My DIR F Class Report

[mgri]

Lol...

I dunno, man... The boat's coming out of the shop here in a few, and there's soooo much good diving to be had here...

So what kind of boat are you getting? It's not the minnow II is it?

 

[SeaJay]

Hey, I promised pictures...

More coming... But this will get us started. The open ocean shots are from our Fundies final. The pool shots (darker and with the cement bottom) are from our skills session in the pool the weekend after our Fundies class.

http://www.DeepSouthDivers.org/DIR

 

[Raven C]

My favorite photo is #8 where we were timing out our deco stop. BTW, that is SeaJay beside me. We were using our instructor's can lights so both our lights said Cody on the side.

#3 is me playing with center of gravity drill.
#4 is SeaJay checking out a fish.
#5 is a spotted eel that just blends right into the environment.
#6 SeaJay and I were descending to the bottom.
#7 I am just crusing along the reef.
#8 Deco stop.
#9 Me checking out the wreck.
#10 SeaJay just hangin' out above the wreck.

 

[jepuskar]

Robyn,

Great report, felt like I was there..anymore description and I might as well been. Thats good though....was that the extent of the skills you demonstrated during the OW portion?

Jason

 

[Raven C]

Robyn,

Great report, felt like I was there..anymore description and I might as well been. Thats good though....was that the extent of the skills you demonstrated during the OW portion?

Jason

Thanks Jep. No. I cut the report down because there was so much.

We practiced, S drills, V drills, Frog kick, mod frog kick, mod flutter, backwards kick, helicopter kick, underwater communication, underwater awareness (environment and buddy), navigation, dive planning, buoyance, trim, hovering, gear placement and replacement ie stowing and clipping off, mixes and consumptions, endurance, and my new favorite the lift bag. Hahaha Gosh it seems I am still leaving something out.

It wasn't that we touched on all these things, we really did go through them inside and out and practiced and executed for critique then we would do it again and again until we satisfied the instructor and ourselves. I will tell you that there were times we would continued to practice for hours even when the instructor wasn't there with us.

There is a lot of great information that comes from a course like this and from those who've been there before. I learned from taking this course that it is not enough to be able to do the skills and do them well. You have to demonstrate them to the instructor as "perfect" as they want you to. Example was the fact that I had practiced my OOA drills plenty and I was comfortable with the number of seconds it took me to put my backup in my mouth if I had a delay, such as a new unexpected task. However, the first two times I did the drill, my instructor said I was going to die if I didn't get that in my mouth faster. ???

 

[SeaJay]

However, the first two times I did the drill, my instructor said I was going to die if I didn't get that [the backup reg] in my mouth faster. ???

Yeah, that was a little weird... I mean, the backup was there - it wasn't going anywhere. You and I spent a lot of time making sure that our buddy was getting gas, and took a few extra seconds to get our own backups in place. If we were comfortable with that (we obviously were), then I don't see the issue. I mean, like it's been said before, if you're not comfortable with having a reg out of your mouth for five or ten seconds, then you need to do some practicing...

...So that was one aspect that I didn't agree with - to me, getting my buddy gas was paramount, and whether I took two seconds or seven seconds to go to my backup didn't seem to me to be an issue. Heck, once everyone's got gas, you want to pause and gather yourself anyway. But our instructor mentioned it, so we cleaned it up and managed getting gas to both ourselves and our buddy simultaneously.

At one point that required a switch to a backup without using my hands - both of my hands were already occupied with something else when Cody pulled the OOG on me. You shoulda seen his face - I'm sure he was hoping to catch me unprepared and fumbling, but I wasn't, and I didn't - I just didn't use my hands. I don't think he was expecting that.

Yeah, we did a great job preparing for this course.

 

[Raven C]

Well, we rarely use our hands to get to our backup anyway. It was just interesting how he made a big deal out of a few seconds. I just realized that I would show him I could actually have my backup reg in my mouth before he could clear the reg I was donating to him and get it in his mouth. I'll never forget him saying, "I was impressed." When I did that. Hahaha Just wanted to show him that I'm not gonna die donating air because I am not quick enough on the draw. Hahaha

 

[Mako Mark]

Exceptional report Raven.

I have a question tho, you said you were told to not put your fingers in the holes of the spool while launching the lift bag. I cant imagine how you could do it any other way.

The reason I ask is I have launched lift bags for years using reels, but recently changed to spools for diving in the caves, how can you hold onto it if you dont put your fingers into the holes??

 

[Reinoud]

Exceptional report Raven.

I have a question tho, you said you were told to not put your fingers in the holes of the spool while launching the lift bag. I cant imagine how you could do it any other way.

The reason I ask is I have launched lift bags for years using reels, but recently changed to spools for diving in the caves, how can you hold onto it if you dont put your fingers into the holes??

The spool is neutral, so it is not needed to hold it. You can just let it hang in front of you and let the line go between your thumb and index finger (making an "OK" sign). Look at http://www.frogkick.nl/movies/boei_oplaten.mpg (On the dutch DIR site) to see what I mean.

Reinoud

 

[Mako Mark]

The spool is neutral, so it is not needed to hold it. You can just let it hang in front of you and let the line go between your thumb and index finger (making an "OK"

Reinoud

Ahh, I get it that makes sense. I guess that may not work with my aluminium spools though huh?

I guess I will have to give it a go.