GUE Fundies -- Locally or Florida?

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I'd recommend GUE regional FB groups.

 

[ginti]

Definitely like the idea of meeting the local GUE community if I dive locally. Are there other ways to meet fellow NY GUE divers if I go the Florida route?

Yes, the internet You can look around here, on other forums, or on Facebook (the teammates' group is very good, and usually there are many local groups).

The visibility was (is?) kinda my primary concern. Being able to watch other folks perform skills is beneficial. I think with Dutch I would need to be rather close to get that kind of observation. Not sure how far apart one tends to be in the Fundies course.

I don't think you should be concerned. You and the other students will do the skills altogether, so even in low visibility, you will be close enough to see each other.

That's certainly an interesting point. It does sound rigorous enough to the point that the conditions are less relevant, and I dive often enough at Dutch to know how to deal with those conditions.

Indeed, conditions are less relevant. Current is the only thing that you may want to consider; the scenario that @Ayisha described is somewhat similar to what happened during my tec1 course (even if, during the tec1, we were in the blue with no reference... I assume you were close to the bottom, weren't you @Ayisha ?)

 

[Tug]

NEUE is the local group in NY

https://www.facebook.com/groups/NEUEDIR

 

[mc42]

Slightly tangential, but related - those of you that did Fundies or T1 in warmer waters, what sort of exposure protection was used? Dealing with lack of dexterity with dry gloves and dry suit + BCD buoyancy are challenges / advantages of doing it in cold water and appropriate to your local conditions.

The standard just seems to say "exposure suit appropriate for the duration of exposure".

 

[CptTightPants21]

Slightly tangential, but related - those of you that did Fundies or T1 in warmer waters, what sort of exposure protection was used? Dealing with lack of dexterity with dry gloves and dry suit + BCD buoyancy are challenges / advantages of doing it in cold water and appropriate to your local conditions.

The standard just seems to say "exposure suit appropriate for the duration of exposure".

Most classes are done in drysuit regardless of location, no gloves is typical for warm water locations. No hood depends on water temp--70's can get cold given the duration of water exposure in those courses.

 

[Ayisha]

...Current is the only thing that you may want to consider; the scenario that @Ayisha described is somewhat similar to what happened during my tec1 course (even if, during the tec1, we were in the blue with no reference... I assume you were close to the bottom, weren't you @Ayisha ?)

Relative to Tech 1 blue water, sort of, but not really.
That would be really nice if they chose a depth close to the bottom so you have the extra visual, but we were only right over a fixed bottom like a platform here and there over the 4 days. We were over a sloping bottom at a chosen depth or at 30/20/10 feet when the bottom was 60 feet, etc.

Visibility was 10 - 20 feet average, so a visual on the line and the depth gauge were what kept us in position. At first, they hung a double ender on a line for a visual reference at a target depth, but not later in the course.

TBH, I imagine they don't choose a depth right near the bottom because they want to see if you will violate the target depth, not only shallower, but also deeper, while task loaded. Can't have people stirring up silt and wiping out the visibility completely either.

Having said that, with the newer sheltered platforms that were installed for GUE courses, I'll bet they spend a lot of time there, out of the current or in less current and with more visual reference.

 

[ginti]

Slightly tangential, but related - those of you that did Fundies or T1 in warmer waters, what sort of exposure protection was used? Dealing with lack of dexterity with dry gloves and dry suit + BCD buoyancy are challenges / advantages of doing it in cold water and appropriate to your local conditions.

The standard just seems to say "exposure suit appropriate for the duration of exposure".

I did T1 in relatively warm water: September, Sicily. It isn't the red sea, but we cannot call it cold diving for sure

The thing is that in deco diving, you want to be sure to be warm during the last portion of the dive, so "appropriate thermal protection" often means drysuit, even if with thinner inner layers. I believe it is also up to the student since standards do not mention anything about diving dry (I am not a GUE instructor, so double-check everything I say).

Regarding the challenges, frankly speaking, I didn't find it difficult to adapt the new things I learnt to the cold environment. After the T1 I only did deco diving in lakes (6°C in winter, 8°C at depth and warmer at the surface in summer), and the only more complicated thing is to take stuff out of my pockets with very thick under-gloves. Buoyancy, trim and so on are exactly the same.

To be honest with you, this wasn't the case when I started diving cold: at the beginning, I used to find immense differences in terms of buoyancy with thinner undergarment.

 

[_Ralph]

Slightly tangential, but related - those of you that did Fundies or T1 in warmer waters, what sort of exposure protection was used? Dealing with lack of dexterity with dry gloves and dry suit + BCD buoyancy are challenges / advantages of doing it in cold water and appropriate to your local conditions.

The standard just seems to say "exposure suit appropriate for the duration of exposure".

CCR in Mexico with a drysuit middle of August... same undergarments as back home (37-45F) for me (including hood... though have to flush it to cool down some days). I wear 3mm wetgloves until it drops to 40F then I switch to drygloves..


_R

 

[Lorenzoid]

. . .
The visibility was (is?) kinda my primary concern. Being able to watch other folks perform skills is beneficial. I think with Dutch I would need to be rather close to get that kind of observation. Not sure how far apart one tends to be in the Fundies course. . . .

In Fundies, the instructor will take videos of the students individually as they take turns proceeding across an area such as a training platform. To me, it felt like endless back and forth across the platform, demonstrating my frog kick, then modified frog, then flutter, then modified flutter, etc. The instructor provided feedback during a surface interval debrief using the videos. Since Fundies is done at Dutch, the vis is apparently good enough for the purpose of capturing videos.

I did Fundies in Florida (Blue Grotto), where the vis is often stellar, the training platforms are well maintained, and in general everything is easy-peasy. But at the time my goal was simply to become a better all-around diver, and my diving was mostly coral reefs. As you plan to dive locally, I agree with those who advise to train there.