How do you start?

[Doc Intrepid]

I hear what you're saying about difficulty in finding fundies courses near you, and the situation with the local dive shops. Its a challenge, and not just in your area.

If you ever want to contemplate an interesting road trip, though, consider that you can drive to High Springs, Florida to take the fundies course there. It's an interesting place. The diving is mostly springs - the springs are amazingly clear if you've never seen them. They'll be more than happy to set up gear for you, you may be able to arrange to use different gear during the course to compare/contrast, you can certainly buy it there, and if you're interested in whats going on it might be worth your while to set up a road trip to check it out from the source.

High Springs is an interesting place to visit and you would no doubt have fun there...give it some consideration. While it wouldn't be exactly convenient, it isn't out of the realm for a road trip - you can throw your gear in the vehicle and take off when you have the time. At the least its one option that lets you accomplish exactly what you want to achieve. Here is a link to one of the dive businesses in High Springs area:
http://www.extreme-exposure.com/index.php?home-index

(And you should be able to access any forum on the board...I'm not sure what you mean that the forum is "closed" to you??)

 

[verybaddiver]

The two forums are closed mate.

 

[SparticleBrane]

Your "3mm wetsuit for winter diving" makes me laugh.
:lol:

 

[TSandM]

Deep South DIR is not a "closed" forum, it's an "opt-in" forum. That just means you have to send a note to the person who administers the forum, explaining why you want to join, and be given access. It's a way to keep the noise level in the forum down.

 

[verybaddiver]

ok, closed asin you need access to it

 

[Carribeandiver]

Deep South DIR is not a "closed" forum, it's an "opt-in" forum... It's a way to keep the noise level in the forum down.

OH, SO NO CAPS, HUH?:blinking:

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

all you need to do is click on user control panel at the top of the page, then groups on the left side of the page scoll down and then click join and write a line about why you want to join. You don't have to be in the area to join. I belong to both deep south and socal dir. I like reading dir info on both forums.

I have found over all that DIR divers have been the most willing to answer my questions, spend time with me, and help me pick out gear that suits my needs. They have also been willing to point me to resources that have helped me learn and grow as a diver. When I have a question, now they are the first people I go to because of their willingness to help me in the past.

 

[Chris Brown Tech]

Ok, I read the article defining DIR. I am not interested in cave diving, deep diving or any tech diving but I am very interested in streamlining my rig so I can move easier, breath easier and increase my bottom time.
Plus, although I like my jacket style BC, I can understand that it is bulky and has features I do not need and probably do not want. Things like pockets and the wrap around air bladder.
But, how do I figure out what type of BP/W to get? Please do not tell me to go to Halcyon or Dive Rite and look at the pretty pictures on the sites because that doesnt tell me much. My LDS never heard of DIR and has no idea what it is. They sell ScubaPro and Oceanic and no BP/W setups so asking them would be to no avail.
Ideally, I would like to touch, look up close and try on some BP/Ws so I have an idea of what I like and what type of BP I need (in terms of weight and metal type).
Also, I can just imagine the look on the guy's face at the LDS when I say I want a 7' hose for my primary second stage and a regular hose for my Octo second stage. And what about the inflator hose for the Wing? I do not suppose the BP/W setup comes with an inflator hose does it? Nah, I didnt think so.
Wow, this would be major. I now use an Air2 and integrated weights. I would have to get an Octo and dig out my weight belt OR hopefully the BP would mean I would not need weights. Or at least not much if any.
So how does one get started? How do I convert to a BP/W and get into DIR?
And lastly, where is this DIR course taught? Only GUE? And where is GUE?
Thanks for your help.

You are more than welcome to visit us / mail / call to see what DIR gear and GUE courses are all about. I truly believe that that this style of diving will benefit anyone and that you dont have to be a cave or tech diver to improve your diving tenfold by embracing DIR. Its really more of a mindset than anything else, and teaches us the best way to go about diving based on decades of trial and error by the pioneers of tech and cave diving.

We hold regular GUE courses http://www.silentworldkeylargo.com/tech at our dive center in Key Largo and have a full complement of DIR rental gear for you to try out anytime. There are also a few DIR clubs I could put you in touch with depending on your location.

Happy diving!