DIR in the Mid-South (ie. Middle Tennessee)

[Tanked Monkey]

Hey guys,

I've recently moved to Nashville, and am forming a DIR team in the general area. There's a few DIR-leaning divers here, and we're trying to organize a good practice/dive team.

Once the team's together, some of us are interested in wreck diving in the FL panhandle, and others are interested in cave diving in NFL. Got 3-4 members so far, a few more on the fence, with varying skills from "about to take Fundies" all the way to "Cave 2, Tech 1."

If you're interested in joining the group, or even just interested in finding out more about DIR in the Mid South, let me know. We've also got a private local yahoo group setup to help organize us Mid-South Underwater Explorers, called MS-UE at yahoogroups dot com. You can either reply to this post, or PM me offline.

Since this is a specialty type of diver, and we're 6 hours from decent diving (quarry's don't count), I don't expect a lot of replies. We're even planning a "DIR Day" at the local quarry, to let interested divers try out DIR equipment.

Best,
Mike

 

[headhunter]

Hey Mike,

Since you are only about 4 hours from Atlanta, you may want to get in touch with DIR-Atlanta on this board.

It sounds like you may be able to work together on some activities for mutual benefit, since I believe that you'll be driving right through that area on your way to NFL. That assuming that you'll be driving, of course!

Good luck with building your DIR-group!

Christian

 

[Tanked Monkey]

Good idea. I've heard about the DIR-Atlanta group through the grapevine, but haven't actually talked to anyone there. Maybe we can form an Atlanta/Nashville brother-organization relationship, that can help grow both groups. If any of the DIR-Atlanta crowd sees this post, send me a PM if you guys are interested.

Mike

 

[DIR-Atlanta]

If any of the DIR-Atlanta crowd sees this post, send me a PM if you guys are interested.

I see your PM and raise you a PM of my own .

We'd be happy to work with your group whatever way we can. As I mentioned in my PM to you, I imagine our two groups have some of the same obstacles to overcome - land-locked location, lack of nearby (quality) dive sites, small DIR diver base, etc. I personally don't mind quarry dives for practice, but it can be pretty tough for people who don't have a drysuit. And of course it's important to make occasional trips to some "nice" places, too.

Our group actually has another problem that's somewhat unique. Most of the active people in DIR-Atlanta are more experienced divers (Cave 2 or Tech 1/2). We have very few members who are closer to the "front end" of the GUE pipeline. That makes it tough when we want to schedule activities. The Cave 2 guys always want to dive caves, and with their busy schedules that is sometimes the only kind of diving they have time for.

Unfortunately, there's not really any good places to go that have diving that is appropriate for both groups, so it's kind of hard to bring less experienced people along when most of the members are doing only the more advanced types of dives. We do have a couple of guys who are willing to work with newer divers, but their time and availability is limited.

The one thing that we have been successful at is bringing local DIR divers together on a regular basis. That is really the first step, and we hope to be able to build on that.

Best of luck with your group, and please do not hesitate to contact us if an opportunity arises for some type of joint activity.

 

[Tanked Monkey]

Thanks Jim for taking us under your wing. While your group is lacking Fundies-level divers, our group is chock full of them! We have aspirations for more advanced training, but most of us are on the "front end" of the path. It would be quite a blast if the Atlanta_DIR and MS-UE groups met up somewhere in the middle.

Best,
Mike

 

[Jason B]

We're even planning a "DIR Day" at the local quarry, to let interested divers try out DIR equipment.

Best,
Mike

What exactly is DIR equipment?

 

[Tanked Monkey]

What exactly is DIR equipment?

Basic Overview
"GUE's equipment configuration is based on the DIR philosophy of diving that promotes diver safety and enjoyment through a reasoned approach to teamwork, equipment choices and diver training. GUE's equipment configuration is holistically conceived to be functional, with minor adaptations, in any environment."

from: http://www.gue.com/Equipment/index.html

Detailed Description
http://www.gue.com/Equipment/Config/index.html

Mike