Here is a hi res download of DIR III

[lamont]

We lost another very experienced diver (a photog.) off Jupiter 2 days ago. No pony bottle; separated from her buddy during ascent, apparently within less than 50 feet of surface. Her boy friend recovered her body after a 24-hr soak. Both are friends of mine. We don't yet have a definitive answer, but I just have to wonder if even a 6 cu-ft pony bottle MIGHT have made a difference for her. As you are well aware, these are not esoteric issues, they can be the difference between life or death sometimes.

Just because she died without a pony bottle, doesn't mean that a pony bottle might have saved her.

Even if this was an OOA fatality, pony bottles still have a number of issues with them. A 6 cu ft pony bottle has obvious issues in that you're going to run through it in about a minute at depth if you're under any kind of stress. Pony bottles are also routinely hooked up on backgas, with inaccessable valves, with no SPG, with no way for the diver to bubble check them, and on octo holders which have the problem that they may not deploy when you really need them. Having a pony bottle requires *additional* skill in order to make it useful -- you need to know that it has gas at the beginning of the dive, you need to know that the valve is on at the beginning of the dive, you need to be able to bubble check it, you need to be able to ensure that the regulator does not free flow during the dive, you need to check that the regulator isn't caught or that the deployment of it isn't obstructed, you need to check that the regulator still works and doesn't have a broken exhaust valve or something which makes it deliver a mouthful of seawater with every breath.

All of these are addressable issues, and any tech diver with a slung bottom stage is basically diving a pony bottle. But just hanging more gas off a diver without addressing the diver skills issues just raises the likelihood of going OOA twice.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Just because she died without a pony bottle, doesn't mean that a pony bottle might have saved her.

Damn you are good....

 

[John_B]

I rely on the internet to learn about DIR, so I am interested to hear what else is no longer correct in that video.

Well then you should be 100% up date for any internet DIR diving you might be planning.

For real DIR diving, you could find an instructor and ask them. Or possibly use the Quest list. If you are genuinely interested, that maybe the way to go. The "electronic membership" is only $29/year (link). Probably not the route you'd want to go if you are only interested in making snarky comments, though.

 

[TSandM]

Dumpster diver,
I spearfish alot myself, and George, Bill Mee and I used to do lots of lobster diving as well. When we would spearfish together, you would always have a buddy watching your back during the shooting and stringing or lift bagging of the fish . . . As you see on the DIR III video, even George was not trying to make DIR all or nothing.

Dan, I love you. If we had more people posting with this kind of rational, common-sense attitude about DIR, we'd have fewer problems convincing people, I think.

DumpsterDiver, I'm very sorry about your friend, and I think it is quite tactless of us to be dogmatic or critical of you at this time. No one knows or ever will know, most likely, what happened to her, or whether different equipment or different procedures would have changed the outcome. If she and her buddy had been able to stay together, we'd probably know more, which is why situational awareness and buddy procedures sit at the very top of my list on things I practice constantly to do better. But that's not to say that even with the best of intentions and practice, that separation can be avoided 100% of the time. But the only lesson we may ever be able to take away from this accident is that one.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

DumpsterDiver, I'm very sorry about your friend, and I think it is quite tactless of us to be dogmatic or critical of you at this time.

Thanks but I did kinda take the thread to a different place than where it started.

 

[John_B]

Dumpster, I'm very sorry to hear about the accident where you lost a friend. I'll be honest that when I read about this accident on SB my knee jerk reaction was to wonder where her buddy was, that they were separated during the ascent. Or if it was a situation where everyone ascends on their own when they are ready (which I've seen with shutterbugs). The DIR answer isn't the equipment nearly as much as it is buddy awareness. Like George says in the video, the first three pages of the PADI OW manual.

 

[joe rock]

Dumpster diver,

As to BC's vs wings....
DIR for recreational divers is not an all or none phenomenon. The idea is to begin a path to thinking about common sense issues, and not letting a dangerously stupid instructor or poor gear choice endanger your present or future diving.


REgards,
Dan V

Dan, I am not DIR but I've been intrigued by the concepts for awhile. I agree strongly with much of the philosophy, the parts I understand (don't know much more then what I've read). I've seriously concidered taking the FUNDIES course. I've read many of your posts with interest and learning. I watched the video and found some great stuff there. It's with comments like the above that make me question. Beacuse an agency or an instructor teaches a different style or philosphy does that make them a "dangeroulsy stupid instructor"? Or do I misunderstand your point?

JR

 

[bill-da-ho]

so I watched this DIR video, and am now wondering if my instruction of having an Octo for my buddy to use in an OOA situation is the right way to go? I get and like the idea of giving them the reg that I KNOW is working. Its the same reason I like the octo on my inflator. So, is it wrong to be taught to have the octo for the buddy?

 

[rollerboi]

Beacuse an agency or an instructor teaches a different style or philosphy does that make them a "dangeroulsy stupid instructor"? Or do I misunderstand your point?

Didn't Dan define a "stroke" earlier in this thread? If I recall right, either he or someone else directly stated that there were instructors out there looking to simply stroke their egos, without a full understanding of the materials they were claiming to teach. There was frustration with always having to perform body recovery as a result.

I got the sense it was about the instructor being dangerously stupid, not simply disagreeing with their style/philosophy alone.

Edit: oop, it was in a different thread. Beyond that, I'll leave for him to answer himself. . http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/3797346-post140.html

 

[joe rock]

Didn't Dan define a "stroke" earlier in this thread? If I recall right, either he or someone else directly stated that there were instructors out there looking to simply stroke their egos, without a full understanding of the materials they were claiming to teach. There was frustration with always having to perform body recovery as a result.

I got the sense it was about the instructor being dangerously stupid, not simply disagreeing with their style/philosophy alone.

I'm not trying to be argumentative, I am seeking understanding. Yes, Dan did say that about the definition of a stroke in another post. In the post I'm refering to I interpret him saying because a diver is using a jacket BCD or an octo that is not on a necklace, and he doesn't have a long hose to donate his primary reg the instuctor is stupid. If I misunderstood, please clarify. OBTW, I use a BP/W and a long hose on my primary and a necklaced back-up so I agree with the philosophy.