My wife, OW, and DIR?

[BCS]

Thanks Medic!
More power to ya! Good luck as well, personally I think you are better off trying to teach pigs to fly, but if you can get them to change I applaud you!

 

[MikeFerrara]

I certainly believe that the current state of affairs isn't very good. Most here know my views. As an instructor my choice of agencies is limited, however, I think I put out solid diver but alas I must teach a new diver how to use a snorkel. This, I can live with.

I think in order to realize any real improvement the good instructors need to keep pushing. We may not get anything done accept for our own students but that's the way it goes.

A major problem is that instructors aren't required to be good divers and they can't teach what they don't know.

Some agencies may be motivated by money but some are non-profit and I don't see them performing any better. The fact is that dive centers are motivated by profit no matter what. As a result they reduce cost, time and maybe change their idea of what skill mastery is. Does anyone think the equipment manufacturers help put dive shops under presure to achieve volume? PADI doesn't push me for numbers but I can tell you that equipment manufacturers insist on it. There are manufacturers that I, as a shop owner, won't do business with because they push so hard and would force me to sell equipment that I don't think anyone should use in order to meet my numbers.

Maybe the agencies turn their head to help their shops make the grade.

Maybe equipment sales and instruction are a direct conflict of interest.

I think shops will go to the agencies that best help them make money and realize the sales volume required to keep their dealerships.

I would urge divers to vote with their dollar with equipment manufacturers as well as agencies.

After owning a dive shop for three years I believe it is the Equipment manufacturer in the drivers seat but nobody but me seems to want to hold them accountable.

 

[BCS]

Thanks for the reply Mike. All good points. I would have to add that even the non profits still need to make money to survive, so in order to stay competitive they need to allow more instructor in as well. It always comes down to the same thing dictating everything...$$$.
I also have to add that I do indeed ensure that all of my open water students are well versed in the use of a snorkel and I do explain that it is a personal choice once they are certified, however, I have to also tell them my personal view of this piece of equipment and how it relates to scuba diving. It is great for snorkelling, but has no place on a scuba diver's head. I am all for carrying it with them if that makes them feel more comfortable, but while swimming on the surface, I'd rather have my head above water where I can hear and see what is happening on the surface and from which direction it is coming. I see nothing but entanglement issues, constantly grabbing the snorkel instead of the inflator/deflator which result in frustration while learning to use this equipment. I have also seen divers with the alt air source integrated into the BC inflator/deflator grab their snorkel and put that in their mouth u/w instead of their backup while doing OOA exercies. And another reason I prefer to leave it off my head while diving is that it is a tremendous amount of unnecessary drag. But to reiterate, I do think every scuba diver should be able to snorkel proficiently.
thanks again Mike!!

 

[MikeFerrara]

I agree...snorkels are best used when snorkeling.

 

[norcaldiver]

BCS, thanks for clarifying your thoughts on snorkels. I was wondering about that.
You make a really good point i.e. OOA grabbing the snorkel. And although I've never witnessed it, I haven't been helping out with classes very long, and I'm sure it's happend more than once. So point taken.

I didn't like how it felt hanging off my mask, so I stopped using it for rec diving.
I was helping with a class and the instr told me that it's a skill that the students must do, so I have to carry one also. But then said, instead of swimming out on your back, use that time to snorkel out and look at what you're missing, find stuff that you can explore on the way back in. And it help get your face used to the cold water. I thought he made a great point, so I keep it in my cumberbun now when I dive and holy cow, I have found some neat things. We can switch out drop down and check it out, them pop back up and continue out to the bouy.

 

[Waterborne]

Mr Lost Yooper, can you please tell me where you took your DIR training at? I live in the Detroit area and I haven't found a place that does the training. I have been diving for six years and diving DIR for only the last year. My friends and I are itching to take the classes. We basically had to teach ourselves. Thanks.

 

[large_diver]

Send a PM to DetroitDiver -- he has helped coordinate some of the recent DIRF courses in that area.

 

[detroit diver]

SCORE ResQ once bubbled...
Mr Lost Yooper, can you please tell me where you took your DIR training at? I live in the Detroit area and I haven't found a place that does the training. I have been diving for six years and diving DIR for only the last year. My friends and I are itching to take the classes. We basically had to teach ourselves. Thanks.

Score..

Yooper isn't often on the board anymore, so I'll try to answer for him. I helped put that class together, along with another one later on that year. Along with 2 of my dive buddies, Brandon Schwartz and Scot Wernette, we flew in Andrew G, Mike Kane, and Dan McKay as instructors for these classes. It's up to the sponsor (us) to put the whole arrangements together and collect the fees. It really worked out well, as we planned for most contingencies.

That said, there are at least 3 DIR Fundamentals classes being held this year, the first one being April 25-27th. It's being sponsored by Aquatic Adventures in Brighton. The other two are in the summer. Go to www.fifthd.com and click on the traveling class schedule link on the left side. It will give you the rundown on the class dates.

If I can be of further help, PM me.

Jack

 

[detroit diver]

large_diver once bubbled...
Send a PM to DetroitDiver -- he has helped coordinate some of the recent DIRF courses in that area.

Thanks L_D. We crossed posts!

 

[BCS]

Hi Score,
These courses have been brought up to Detroit and been taught by Andrew Georgitsis, MHK (Kane), and Dan McKay 3 times in the past year. We tried to get the word out at the shop I work from and also to other area divers. I (and others) posted them on the Quest list as well as the Techdiver list. I would have figured DD put it on here. I am new on this board, so I don't know if he did or not.
There is one scheduled for April out of the new dive shop in Howell called Aquatic Adventures of Michigan. I believe it is the last weekend in April.
The course is great. Among other things, they teach you the how's and why's of equipment choices. They show you how a regulator is not chosen by mere ease of breathing alone. That features like unique hoses with o.p. valves built in are non standard and difficult to obtain in a pinch, and upstream regs do have a "shut down" failure mode, all these areas are examined to help the diver make good, safe choices in equipment. Hard to dive "DIR" otherwise. At least that is what I am taught to believe.
I hope you sign up for it, as it is a great course.