Rec diving philosophies? (vs. tec DIR/Hogarthian/etc...)

[LenC]

Fritz wrote
As a photographer, I can guarantee you that you just have never understood the benefit of a team that is focused on photography. Being THE shooter in a team that is focused on getting the shot is MUCH better than diving solo and shooting.

You just don't have any idea what you have missed and are missing.

I will say this falls into that category of "to each his own". I much prefer solo when I have a camera in my hands. I want to focus on my camera. I don't want to have to look out for anyone else and I don't want anyone else looking over my shoulder. It's just personal perference.

 

[Ana]

Dangling straps and hoses. My BC came with 4 adjustment straps that, once properly adjusted, just dangle there. I'd attempt to reach a dump valve and inevitably I'd grab one of these. I've started modifying the strap D-rings so they hold close to the vest, and shortening extra long straps to fit me. I've spent hours practicing with different computer locations, retractors, clips, etc until I've found one that works. I've spent freaking WEEKS thinking about the best place to stow a safety whistle. (Still haven't decided.)

So you adjusted the straps to fit YOU. Once they were just right, you took care of the excess material.
You want an agency, a book, or a something that will dictate how to do what you did? Didn't you have a blast getting it JUST right?

After WEEKS considering the placing of a whistle, do you really think anyone will know better than you where is the best place? pick a place that appears the most logical one and reassess after a few dives.

My first set of gear was a bunch of cheap and old parts and pieces, but every single item was adjusted to be just right for me, I didn't leave anything untouched, removed stuff in one area, added on other. During no less than couple of hundred dives I made a point to consider all those adjustments: keep as is, adjust more, remove all together. After every thing was anally perfect some bastards broke in my house and robed pretty much everything that wasn't nailed down.

Since then I've gone through several sets of gear, much better quality stuff but still today I miss all the concoctions I put together back then. I had a great time doing it and I can't described how much I learned, not only about the mechanics of the gear itself but more importantly that a good diver can enjoy a dive with very little.

If you know what you are doing it doesn't matter if the air comes to you from a steel bottle, aluminum, a hose from topside, or from a goat bladder; you'll be able to adapt to the circumstances and have an enjoyable time.

I think most important is to be used to your gear and have everything always on the same places.

For me that was the most important thing when I started: once a place is decided for an item, that item goes there ALL the time. Another important factor for me was to follow the same order. The gear bag was filled in the same order also, starting at the toes with fins, going up the body with the rest, all the way up to the head with the mask and hood. For gearing up I also did it the same all the time.

Now I'm old and jaded, all my stuff is in the boat all the time, my anal pursue of perfection has diminish a lot.

to take this a step further... wouldn't it be easy if everyone had their gear rigged in a standardized way? That way you know exactly where everything is on everyone you dive with?

I imagine there are good reasons for that type of uniformity, but if I ever were to pray for something, it will be for that to never happen.
Divers are a bunch of different types of people. For you a whistle may belong on the left upper side of your gear but I may like mine by the inside of the right ankle.

Just my opinion obviously, but there are enough rules in diving, no need to add more.

 

[Anti-Hero]

Welcome! Its good to see another Roseville here. You should join the Nor Cal section and ask questions. There are a ton of resources in MoCal for the budding diver.

 

[waterpirate]

I say that philosophy begins with transitioning from "jump in swim around get out when your low on gas" to begining to ask "the what if questions". That is the first step on the path to becoming a "thinking diver". What you decide to think after that becomes your philosophy. Their are infinate paths to diving enlightenment, just be wary of the "all knowing" to early on in your quest. Just because one person or group said it was the right way, does not mean it is the only way to where you want to go. Enough philosophy for you yet?
Hope this helps confuse you
Eric

 

[TSandM]

But it would bother me to think that other divers are worrying about me and my shot rather than minding their own business and doing their own thing.

Actually, I best love diving as a teammate with a photographer. He sits down to get a shot, and I poke around and scout for the next subject -- or I pose, depending on where we are and what kind of photos he wants. Photographers move slowly, which pleases me a great deal, and at the end of the dive, they have the photos I want to remember the dive, and I don't have to carry a camera or try to learn how to take decent pictures

Everybody has to find a way of diving that suits them. Diving as part of a photographic team seriously works for me.

 

[Ben_ca]

Well if you want to do Fundies there's a class starting soon.

Class details | Global Underwater Explorers

 

[DaleC]

Not to get sidetracked by the solo vs team debate but I think FritzCat made a really good point about deciding what you want to do in regards to diving.
It's easy to go along with what others say is best or popular with them but in the end, unless it is what you really want to do, you will just drop it after a while and have a lot of gear for sale on ebay.

