DIR the first time
- Thread starter Offshore
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From the limited (there's that word again) perspective of somebody who is six months post Fundies, here's what I'd say:
1. The best way to begin to understand what DIR is about is to dive with DIR buddies, and to take DIR-F. If you can't do the latter, see if you can do the former. It's very hard to see the heart of the thing without somebody to do it WITH.
2. Any time spent working on buoyancy control is time well spent, whether you're DIR or not.
3. You can do a lot of experimenting with your weighting and weight distribution without a class. Your goal is to be able to hover, without moving your fins, and without tipping in any direction. This gives you a stable platform from which to do skills.
4. Work on your situational awareness. Keep tabs on your buddy, and learn to dive in a position where you can be seen (and hopefully he will do the same). Learn to maintain your awareness of your buddy and your surroundings while you are task loaded. Become aware of your buddy, not just that he's there, but is everything as it should be (my buddy does things like leaving something unclipped or turning his backup light on, just to see if I notice).
5. Be meticulous about your dive planning and pre-dive discussion, your equipment checks and your bubble check. When I got out of OW, I was very confused by the fact that even the instructors who had taught me these things did not do them. In contrast, the DIR divers I know DO do them, every dive.
In large part, DIR is just good diving -- careful planning, good communication, good buddy checks, good buoyancy, good buddy skills. The easily visible difference is the prescribed gear, which is what people often focus upon. The not-so-easily seen difference is the team concept, which you get a taste of in Fundies but which is something it seems to me develops more and more over time.
1. The best way to begin to understand what DIR is about is to dive with DIR buddies, and to take DIR-F. If you can't do the latter, see if you can do the former. It's very hard to see the heart of the thing without somebody to do it WITH.
2. Any time spent working on buoyancy control is time well spent, whether you're DIR or not.
3. You can do a lot of experimenting with your weighting and weight distribution without a class. Your goal is to be able to hover, without moving your fins, and without tipping in any direction. This gives you a stable platform from which to do skills.
4. Work on your situational awareness. Keep tabs on your buddy, and learn to dive in a position where you can be seen (and hopefully he will do the same). Learn to maintain your awareness of your buddy and your surroundings while you are task loaded. Become aware of your buddy, not just that he's there, but is everything as it should be (my buddy does things like leaving something unclipped or turning his backup light on, just to see if I notice).
5. Be meticulous about your dive planning and pre-dive discussion, your equipment checks and your bubble check. When I got out of OW, I was very confused by the fact that even the instructors who had taught me these things did not do them. In contrast, the DIR divers I know DO do them, every dive.
In large part, DIR is just good diving -- careful planning, good communication, good buddy checks, good buoyancy, good buddy skills. The easily visible difference is the prescribed gear, which is what people often focus upon. The not-so-easily seen difference is the team concept, which you get a taste of in Fundies but which is something it seems to me develops more and more over time.
As I practice, I prove to myself what should be the obvious point that there is no replacement for good experience with a good diving buddy.
In spite of the fact that I used to consider myself a person that bores easily and has trouble doing the same thing more than once, I have found an immense amount of pleasure in returning to the same dive site (in this case, Dutch Springs) for no other targeted goal than practicing the same skills on the same wrecks over and over and tracking how I improve on them each time. Like any education, the OW training serverd its purpose for giving me the important ideas to keep in mind, while doing what I love (diving) makes them into habit.
The most important things I have distilled from Jablonski's book are:
1. High standards on skills (e.g. mask clearing, bouyancy control on a dime) motivate me with the ambition to become a better diver
2. Gear recommendations based on years of experience (e.g. getting a long hose for my reg, practicing even in dutch springs with a bp/w) will save me regret and money from buying gear I don't need and won't serve well in every environment...
In spite of the fact that I used to consider myself a person that bores easily and has trouble doing the same thing more than once, I have found an immense amount of pleasure in returning to the same dive site (in this case, Dutch Springs) for no other targeted goal than practicing the same skills on the same wrecks over and over and tracking how I improve on them each time. Like any education, the OW training serverd its purpose for giving me the important ideas to keep in mind, while doing what I love (diving) makes them into habit.
The most important things I have distilled from Jablonski's book are:
1. High standards on skills (e.g. mask clearing, bouyancy control on a dime) motivate me with the ambition to become a better diver
2. Gear recommendations based on years of experience (e.g. getting a long hose for my reg, practicing even in dutch springs with a bp/w) will save me regret and money from buying gear I don't need and won't serve well in every environment...
Oooohhh, Offshore, when you find yourself having FUN doing skills dives, you are well on the way to the dark side . . . 
I asked my husband for a training dive for my birthday.
I asked my husband for a training dive for my birthday.
Tanked Monkey
Contributor
TSandM:Oooohhh, Offshore, when you find yourself having FUN doing skills dives, you are well on the way to the dark side . . .
OMG - just call me Darth Vader
Mike
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