I’ve read several posts from advanced divers who were kind enough to share their experiences with DIRF. Given that this is a fundamentals class I thought other new divers might benefit from a less experienced perspective (I have a total of 29 dives including all training dives). All of these opinions are from the sessions taught by Bob Sherwood & Ed Hayes (assisting) at Dutch Springs PA in Oct, 2005.
First off, this is a fantastic course with an abundance of good material for new divers. I can’t think of a type of OW dive that wouldn’t be more enjoyable with improvements in the diver’s safety, buddy skills, situational awareness, buoyancy, trim and propulsion. If you’re thinking that DIRF is some kind of technical diving class it’s not.
For me the amount of effort/skill/ability required to meet the standards of DIRF is AT LEAST an order of magnitude greater than what was required to pass my other courses. (I purposely said at least because I will not really know how much effort was required until I actually manage to meet the standards.) DO NOT TAKE MY STATEMENTS AS A CRITICISM OF MY NAUI COURSES. In fact I had very good instructors, (a fact which was commented on by the GUE instructors). The difference is that while the skills in my OW classes could be checked off independently all the skills in DIRF need to be completed without sacrificing anything else. For example you can pass a NAUI mask clear skill on a platform with an instructor effectively eliminating your need to managing your buddy awareness, buoyancy and trim. At DIRF the same mask clear skill was to be demonstrated in proper trim, at the correct depth, in contact with your buddies while keeping track of how much time you have remaining in the dive... . The two 17 hour days and one 12 hour day with only breaks to use the head wore me out (we ate during lecture.) A true interest in improving your diving (not proving yourself) is essential.
The video critique is GREAT for new divers. To be blunt the only people I see having a real problem with the video critique are people who are expecting to look really good on the tape. Hopefully new divers are expecting to make a few mistakes and shouldn’t be anything other than thankful when someone points them out. The instructors critique was direct to the point but not in any way demeaning. Bob and Ed spent just as much (if not more) time pointing out correct sections of the dive as they do identifying flaws and ALL critiques include suggestions of ways to fix the problem. Just to give you a sense of what it was like here’s my favorite video moment: We had just finished shooting a SMB when Bob signals “You, OOA”. My buddy stuffed his regulator into my mouth almost as quick as I could spit mine out (thanks partner) and we spent the next several seconds cleaning up our hoses. Just as I was thinking “Hey that wasn’t too bad, we just completed an unexpected long hose deployment” Bob signals, “Your, SMB, ?”. Uh oh!:34: The video of what follows was hysterical. Imagine two divers first looking at each other to see who’s holding the spool, then the camera zooms in to catch the completely ad-hoc “I haven’t got a clue” response from the buddy team followed by a good 30 seconds of frantic head tilting looking in every which direction for the dangling spool, including down. Why I was looking down for a SMB we had just shot to the surface is still beyond me but it made sense at the time
. After that we got to rewind the tape and watch the previously unnoticed spool bobbing merrily just above our heads as we completed the long hose deployment. After the class had finished laughing we had a good discussion about how to correct our SMB deployment procedures such that we were still able to address an emergency situation.
I would also suggest you ignore all the Internet blabbing about anti-social/cocky DIR diver attitude and Kool-Aid and spend some time trying to get to know the folks you’re considering taking a course with. Bob, Ed and the other GUE divers who were hanging out at the quarry were really nice people. The folks I met were not elitist, boastful or arrogant in fact they were just like other good divers, always willing to talk about their interest and willing to lend a hand whenever asked and before you knew to ask (thanks guys). The focus on team diving is apparent out of the water as well and the group was very close knit. Bob and Ed naturally extended this close knit attitude to the students offering to provide guidance/support outside of the workshop.
Don’t worry so much about the equipment configuration. If you want to prepare for the class contact your potential instructor and get some advice from the source on what things can be worked on before the workshop. Bob was able to provide fixes for simple things and provided loaner equipment when necessary to improve the learning experience. The Halcyon equipment line was not jammed down our throat and the emphasis was on selecting the best equipment for the dive.
Anyway this is getting long so I’ll wrap up by saying I got out of the course exactly what I wanted. It opened my eyes to a whole new set of skills and abilities I can develop to become a better diver. If you’re new and interested in the same thing I highly recommend you call up some of the GUE folks in your area and see if you can attend. It will be well worth your time.
