Cost of GUE/DIR training
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It's on the tip of my tongue, but I'll hold back saying it
I have co-taught/videoed etc a few UTD Essentials/Rec3/Tech1 courses with my good friends and dive buddies (They are instructors, I'm just volunteering on my own time). If my wife would've agreed this would have made it more worth it tho.
BB1
Contributor
Well costly or not I have put my name in the ring for the Fundies course in Brisbane, Australia in December!!
Really looking forward to it as, in my perception, it will be worth every $....
Just wish there were more time and some mentors around here for extra advice in the run-up.
I still want to try and make the change to doubles before the course and shoot for the tech pass!
Really looking forward to it as, in my perception, it will be worth every $....
Just wish there were more time and some mentors around here for extra advice in the run-up.
I still want to try and make the change to doubles before the course and shoot for the tech pass!
kanonfodr
Contributor
Without mentors I'm afraid your chances of a Tech Pass are slim...
But doing the course in doubles would be worth the experience, I was having a helluva time in my doubles and drysuit before my Fundies class and Gideon really helped straighten me out. But most would still say that you need some level of comfort in whatever configuration you will use prior to the class and in doubles, without that mentorship, that can be a pain. It's still an admirable goal, IMO, and if you think you're up for it then go for it. Either way the instruction is top-notch.
Peace,
Greg
Rainer
Contributor
If an instructor is reasonably local, do the class in whatever gear you're most comfortable. The transition to doubles is a lot easier once you have a solid diving platform (which GUE-F should help you with).
BB1
Contributor
Having a GUE instructor in my city helps a bit but the GUE community in Australia is small'ish from my understanding.
Previous history of DIR envangelists has soured a lot of people here and there is a lot of GUE negativity but hasn't deterred me. I prefer to make my own mind up!
I am comfortable in my gear and feel comfortable in the water as well though I do struggle to reach the valve in a single tank setup and wondered whether it is actually an easier reach to a manifold?
I'll talk to the instructor and see what he thinks!
PS - no drysuit yet - its to hot over here!
Previous history of DIR envangelists has soured a lot of people here and there is a lot of GUE negativity but hasn't deterred me.
I prefer to make my own mind up!I am comfortable in my gear and feel comfortable in the water as well though I do struggle to reach the valve in a single tank setup and wondered whether it is actually an easier reach to a manifold?
I'll talk to the instructor and see what he thinks!
PS - no drysuit yet - its to hot over here!
kanonfodr
Contributor
It is an easier reach to the left/right valves on a doubles setup, but the manifold can still be a PITA to reach. I also struggle to reach the valve in a single tank, I'm not that flexible!
Peace,
Greg
Peace,
Greg
BB1
Contributor
you are on the right track... do what your instructor recommends 
a single isn't necessarily easier to reach than a CORRECTLY set up doubles kit. This is where your instructor will help you as well. With one look in the water (albeit based on lots of 'factors', an instructor can see if you are close enough to go for a tech pass (in their class) or not.
for all the wonderful stuff said about mentors (and i guess now that i'm considered one, i hope its mostly true) in my personal experience i had mentors but no one got my kit squared away until i actually took fundamentals the second time. it was like night and day when Bob sorted my gear out. I was like "WHY didn't someone show me this before??!?!??!" "why did you all let me struggle and flail?!!" the simple answer is I was able to fake it well enough (force myself into trim) that they (my mentors) didn't really think there was that much of an issue. other than the occasional 'you're still finning', which doesn't help me very much if you can't tell me how to balance my gear so i can STOP finning...
