GUE do they practice what they preach

[idocsteve]

^ I'm totally lost now.

 

[ScubaInChicago]

OK, one problem resolved. Second, someone needs to photoshop a set of doubles, long hose, and a set of spring straps on Scuba Santa before the OP realizes that Santa is not being held to the same high standars of DIR/GUE.

 

[b1gcountry]

Why would a "GUE diver" be taking an intro to cave course vs. GUE Cave1?

Me senses a troll

If I'm not mistaken, our very own TS&M took an intro to cave course with German Yanez. Actually, based on Lynn's recent report about her Cave 2 course, I highly doubt I'll go with GUE for any more classes.

There are no GUE instructors around MO Cave Country. These are pretty much dry glove caves most of the year. I got the distinct impression that dry gloves were highly unusual and frowned upon in High Springs. So, I either take a GUE class in an environment different from the one I plan to dive in, or I take a non-GUE course in MO.

More than that, my wife wasn't sure she would enjoy being in a cave, so she wanted to take a 2-day cavern course instead of committing 5-6 days, $2K and her entire vacation to something she didn't even know she would like. She's also medically incapable of lugging around backmount doubles, and GUE isn't quite ready for any sidemount courses.

So there are plenty of good reasons why someone who is otherwise very in tune with GUE ideals would decide to take NACD/NSS-CDS courses.

Tom

 

[dumpsterDiver]

My parents never had sex. My Mom went to sleep one night and when she woke I was on her pillow.

I swear.

Just because no body knows who your dad is doesn't mean you have to lie about your mother.

 

[Blackwood]

If I'm not mistaken, our very own TS&M took an intro to cave course with German Yanez.

And NACD Full Cave.


In any case, great post.

 

[Selachimorpha]

If I'm not mistaken, our very own TS&M took an intro to cave course with German Yanez. Actually, based on Lynn's recent report about her Cave 2 course, I highly doubt I'll go with GUE for any more classes.

There are no GUE instructors around MO Cave Country. These are pretty much dry glove caves most of the year. I got the distinct impression that dry gloves were highly unusual and frowned upon in High Springs. So, I either take a GUE class in an environment different from the one I plan to dive in, or I take a non-GUE course in MO.

More than that, my wife wasn't sure she would enjoy being in a cave, so she wanted to take a 2-day cavern course instead of committing 5-6 days, $2K and her entire vacation to something she didn't even know she would like. She's also medically incapable of lugging around backmount doubles, and GUE isn't quite ready for any sidemount courses.

So there are plenty of good reasons why someone who is otherwise very in tune with GUE ideals would decide to take NACD/NSS-CDS courses.

Tom

Hi Tom, could you please provide a link to Lynn's report, I can't seem to find it.

Thanks!

 

[rjack321]

So there are plenty of good reasons why someone who is otherwise very in tune with GUE ideals would decide to take NACD/NSS-CDS courses.

Either take the GUE course series, or call yourself DIR, Hogarthian, (or possibly UTD) then.

A GUE diver is GUE trained and more. Things you cannot get from another agency's training or if you choose to remain a distant satellite to the organization. Despite having GUE training, I am not a GUE diver.

However, as with all great movements, comes inevitable corruption and fragmentation. Today, DIR has spread to every corner of the globe, with self-appointed DIR groups emerging in dozens of different countries. Given their physical separation, their lack of centralized direction, their own specific agendas, beliefs, power struggles and constraints, these satellite groups cannot help but to promote a version of DIR that is uniquely their own. This version of"DIR" will likely have little resemblance to the original. This will be the case, however well-intentioned, however devoted to the founding principles of DIR, these satellites may be.

The unavoidable division of DIR is the result of many factors, ranging from breakdowns in channels of communication, to differing interpretations, to personal agendas, to private experiences, to power plays, to simple disagreements among proponents. As individuals and groups appropriate DIR they will often make choices very different from those that I and other founders of DIR would have made. It is now necessary for us to recognize that DIR will be repurposed by those it has influenced in ways that serve their own interests. Nonetheless, in the end, I believe that these systems that appropriate DIR can only benefit the future of the diving industry. Even so, I believe that to enhance the safety, fun and efficiency we sought to ensure when we first started to build DIR, it is necessary for us to ensure greater standardization across a series of domains.

From the outset I believed that a diver's training, his/her equipment, his/her configuration, his/her knowledge and skill set should all contribute to greater safety and enjoyment in the water. For this reason, I founded GUE. The DIR system is at the core of GUE training. This is not surprising, given the extent to which my efforts helped to shape both DIR and GUE. However, with the passage of time, GUE has shaped its own identity, one that is not identical to that of DIR. And though being DIR is a necessary condition of being a GUE diver, it is not a sufficient condition; it is not enough. There is more to being a GUE diver than being DIR, among other things, it entails a standardized measure of competence (training) and commitment to both civility and non-smoking, aspects to which DIR in-itself does not speak. Over time, GUE Vice-President and long-time DIR supporter Dr. Panos Alexakos and I came to see that there was really no way to reign in the particular interpretations of the ever-growing numbers of DIR advocates and that it would be a waste of resources and energy to struggle with them over the correct interpretation of DIR. With this in mind, we have struck out on a new road, a distinctly GUE road that looks fondly upon DIR as the foundation that can empower the organization toward a new and unique future.

Evolution of DIR Principles | Global Underwater Explorers

 

[rjack321]

Hi Tom, could you please provide a link to Lynn's report, I can't seem to find it.

Thanks!

Try DMX here

 

[Peter Guy]

BTW, TSandM's cave training is the following:

Cavern/Intro -- German Yanez - TDI

Cave 1 -- Danny Riordan -- GUE

Cave 2 provisional -- David Rhea -- GUE

Full Cave -- Dennis Weeks -- NACD ?

I was there for the three she passed but did not go to Florida with her when she did Cave 2 -- although I really don't believe there is any correlation there!

 

[divad]

My parents never had sex. My Mom went to sleep one night and when she woke I was on her pillow.

I swear.

So this is what they mean by "precious gift."