ScubaScott
Guest
I know there are probably about 100 DIRF reports somewhere on SB, however, since I rarely get to report about these great trips that I don't go on, I thought we'll throw one more DIRF report out there for those who may not have heard or experienced it yet.....
June 27,28,29 we were lucky to obtain Mr. Dan Mackay, of GUE and NTD. Along with Dan, was his right hand man and cameraman Tom, whose skill at capturing us at our worst moments while diving, is probably unmatched. Dedicated? You bet - these guys drove 10 hours to come to us, way up in Northern Ontario and put on a weekend that was literally crammed with SCUBA knowledge and know-how, and made the drive back in the middle of the night to fulfill shop obligations first thing Monday morning.
Since I've read a bunch of DIRF reports, they pretty much stick to the same schedule for dives, I won't get into individual dives. Drills/kicks practiced and tried to perform: frog, mod. frog, mod. flutter,helicopter turns, backward kicks, s-drills, valve drills, shooting a bag, deco stops ..... If my crammed head is starting to unclog, I think those were it. Bouyancy and trim was the foundation of all these skills, and preached and practiced while diving. The devil? - The backwards kick. I've been practicing the last 3 dives, and I still look like I'm trying to hump something underwater. LOL.
We had 5 divers, pretty much newer divers in our group, aside from 1 instructor. We ALL learned so much in this very intense weekend. So much, I didn't want to talk about anything scuba related for 2-3 days. My brain was full. And it wasn't just talk - Dan not only could backup everyrthing he said - he also SHOWED you. He showed me why my drysuit underwear is crap. He showed us why our drysuits were crap, fins crap...... however, he was not gear promoting or bashing certain companies. He simply explained in detail why or why not certain products were good or bad.
Now that DIRF is a pass/fail, I knew none of us would pass. Others in the group, while not egomaniacs, were pretty sure of thier skills, and perhaps a little embarrassed while watching the video of our dives. Dan and Tom didn't have to say anything - the camera says it all. Watching tape of us turn up the bottom, swim into each other, and basically just look like a big ugly CF, was enough to humble even the biggest egomaniac. A thing to remember here folks - it's constructive criticism. We didn't pay these guys money to blow smoke up our ass. Dan pointed out what we were doing wrong, and how we can correct it. Nothing more/nothing less.
Was the course worth it? Every penny. Would I recommend it? Absolutely. Is it hard? Yes. Would I take it again? Yes. Is it for everyone? No. Will I continue on? That I don't know. I'm looking at purchasing a lot of new gear, and Ebaying the old stuff. Most likely I'll be visiting Mr. Mackay on his turf next year, and perhaps try again.
Its sad to see the politics in diving however. Our LDS (who'm my buddy, the instructor in this report works for) has told us she'd rather not have anything "DIR" mentioned at her shop, or to students that we take out for her. "Techie" gear will not be ordered thru her, and the general attitude we get is simply amazing, but yet, she still asks questions. If someone's ego got hurt because of this weekend, it must have been her's when I said Dan was the best diver I had ever seen in the water, and that his course was top notch. Hey, she asked - was I supposed to lie?
SS
June 27,28,29 we were lucky to obtain Mr. Dan Mackay, of GUE and NTD. Along with Dan, was his right hand man and cameraman Tom, whose skill at capturing us at our worst moments while diving, is probably unmatched. Dedicated? You bet - these guys drove 10 hours to come to us, way up in Northern Ontario and put on a weekend that was literally crammed with SCUBA knowledge and know-how, and made the drive back in the middle of the night to fulfill shop obligations first thing Monday morning.
Since I've read a bunch of DIRF reports, they pretty much stick to the same schedule for dives, I won't get into individual dives. Drills/kicks practiced and tried to perform: frog, mod. frog, mod. flutter,helicopter turns, backward kicks, s-drills, valve drills, shooting a bag, deco stops ..... If my crammed head is starting to unclog, I think those were it. Bouyancy and trim was the foundation of all these skills, and preached and practiced while diving. The devil? - The backwards kick. I've been practicing the last 3 dives, and I still look like I'm trying to hump something underwater. LOL.
We had 5 divers, pretty much newer divers in our group, aside from 1 instructor. We ALL learned so much in this very intense weekend. So much, I didn't want to talk about anything scuba related for 2-3 days. My brain was full. And it wasn't just talk - Dan not only could backup everyrthing he said - he also SHOWED you. He showed me why my drysuit underwear is crap. He showed us why our drysuits were crap, fins crap...... however, he was not gear promoting or bashing certain companies. He simply explained in detail why or why not certain products were good or bad.
Now that DIRF is a pass/fail, I knew none of us would pass. Others in the group, while not egomaniacs, were pretty sure of thier skills, and perhaps a little embarrassed while watching the video of our dives. Dan and Tom didn't have to say anything - the camera says it all. Watching tape of us turn up the bottom, swim into each other, and basically just look like a big ugly CF, was enough to humble even the biggest egomaniac. A thing to remember here folks - it's constructive criticism. We didn't pay these guys money to blow smoke up our ass. Dan pointed out what we were doing wrong, and how we can correct it. Nothing more/nothing less.
Was the course worth it? Every penny. Would I recommend it? Absolutely. Is it hard? Yes. Would I take it again? Yes. Is it for everyone? No. Will I continue on? That I don't know. I'm looking at purchasing a lot of new gear, and Ebaying the old stuff. Most likely I'll be visiting Mr. Mackay on his turf next year, and perhaps try again.
Its sad to see the politics in diving however. Our LDS (who'm my buddy, the instructor in this report works for) has told us she'd rather not have anything "DIR" mentioned at her shop, or to students that we take out for her. "Techie" gear will not be ordered thru her, and the general attitude we get is simply amazing, but yet, she still asks questions. If someone's ego got hurt because of this weekend, it must have been her's when I said Dan was the best diver I had ever seen in the water, and that his course was top notch. Hey, she asked - was I supposed to lie?
SS