First off, this is a fantastic course with an abundance of good material for new divers. I can’t think of a type of OW dive that wouldn’t be more enjoyable with improvements in the diver’s safety, buddy skills, situational awareness, buoyancy, trim and propulsion. If you’re thinking that DIRF is some kind of technical diving class it’s not.
For me the amount of effort/skill/ability required to meet the standards of DIRF is AT LEAST an order of magnitude greater than what was required to pass my other courses. (I purposely said at least because I will not really know how much effort was required until I actually manage to meet the standards.) DO NOT TAKE MY STATEMENTS AS A CRITICISM OF MY NAUI COURSES. In fact I had very good instructors, (a fact which was commented on by the GUE instructors). The difference is that while the skills in my OW classes could be checked off independently all the skills in DIRF need to be completed without sacrificing anything else. For example you can pass a NAUI mask clear skill on a platform with an instructor effectively eliminating your need to managing your buddy awareness, buoyancy and trim. At DIRF the same mask clear skill was to be demonstrated in proper trim, at the correct depth, in contact with your buddies while keeping track of how much time you have remaining in the dive... . The two 17 hour days and one 12 hour day with only breaks to use the head wore me out (we ate during lecture.) A true interest in improving your diving (not proving yourself) is essential.
The video critique is GREAT for new divers. To be blunt the only people I see having a real problem with the video critique are people who are expecting to look really good on the tape. Hopefully new divers are expecting to make a few mistakes and shouldn’t be anything other than thankful when someone points them out. The instructors critique was direct to the point but not in any way demeaning. Bob and Ed spent just as much (if not more) time pointing out correct sections of the dive as they do identifying flaws and ALL critiques include suggestions of ways to fix the problem. Just to give you a sense of what it was like here’s my favorite video moment: We had just finished shooting a SMB when Bob signals “You, OOA”. My buddy stuffed his regulator into my mouth almost as quick as I could spit mine out (thanks partner) and we spent the next several seconds cleaning up our hoses. Just as I was thinking “Hey that wasn’t too bad, we just completed an unexpected long hose deployment” Bob signals, “Your, SMB, ?”. Uh oh!:34: The video of what follows was hysterical. Imagine two divers first looking at each other to see who’s holding the spool, then the camera zooms in to catch the completely ad-hoc “I haven’t got a clue” response from the buddy team followed by a good 30 seconds of frantic head tilting looking in every which direction for the dangling spool, including down. Why I was looking down for a SMB we had just shot to the surface is still beyond me but it made sense at the time
. After that we got to rewind the tape and watch the previously unnoticed spool bobbing merrily just above our heads as we completed the long hose deployment. After the class had finished laughing we had a good discussion about how to correct our SMB deployment procedures such that we were still able to address an emergency situation.I would also suggest you ignore all the Internet blabbing about anti-social/cocky DIR diver attitude and Kool-Aid and spend some time trying to get to know the folks you’re considering taking a course with. Bob, Ed and the other GUE divers who were hanging out at the quarry were really nice people. The folks I met were not elitist, boastful or arrogant in fact they were just like other good divers, always willing to talk about their interest and willing to lend a hand whenever asked and before you knew to ask (thanks guys). The focus on team diving is apparent out of the water as well and the group was very close knit. Bob and Ed naturally extended this close knit attitude to the students offering to provide guidance/support outside of the workshop.
Don’t worry so much about the equipment configuration. If you want to prepare for the class contact your potential instructor and get some advice from the source on what things can be worked on before the workshop. Bob was able to provide fixes for simple things and provided loaner equipment when necessary to improve the learning experience. The Halcyon equipment line was not jammed down our throat and the emphasis was on selecting the best equipment for the dive.
Anyway this is getting long so I’ll wrap up by saying I got out of the course exactly what I wanted. It opened my eyes to a whole new set of skills and abilities I can develop to become a better diver. If you’re new and interested in the same thing I highly recommend you call up some of the GUE folks in your area and see if you can attend. It will be well worth your time.
If you don't have aching muscles as the end of this class, then you're just not doing it right... so to speak.