That goes for solo, DIR, DIY, vintage, minimalist etc... (well, maybe not minimalist because you wouldn't have much gear anyways).

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

As a photographer, I can guarantee you that you just have never understood the benefit of a team that is focused on photography. Being THE shooter in a team that is focused on getting the shot is MUCH better than diving solo and shooting.

You just don't have any idea what you have missed and are missing.

Maybe. But it would bother me to think that other divers are worrying about me and my shot rather than minding their own business and doing their own thing. Also, there are a lot of solo divers here who would say you don't know what you're missing unless and until you dive solo. For me, once I did that, I never wanted to go back to a buddy, much less any kind of team, so we're moving in opposite directions here.

To each their own. We all get different things out of diving, I'm just saying that's what should be paramount, not "philosophy".

As someone who likes to take pictures, I do both solo and team diving. Sometimes I'll dive as a team of three ... all with cameras ... and not have any issues with keeping the team together. This is generally true even when diving in low-visibility conditions.

There are techniques ... and it starts with a team attitude on the part of all the divers. Once you have a buddy team, whether two or three, who are committed to the team, it becomes a pretty simple matter to dive in such a way that there is no conflict between the needs of the photographer(s) and the needs of the team.

On my website I've written a series of articles focused toward the recreational diver ... this one addresses that subject ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Lobzilla]

Well if you want to do Fundies there's a class starting soon.

Class details | Global Underwater Explorers

To the OP:

Please do yourself the favor of taking a GUE primer first. Then, practice team diving, buoyancy, and trim with GUE/UTD-trained divers and find yourself one or two divers you would like to do the Fundies with.

If you walk into a Fundies class before doing that preparation you will learn a lot of useful things about gear configuration, dive-planning, gas-planning, etc. However, the best way to characterize the training dives is:

Team, Buoyancy, and Trim - and everything else in that order.

Unless you and some randomly chosen class mates are all Wunderkinder that can nail the team coherence - which depends on each member's buoyancy and trim skills - in one day you are wasting your time and money in Fundies. Trust me, I just did.

 

[FireInMyBones]

I'm a novice diver (1 year+) with only a handful of real dives under my belt. Beyond cert I've taken Advanced Open Water, Altitude, Nitrox. In hindsight I feel like these courses together have prepared me to *begin* diving. Real practice with buoyancy and attitude, making all the big mistakes under controlled circumstances.

I've read the articles on tec diving philosophies - Hogarthian, DIR, etc. If I were to get into tec diving someday I can definitely see the value. But what about the rec divers?

The one thing I've struggled with is finding some nice concise info and source of ideas like "here's a suggestion on how to mount accessory XYZ". What works, what doesn't, and discussion about those things.

Example: Dangling straps and hoses. My BC came with 4 adjustment straps that, once properly adjusted, just dangle there. I'd attempt to reach a dump valve and inevitably I'd grab one of these. I've started modifying the strap D-rings so they hold close to the vest, and shortening extra long straps to fit me. I've spent hours practicing with different computer locations, retractors, clips, etc until I've found one that works. I've spent freaking WEEKS thinking about the best place to stow a safety whistle. (Still haven't decided.)

I went through the same situation after my OW class. I took AOW in a BP/W with a comfort harness thinking it was better than the Tusa BC I had just sold. Eventually I ended up mimicking the DIR gear choices and configuration (and will continue until I can afford to take a real GUE class).

A for the safety whistle, a couple of things: I only take it on dives when I need it (like the ocean). I have a FOX40 with just the whistle and a piece of bungee cord looped through it and I attach it to my left chest d-ring using a clove hitch. I do have pockets sown on to my wetsuit and will probably start putting it clipped off in a pocket soon with my safety mirror.

As for buying a back-inflate BC, I almost did that, but thought about where I wanted to go with my diving and settled on the most versatile set up I could find.

In short: simplifying, refining and optimizing my equipment so when I'm down under I don't have to think about it. I must be on to something because I've bumped into a number of folks who have said - wow that's a really tidy setup. But I feel like it's just a beginning.


Seems like there's a rec diving philosophy in there somewhere, and endless knowledge on fine tuning your rig I'd like to see written down. Does this exist already, if not where should it live, and are there others with similar interests?
...

As best I can tell GUE and UTD both have solid recreational classes focassing on gear streamlining, team skills (we could all use more of those), and personal skills (again, who couldn't stand for some improvement?).

Please remember that I have yet to take a class offered by GUE or UTD. They may not be the only solution. For me diving with others that were like minded and done similar research helped me immensely. Now I am the one wanting to be even more informed by seeking more training.