I was wrong...

[HenrikBP]

Thanks for your post Brian. It takes "guts" to step up and admit you might've been mistaken.

And I completely agree - the reports of the Fundies experience as well as how diving changed post-Fundies are a good way to make divers rethink their diving practices.

We've seen a lot of interest in at least the practical/technique aspects of Primer/Fundies in the last year or two in our little DNY community. Even if divers decide to not dive within the GUE/DIR framework, there is no doubt they leave with a new appreciation for the fun and comfort that is possible with dedication to the team and to skills development.

Henrik

 

[scubamountaingirl]

Economy sucks, training, equipment and helium is expensive.

Hit that nail on the head.

 

[danvolker]

Brian, thank you.

I have been trying for the last five years to put into electrons, over and over again, why I find this kind of diving to be so compelling and SO worth the effort and the expense. But NOTHING intrigues people as much as the honest and intense enthusiasm of those who pull the trigger to change their gear and their way of thinking, and take the first step.

We DO need reports from folks who are taking the system and using it and seeing the benefits in beyond-the-class diving. But we need the Fundies reports, too.

Maybe you guys can help me with a project I am starting on....It is related to a series of Gear and Training Articles I will be putting together with the new release of the South Florida Dive Journal ( likely in the next week it will show up instead of the last 2001 issue). This is to bring DIR experiences to divers who visit South Florida. I have Errol Kaylaci and Bob Sherwood ( GUE Instructors) working on this with me now, and will likely have several others involved soon.
One of the first instances of this will be near the end of January----Errol and Bob will be doing a South Florida Fundies class, and the weekend after it is completed, we will be doing some very cool dives on sites like the Hole in the Wall, the back rolls of Juno, and some deeper wrecks with huge fish on them. These fun dives will be DIR experience dives, where people who did not do the fundies class, but would like to learn and try a little DIR stuff, will be welcome to dive with us.

Anyway, what I need help with is what you could call a video "shot list" of events or "opportunities" a recreational diver could find themselves in, where having DIR skills ( such as trim and bouyancy) will make a major difference in how much fun they can have/how much adventure they can safely enjoy.

One shot we already did with stills, was of Errol in this 113 foot deep wreck called the Castor, with about 25 big jewfish all over the place....Errol went into a bottom compartment, a low overhang that went in about 15 feet, with several of the big jewfish hanging out in it...at about 4 feet or less off a silty bottom, it is an easy access with only the most minimal of penetration issues--but for a typical recreational diver, as much as they would like to commune with the big fish, they would be bouncing off the top and bottom, silting the place up badly...this makes this a perfect video for our series......
...But I will need many, many more ideas of cool applications of DIR skills for recreational divers..things we can "show" hapenning.

And of course, everyone here is certainly invited to dive with us

Regards,
DanV

 

[TSandM]

Peter and I are seriously planning to come down for the February event, Dan.

Brian, there is still a VERY active technical diving community here -- doing the T1 dives fairly frequently, but doing the bigger dives when they are possible (weather and current windows permitting). And I know Guy et. al. up in Vancouver have done some pretty cool exploration dives, too. It's just that nobody writes much about any of it.

 

[HenrikBP]

Thread jack. Sorry.

 

[rjack321]

It's just that nobody writes much about any of it.

Meh once we finally finish our latest "project" we'll share. Until then its too embarassing to talk about lol

 

[danvolker]

Sorry Brian, I'll create a separate thread....

Regards,
DanV

 

[ScubaFeenD]

Absolutely. Not just Atta-boys but reports. I suppose I would rather read 100 atta-boys for DIRF than 1 for a solo diver course or something equally as stupid but it's the reports that get people interested.

Its nice to hear you have softened your position a bit I previously agreed with you a bit, not all the time, but sometimes. The fundamentals accounts that go like this: "I sucked, and i suck, suck, suck, suck...suck suck suck. But then, the angels saved me" Get a bit old and probably hurts the cause of getting GUE ideals out to more people. However, some fundamentals reports are just downright hilarious and can really help people feel more confident that what they will learn will be useful and that it being "difficult" wont be their cross to carry alone.

 

[ucfdiver]

They did some cool stuff that I envied.

From where I sit I see the whole tech thing seems to be losing momentum. When we first started our Nova Scotia expeditions in 2002 there were a couple of dozen or more technical types in the Halifax area. When I last went out in 2008 there were about 4.

I'm aware of a virgin (some of it), private access cave system, less than 60ft deep, that requires a hike through the woods to get to, and the permit holders are begging for qualified help but can't find it. There's just not many people left who are willing to do anything outside of the normal touristy dives.

Tech divers are by majority lazy.

 

[TSandM]

I'm aware of a virgin (some of it), private access cave system, less than 60ft deep, that requires a hike through the woods to get to, and the permit holders are begging for qualified help but can't find it.

Almost enough to make me wish I lived in Florida!