Perhaps some of the difference is it's hard to be a mentor at times if you have the basic concepts down really well, but don't have real desire to educate, as in HOW to educate... which means taking the time to really understand what the instructor taught you, and distill it into meaningful bite sized parcels. Plus there is just some gift to being able to look at a diver (probably from bob having looked at hundreds of students through the years) and seeing where their gear is not within 'specs' for the formula to work and go from there. How many of you who've taken Fundies actually took the time to have your instructor explain the formula for balancing clearly enough so you could pay it forward? How many of you took the class with the intent to become mentors?
not everyone should be a mentor. just cause someone's passed a GUE class doesn't mean they are automatically a great mentor. be smart about who you dive with, because they can as easily give you fantastic tips OR show you stuff you wish you'd never heard of cause it now has to be wiped out of your muscle memory and retrained. If you are taking a class from instructor X, but your mentor took theirs from instructor Y, yes, the basics will be the same, but the class will not necessarily be identical. (put simply, if you are taking a class with Bob, then work with someone who's been bob'd - it helps)
yes, a good mentor is like GOLD, they are there to help you gain experience before (and after) class. But the class.. that is up to the instructor... let them work their magic
a single isn't necessarily easier to reach than a CORRECTLY set up doubles kit. This is where your instructor will help you as well. With one look in the water (albeit based on lots of 'factors', an instructor can see if you are close enough to go for a tech pass (in their class) or not.
for all the wonderful stuff said about mentors (and i guess now that i'm considered one, i hope its mostly true) in my personal experience i had mentors but no one got my kit squared away until i actually took fundamentals the second time. it was like night and day when Bob sorted my gear out. I was like "WHY didn't someone show me this before??!?!??!" "why did you all let me struggle and flail?!!" the simple answer is I was able to fake it well enough (force myself into trim) that they (my mentors) didn't really think there was that much of an issue. other than the occasional 'you're still finning', which doesn't help me very much if you can't tell me how to balance my gear so i can STOP finning...
Perhaps some of the difference is it's hard to be a mentor at times if you have the basic concepts down really well, but don't have real desire to educate, as in HOW to educate... which means taking the time to really understand what the instructor taught you, and distill it into meaningful bite sized parcels. Plus there is just some gift to being able to look at a diver (probably from bob having looked at hundreds of students through the years) and seeing where their gear is not within 'specs' for the formula to work and go from there. How many of you who've taken Fundies actually took the time to have your instructor explain the formula for balancing clearly enough so you could pay it forward? How many of you took the class with the intent to become mentors?
not everyone should be a mentor. just cause someone's passed a GUE class doesn't mean they are automatically a great mentor. be smart about who you dive with, because they can as easily give you fantastic tips OR show you stuff you wish you'd never heard of cause it now has to be wiped out of your muscle memory and retrained. If you are taking a class from instructor X, but your mentor took theirs from instructor Y, yes, the basics will be the same, but the class will not necessarily be identical. (put simply, if you are taking a class with Bob, then work with someone who's been bob'd - it helps)
yes, a good mentor is like GOLD, they are there to help you gain experience before (and after) class. But the class.. that is up to the instructor... let them work their magic
Having a GUE instructor in my city helps a bit but the GUE community in Australia is small'ish from my understanding.
Previous history of DIR envangelists has soured a lot of people here and there is a lot of GUE negativity but hasn't deterred me.
I am comfortable in my gear and feel comfortable in the water as well though I do struggle to reach the valve in a single tank setup and wondered whether it is actually an easier reach to a manifold?
I'll talk to the instructor and see what he thinks!
PS - no drysuit yet - its to hot over here!
I can only make a few guesses...
The population of Europe is a lot bigger than USA, on a somewhat smaller area - instructors and students can travel more easily. I guess this would quite quickly grow a larger base of GUE trained divers and hence instructor candidates.
Also, the difference isn't that big if you compare North America to Europe... And you could add in Mexico - the perspective is a bit different when you're looking from the other side of the pond.
I don't get what you mean by conditions unless you mean easily accessible caves or strictly tropical diving?
I also get the impression that recreational diving in many European countries tends to be organized more around non-profit clubs run by divers for divers, than professional dive shops. I suspect (based on a quite limited observations, though) that club systems produce more competent divers who stay in the sport longer. Which, in turn, could also be a good base for GUE student/instructor candidates.
Dunno. Could be the metric system, too!
//LN
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