Hank49
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NWGratefulDiver:
Just to be clear....how is one defined as DIR or non DIR? Do you have to take a class? Or can you read as much as possible and practice the concepts on your own?
How DIR are we, actually?
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Just to be clear....how is one defined as DIR or non DIR? Do you have to take a class? Or can you read as much as possible and practice the concepts on your own?
That's an age old question that can't really be answered.
The way I see it, the the basis is if you buy the idea or not.
After that there is a gear element, a training/skills element and a life philosophy element, which all require continual refinement with (in my mind) no clear end point or point of reference for knowing if you've made it or not.
I think that's the one of the reasons that a lot of DIR divers in the mid 90's were constantly making the comparison with "other" divers. In fact, I think they were trying to define their own identity but it was badly misinterpreted and taken in many cases for arrogance when it wasn't intended as such.
Add to that that the truly arrogant ones couldn't stop spewing and the fight was on... which, answering Catherine's question, is the legacy that lead us to having tight reins in the DIR forum on Scubaboard. It may not seem like such a big issue today but the "holding apart" of the warring factions was absolutely necessary.
R..
The way I see it, the the basis is if you buy the idea or not.
After that there is a gear element, a training/skills element and a life philosophy element, which all require continual refinement with (in my mind) no clear end point or point of reference for knowing if you've made it or not.
I think that's the one of the reasons that a lot of DIR divers in the mid 90's were constantly making the comparison with "other" divers. In fact, I think they were trying to define their own identity but it was badly misinterpreted and taken in many cases for arrogance when it wasn't intended as such.
Add to that that the truly arrogant ones couldn't stop spewing and the fight was on... which, answering Catherine's question, is the legacy that lead us to having tight reins in the DIR forum on Scubaboard. It may not seem like such a big issue today but the "holding apart" of the warring factions was absolutely necessary.
R..
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thats what I was asking. Thanks...at least you aren't afraid to say it.
Except...if I break down and swim off alone for five minutes that is less forgivable than breaking down and smoking or binging. I just was questioning the hierarchy of prioriites and that was the gist of the OP's query...unless I am confused. The title invites this discussion.
Here is my question.
If you asked JJ "JJ what is a higher priority, being fit or taking Fundies, in order to execute a DIR dive"...what would he say? I think the answer would NOT be "well you can smoke and be obese as long as you are TRYING...you can come do the cavern systems on our team.
I could be wrong, but I am thinking he would rate fitness as one of the highest priorities, ESPECIALLY because you involve a team. Hey..Its not like solo, people are counting on you. And trying not to smoke just doesn't cut it, IMV."
I think if you go off on your own for five minutes - then you are violating team protocol. This isn't DIR by the standards that I choose to dive by when diving with buddies. I agree with Catherine about being fit as another important criteria. Here though I do cut some slack - again to serve my own definition that I choose to dive by.
I think being fit is important when conditions mandate it. I drift on a 60' reef or a no current dive where the current isn't going to come up, then diving with buddy who isn't buff isn't a problem. Do something beyond rec limits and fitness and non smoking become an issue - - - for me.
I guess it's like taking a day hike from sea level up a hill that's 2000' high. I'll do the walk with my grandmother. Do a climb up Everest? Not only will I be in top shape, but so will my climbing partners. Our lives may depend on each other...
So perhaps I'm condition DIR diver. I'll dive with newbies who aren't configured like me. I'll dive with people who need to lose a few pounds and rarely, I've actually solo dive. Put me with a buddy though and I will use all the same buddy skills that I do on a "DIR" configured dive.
Does this make me a DIR diver? By some standards - an emphatic no. By others standards - at times. Am I a safer and better skilled diver because I do generally conduct my dives by most DIR tenents? Compared to how I dove before I aquired these skills - absolutely.
I think being fit is important when conditions mandate it. I drift on a 60' reef or a no current dive where the current isn't going to come up, then diving with buddy who isn't buff isn't a problem. Do something beyond rec limits and fitness and non smoking become an issue - - - for me.
I guess it's like taking a day hike from sea level up a hill that's 2000' high. I'll do the walk with my grandmother. Do a climb up Everest? Not only will I be in top shape, but so will my climbing partners. Our lives may depend on each other...
So perhaps I'm condition DIR diver. I'll dive with newbies who aren't configured like me. I'll dive with people who need to lose a few pounds and rarely, I've actually solo dive. Put me with a buddy though and I will use all the same buddy skills that I do on a "DIR" configured dive.
Does this make me a DIR diver? By some standards - an emphatic no. By others standards - at times. Am I a safer and better skilled diver because I do generally conduct my dives by most DIR tenents? Compared to how I dove before I aquired these skills - absolutely.
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Tough to say ... but it's easier to say what's not DIR ... solo diving is definitely not DIR. No matter what else you are doing, if you're diving solo you are not buying into the fundamental concept of a team approach to diving.Hank49:
And a team approach is at the core of what makes a DIR diver ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
SparticleBrane
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Question--
Do you believe that you can dive solo and dive DIR? Not at the same time, of course. If my buddy did some solo diving but was also a huge backer of the team concept and dove 100% within team protocols when diving with DIR divers, then what's the big deal?
Do you believe that you can dive solo and dive DIR? Not at the same time, of course. If my buddy did some solo diving but was also a huge backer of the team concept and dove 100% within team protocols when diving with DIR divers, then what's the big deal?
OP
Thalassamania, you've got it. That's the order of things. I'd like to think I'm strong in two of the top three, and okay on the third; fitness is the one I'd like to bring up to equal the rest.
Regarding solo diving -- My personal opinion is that, if someone is trained and observes the DIR protocols and procedures for a team dive, they're DIR enough for me. I don't even want to know what they did last weekend . . .
Regarding solo diving -- My personal opinion is that, if someone is trained and observes the DIR protocols and procedures for a team dive, they're DIR enough for me. I don't even want to know what they did last weekend . . .
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No big deal ... what you do on your own time is your business.SparticleBrane:
But when you're diving with me, I expect you to be diving with me ... and I expect a bit more from you than just being in approximately the same location in the water column as I am (and for the record, I'm not speaking as a "DIR diver" ... which I'm not ... I'm speaking as someone who believes firmly in the concept of team diving).
I was responding to Catherine's comment that "if I break down and swim off by myself for five minutes" ... which implies that at some point during the dive she's going to leave her dive buddy and go off and do her own thing. That is definitely not something a DIR diver would consider doing .... or tolerate in a dive buddy.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
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Frankly I have the same problem, so my analysis is a bit self serving.<G> As Meatloaf sang, "two out of three ain't bad!"TSandM:
To Dir or not to DIR is not the question. I have nothing against anyone who wants to dive solo, that's their choice and if it's in their comfort zone they should be able to do so without any judgment against them. But team diving has no room for solo attitudes, and (at least in my experience) solo attitudes bleed through regardless. In selecting staff and certifying research divers I look for the kinds of nutrient behaviors that do not tend to be found in advocates of solo diving, who are usually toward the other end of the "me first" scale. I have never, and will never, dive alone ... and I know that's kind of a weird attitude since if I look at it rationally I'm likely at less risk diving solo than I am when diving with just students.TSandM:
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