DIR Doing Their Thang!

[GDI]

:doctor: Mike I make my living teaching and I travel when I need to got to pay those bills

 

[MikeFerrara]

Around here Nitrox is one blending class and Trimix is a second blending class. Why you need a second class for handling an inert gas is beyond me, you learned to handle the dangerous gas (O2) in the first class...

Roak

I can explain that one...

In most blending classes you must blend a minimum number of times and hit your mix. If you only have a need to blend nitrox why would you want to buy a bunch of helium to practice blending in a class? The shop or instructor may not be set up to even blend trimix and therefor not be able to teach it. Around here that would be the case because the only ones who blend trimix is me and a few other tech divers. The shops don't have it, they have no market for it and they're not going to have it any time soon.

While trimix only requires a little extra math there is the compressability difference that takes some practice to account for with accuracy so you're not going to get a card for it without actually blending trimix.

So...to allow shops and instructors and students who have no need for or access to helium the ability to teach or learn blending nitrox they have two seperate classes.

BTW, that brings up another point. In some areas of the world there just isn't any practical way to get helium at all (without spending HUGE amounts of money). It would be a shame to not allow those folks to blend nitrox because they don't have any helium.

In the DSAT course the test and materials are the same but the card can be issued with or without trimix. The only difference in the course is whether or not you actually mixed any.

 

[GDI]

I think you will find that GUE doesn't claim that DIR and the teaching methods are for everyone. If you like it, take a class, if you don't, don't.

:doctor: Good instructors will adjust however they need to achieve the same standards they are looking for in each and everyone of their students. Not everyone can learn to scuba dive, or drive a car, or fly a plane. A good instructor will exhaust all avenues of teaching before he/she says No certification. Did your teachers in school just pass you or did they work with you when you had problems?

 

[GDI]

Or do like me and dive with a bunch of DIR divers. Observe, emulate, ask questions, and adopt those things you think best fit your diving style and goals. Ignore those who'll judge you based on their "standards" ... trust me, they're in the minority in the DIR crowd. Most DIR divers will be happy to explain things without being judgemental (at least that's been my experience). Yes, you're likely to meet some that you think are arseholes ... but that can be said of most any group of people you'll meet anywhere.

FWIW - I'm not DIR ... been accused many times of being anti-DIR, in fact. And yet one of our prominent DIR divers in this community (Uncle Pug) is a friend and mentor. I've never seen him being judgemental of anyone ... and you'll not meet a more knowledgeable and helpful dive buddy. I can say similar things about most DIR divers I've met ... and all the ones I've decided I want to dive with.

So please go easy on the stereotypes ... what you're describing really only applies to a few, fairly vocal individuals. Don't trust what you read on the Internet ... only by diving with someone can you find out what they're really all about.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

:doctor: Well said

 

[MikeFerrara]

Another note on blending...

Why would you need a class at all unless you're going to sell gas. I took a class but I owned a dive shop at the time and needed some one's blessing to sell it. My wife never got a trimix blending ticket and if you wanted trimix from my shop you would have had to wait for me to mix it. However, my wife usually blends all our gas now while I'm at work. I don't sell it so who needs a card?

 

[detroit diver]

..... I think JJ the founder of GUE (?) has a good plan here. If GUE wishes to limit their instructor base to only 33 instructors for quality control, thats OK. Of course for GUE to survive they will have to bring on additional instructors. GUE is a new kid on the block, WHO trained all their instructors? Come on now the chicken or the egg-who came first? If GUE is the only group who teach "DIR", then where are all these DIR-F people coming from all over the country? The poor GUE instructors must be coming close to instructor burn out. .........

Why does GUE have to bring on new instructors to survive? You are making an assumption that they want to be a big agency, and that is simply not true.

Andrew Georgitsis is the training director for GUE. He not only trains instructors to the level that is required, but also travels around the world (many times with Mike Kane) to teach DIR classes. If I told you that most of the DIR folks that you hear of have been personally trained by either or both of these guys, you would probably not believe me. Take a poll and it will very much surprise you. Their schedules are beyond mind-blowing. Of course, there are now DIR instructors in certain regions of the country. For instance, here in Michigan, we now have the Scubaguys ( www.scubaguys.com ). There are others also. But they can't cover the world, and thats what AG and Mike do. You'll have to ask them about burn-out. They look pretty good to me!

You keep getting back to the point of someone else teaching DIR that is not GUE. Currently, you can only get certified DIR by GUE. Period. Previously, there were a few WKPP divers that I'm sure taught DIR classes. These instructors were most qualified to do so ( I would imagine!). The DIR card is now only available thru GUE.

 

[cornfed]

You keep getting back to the point of someone else teaching DIR that is not GUE. Currently, you can only get certified DIR by GUE. Period. Previously, there were a few WKPP divers that I'm sure taught DIR classes. These instructors were most qualified to do so ( I would imagine!). The DIR card is now only available thru GUE.

So now you're telling me that I have to have a GUE card to be DIR?

 

[Soggy]

So now you're telling me that I have to have a GUE card to be DIR?

There was a dude on a dive boat last weekend that kept asking people if they were DIR. When one diver was asked, he said, "No, I'm Jeff." That was pretty funny and to the point. IMO, DIR is something you learn, not something you are.

Keep in mind that I haven't taken a GUE course yet...Fundies this summer, though.

 

[detroit diver]

So now you're telling me that I have to have a GUE card to be DIR?

After June 1st of this year, yes. Before that, no. There were no GUE cards (at least not DIRF cards) then. Or be a member of the WKPP.

 

[cornfed]

Keep in mind that I haven't taken a GUE course yet...Fundies this summer, though.

LOL, I've got four commited and two on the fence. I guess you win!