice? I don't mean that in a mean/negative way, I just want to be clear. If I'm not qualified I understand that. I just haven't yet read anyone that passed on their first try. does it happen?

I know i have skills to work on, I am working on them. I am taking private lessons, I am practicing in the pools and in the open waters. I have begun educating myself and changing my gear to what I feel is the proper config ( it just so happens it is the GUE/DIR guidelines that I am adhering to.) Hoefully i don't come off as an @$$ I'm just trying to understand a bit more.

Yes you can

My friend and I passed it on the first try, although we had good mentors and had a chance to do some fun dives with our future instructor.

 

[amascuba]

I passed the first time around. I had <200 dives and had been diving a back plate, wing, doubles, can light, and a drysuit for about a year. I had around 80 dives in that setup prior to the class.

 

[TSandM]

tddfleming, the difference now is that you have a clear vision of what you want to be able to do. Having that clear vision makes progress much faster.

The "this is UGLY!" feeling never stops, though . . . I remember feeling that way when I met NW Grateful Diver (my first DIR buddy). Then I saw my Fundies instructor, and the bar for "not ugly" went up. Then I saw Danny Riordan in the water, and the bar for "not ugly" went WAY up . . . and then I dove with my friend Jason Renoux, and to perfect stability and quietness in the water was added the ability to exude puppylike joy while doing so. No matter how good you get, somebody is better -- which is good, because you continue to aspire.

 

[kyjellyfish]

Congrats in taking Primer so early in your diving career. I had passed with about 40 dives total. I had also taken Primer and the skills you learned in the class will provide you with a huge advantage going into Fundies. It was still tough though and one thing that would've helped from the start was really establishing the balanced platform and rig. Weighting - how much and where to place (e.g. I was head heavy and placing some weight near my tailbone helped); drysuit management - how much gas to put in the suit to give your legs just enough loft and to prevent squeeze; and body positioning - head up, legs bent, arms in front, etc. Work on staying motionless with minimal sculling or back kicking as possible. Try to relax as much as possible.