GUE Fundamentals Class

[elgoog]

Honestly, GUE courses and their communities are drug pushers. You take one course and dive with other GUE divers. You get hooked. You pay for more training and more gear. Two years down the road, you have several sets of doubles, several sets of regulators, multiple lights (yeah can't dive w/o a light anymore), and a $7-8K DPV....
O.

Yeah, this guy. At least he's honest about his role in all of this.

"Hey, wanna do a night dive with us? Oh, you can borrow my spare HID can light." Bam! First thing I did after getting home was order a $1k+ light.

"Wasn't that a fun dive? Next time we'll take you to this other spot but it's better done on doubles. Oh no, don't worry about buying them now, one of us will lend you a set." Smack! Now I'm at 2 sets of doubles and a bin full of regs.

"A couple of us are going to hit 5 different spots on one dive. Oh, you can't swim that much but we have an extra DPV if you wanna come along. It's really fun." KA-POW!!! A week and a bank loan later I have an $8k scooter.

I don't remember the exact conversation that led to this but I'm now signed up for Rec 3 in July.

So .... yeah.

 

[sea_otter]

and a $7-8K DPV....

Glad to hear you'll soon have a scooter that can keep up.


But seriously, @gkrane, one of the first things my instructor said in his Fundamentals class was "Passing this class gives you a card that lets you dive Nitrox to 60 ft." The card isn't the point. Pass or not, the class will absolutely make you a better diver, and that skill improvement will likely make diving a lot more fun. If you do decide to pursue future GUE training that requires that Fundamentals pass, then yes, things get significantly more expensive. You could end up like @Ouvea...

 

[Lorenzoid]

But seriously, @gkrane, one of the first things my instructor said in his Fundamentals class was "Passing this class gives you a card that lets you dive Nitrox to 60 ft." The card isn't the point. Pass or not, the class will absolutely make you a better diver, and that skill improvement will likely make diving a lot more fun. If you do decide to pursue future GUE training that requires that Fundamentals pass, then yes, things get significantly more expensive. You could end up like @Ouvea...

Exactly. A rec pass opens absolutely no doors, and nobody else cares. What you (@gkrane ) and others care about is whether you're a better diver after having taken the course. And there is no practical difference whatsoever between a rec pass and "you were close but here's a provisional pass, and you can come back to finish up if and when you want."

 

[CptTightPants21]

Exactly. A rec pass opens absolutely no doors, and nobody else cares. What you (@gkrane ) and others care about is whether you're a better diver after having taken the course. And there is no practical difference whatsoever between a rec pass and "you were close but here's a provisional pass, and you can come back to finish up if and when you want."

That is not 100% correct. A provisional pass requires you to go pass the class (rec or tech pass) within six months with the same instructor or else you will need to retake the entire fundies course over again (assuming your ultimate goal is to progress with GUE training). A rec pass holder can get a tech pass upgrade at any time and with any GUE fundies instructor. Your principal argument about learning is correct, but there are some differences between rec vs provisional.

 

[Lorenzoid]

That is not 100% correct. A provisional pass requires you to go pass the class (rec or tech pass) within six months with the same instructor or else you will need to retake the entire fundies course over again (assuming your ultimate goal is to progress with GUE training). A rec pass holder can get a tech pass upgrade at any time and with any GUE fundies instructor. Your principal argument about learning is correct, but there are some differences between rec vs provisional.

You're right--my wording was sloppy. Instead of "if and when you want" I should have said "within six months, if you want" (and with same instructor).

 

[gkrane]

This all makes sense since my objectives are to increase my skills and become a better all around diver and buddy.

 

[seeker242]

After reading the posts about peoples experiences with the class it has me a bit nervous. It seems like it is somewhat difficult to pass with a rec pass rating the first time.

Honestly, I don't think those posts give an accurate picture of the class. They may give that impression because you generally only hear from those particular people. People who take the class and pass it no problem the first time generally don't make a big deal of it, because it wasn't a big deal. But to go around declaring "I did fundies and passed the first time, because it was easy" can easily come across as cocky and arrogant. I passed the first time and it was easy

 

[gkrane]

I spoke to the instructor in the Dallas area yesterday and had a great conversation regarding Fundies. His recommendation was to take the class in the PArt 1 and part 2 approach. This seems to be a good approach as it will give us a bit more time to digest the material between classes.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Honestly, I don't think those posts give an accurate picture of the class. They may give that impression because you generally only hear from those particular people. People who take the class and pass it no problem the first time generally don't make a big deal of it, because it wasn't a big deal. But to go around declaring "I did fundies and passed the first time, because it was easy" can easily come across as cocky and arrogant. I passed the first time and it was easy

This is why I would encourage everyone who takes Fundies to post a report. Seeing some reports from people who found it easy along with reports from people who found it difficult would give a more balanced picture to people who are interested in it.

To anyone who takes Fundies, please take a few minutes to write up and post a report. Also, adding the link to your report to the DIR Class Reports - A Consolidated Inventory thread will help others find it in the future.

 

[victorzamora]

"Hey, wanna do a night dive with us? Oh, you can borrow my spare HID can light." Bam! First thing I did after getting home was order a $1k+ light.

I've learned the hard and expensive way that you NEVER, EVER do a try dive on good/nice gear. Yes, it is awesome. Yes, you will want it. Yes, it's better than you'd think.