"Not quite DIR"

[MXGratefulDiver]

...not a fan of the "my way is the only RIGHT way" koolaid stand myself.
I don't have countless years of diving behind me personally, but I DO read ALOT when making decisions as to what type training to seek. I think the whole "DIR" thing is very self absorbant and narrow minded as to the possibility that there is no other "RIGHT" way to do ANYTHING..............donning my nomex/flame resistant suit now.

Only place I've ever experienced the attitude you're describing ... as well as the one you're displaying ... is on the Internet (thank goodness).

I have to admit that I was a bit surprised by the depth of contempt the DIR and non-DIR "camps" in Florida seem to have for each other. I just don't see that much around where I live ... folks mostly just want to go diving, have some fun, and get along (again, thank goodness) ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[junebug]

Only place I've ever experienced the attitude you're describing ... as well as the one you're displaying ... is on the Internet (thank goodness).

I have to admit that I was a bit surprised by the depth of contempt the DIR and non-DIR "camps" in Florida seem to have for each other. I just don't see that much around where I live ... folks mostly just want to go diving, have some fun, and get along (again, thank goodness) ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

No attitude here.....simply an observation. The "DIR" "camp" you speek of are the ones with attitude, most will not even dive with a non-DIR diver.
I enjoy many fascets of diving from reef to wreck, fresh or salt, OW and cave alike.
I also enjoy meeting and diving with divers who want to better themselves without the scrutiny imposed by most of the said group.
.....try & find a "DIR" guy that can say that......
Thank goodness for the nomex suit! LMFAO!!!

 

[LiteHedded]

No attitude here.....simply an observation. The "DIR" "camp" you speek of are the ones with attitude, most will not even dive with a non-DIR diver.
I enjoy many fascets of diving from reef to wreck, fresh or salt, OW and cave alike.
I also enjoy meeting and diving with divers who want to better themselves without the scrutiny imposed by most of the said group.
.....try & find a "DIR" guy that can say that......
Thank goodness for the nomex suit! LMFAO!!!

we got ourselves a DIR expert on our hands here

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

No attitude here.....simply an observation. The "DIR" "camp" you speek of are the ones with attitude, most will not even dive with a non-DIR diver.
I enjoy many fascets of diving from reef to wreck, fresh or salt, OW and cave alike.
I also enjoy meeting and diving with divers who want to better themselves without the scrutiny imposed by most of the said group.
.....try & find a "DIR" guy that can say that......
Thank goodness for the nomex suit! LMFAO!!!

... but as someone sitting on the outside of that "camp" looking in, that has not been my observation at all. Sure there are a few DIR-trained folks who will only dive with like-trained divers ... but I dive with plenty of buddies who are DIR trained ... up to and through Cave 2 and Tech 2 ... without issues. And I make no pretense of being DIR ... my only GUE training is Fundamentals.

On the other hand, before I switched to sidemount, I sometimes had to put up with less than complimentary comments from someone who assumed I was DIR (despite my red drysuit) and verbally accosted me over some perceived slight I had nothing to do with. These were usually very experienced divers who had been diving for decades, and who assumed that since I was in a backplate and long hose setup, I must be one of those damned DIR people.

So the attitude goes both ways ... but (again, thank goodness) those who display it are a tiny minority and are easily avoided or ignored. For the most part, people got into diving to have fun, and as long as you're fun to be around they aren't going to much care how you dive, as long as you're not diving in an unsafe or irresponsible manner.

And for the record, I know several DIR-trained divers who regularly hook up with newer, less experienced divers to help them better themselves ... and the only time DIR even comes up is if the new diver asks about it. TSandM ... who besides being a role model for DIR also happens to be a PADI divemaster ... is probably the best example I can think of. I regularly refer new divers I train to her hoping she'll mentor them (she usually does, as her schedule permits).

Perhaps what you describe is what you've experienced in the Florida caves ... but it's far from true where I dive. And we do have a rather robust DIR community here. For the most part, we all get along just fine ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[TSandM]

Sigh.

Junebug, you clearly haven't attended any of our weekly GUE dives in Seattle, to which all are welcome and encouraged to attend. You haven't listened to JP Bresser and Mark Messersmith, talking about how they'd like to reach more effectively out into the recreational diving community. You haven't been on any of our Mexico trips, where we've had GUE and UTD and non-DIR cave divers enjoying diving together.

Sigh. So many myths . . .

 

[Dhboner]

Not all divers who embrace the DIR philosophy reject everything else. They have made a choice to gear up, train and dive a certain way and they embrace a "team" approach that makes it impractical (and potentially unsafe) to dive with someone who has chosen a different path. That doesn't make them elitist or narrow-minded...just passionate about their approach and sense of personal comfort/safety.

I am making the move towards a DIR approach and I have been welcomed and encouraged by the local DIR community every step of the way. No one has ever refused to dive with me (even in my BC, short hose and yellow fin days). Once I proved myself as a safe and well trained diver I was welcome on dives. Mind you I often got a good-natured earful about why I needed to "drink the kool-aid".

I think "Doing it right" means that after careful consideration certain equipment choices, training methods and diving practices have proven to be safe, reliable and consistent. I know there are extreme DIR purists who refuse to dive with anyone outside of their team but, in my experience, the are not the norm and shouldn't be used as examples to paint all DIR enthusiasts with the same brush.

Bob

 

[PfcAJ]

I think the attitude mostly goes one way in real life...

 

[Scott L]

That's a nice advertisement for Florida diving.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

That's a nice advertisement for Florida diving.

... but you won't see grunt sculpins, lumpsuckers or Giant Pacific Octopus in Florida ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[LiteHedded]

... but you won't see grunt sculpins, lumpsuckers or Giant Pacific Octopus in Florida ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

those things all look like varying degrees of sentient snot.