Starting Technical diving GUE Vs TDI VS PADI?

[NothingClever]

You ever seen a bad GUE diver?

Yes, Red Sea. Male, late 40s, doctor. Had the skin tone of a Shar Pei, the muscle tone of a physically lazy man and, IMO, his sense of drive was inadequate for the adventure. Had all the right gear but couldn’t manage himself on the boat (pre-dive) without major assistance. Gave him the benefit of the doubt. Got underwater and he was an inanimate form, just emptying a cylinder. He was in trim but when I left him in one spot and did a lap around the reef crown, I came back to find he hadn’t really moved. He wasn’t a photog going crazy on macro life...just a dud diver, IYAM. I couldn’t envision the guy at depth being of any value during duress.

So, yes, I’ve seen what I consider a bad GUE diver and it cast doubt on the upstream instructor and organization. Up to that point, I had assumed based on the published mission, organizational standards and impassioned forum advocacy that GUE would be my home and I would thrive amongst a league of disciplined adherents. However, that was one snapshot hard to casually disregard.

I dive with other GUE graduates who are great divers but I’ve come to realize I don’t need GUE to pursue and achieve high standards. That much said, I may still pursue training with GUE for opportunities I may not have otherwise.

 

[ginti]

The answer is obvious.
Of all the people in GUE who know about this incident, what have any of them done to correct this problem? How many of them reached out to me to provide me with a better experience?

NONE

Did anybody explicitly call you liar?

Also, you said you sent a couple of letters, so possibly not many people in GUE knew about your problem. Maybe just one guy in the HQ... did anyone else know about your problem?

 

[AJ]

Yes, Red Sea. Male, late 40s, doctor. Had the skin tone of a Shar Pei, the muscle tone of a physically lazy man and, IMO, his sense of drive was inadequate for the adventure. .

Do you know what kind of training he had?

I dive with other GUE graduates who are great divers but I’ve come to realize I don’t need GUE to pursue and achieve high standards. That much said, I may still pursue training with GUE for opportunities I may not have otherwise.

Exactly this ^. It's not the training agency that makes a great diver, it's the diver himself. It's about mindset and willing to invest in training and experience that makes you grow as a diver. GUE training can (and for most people does) help, but it's not some kind of miracle solution for a bad diver.

 

[NothingClever]

Do you know what kind of training he had?

No, I was so disgusted with the guy that I didn’t bother engaging him. So, in defense of GUE, the guy could have just been a Fundamentals graduate with a Recreational certification and nothing more. I realized that driving home but he didn’t portray himself that way while wearing a mess of GUE schwag. Also, he was a doctor (so, deep pockets) and looked like he celebrated graduation by running around a Halcyon store in a velcro suit.

 

[Hartattack]

The answer is obvious.
Of all the people in GUE who know about this incident, what have any of them done to correct this problem? How many of them reached out to me to provide me with a better experience?

NONE

Hi Doc, this whole situation sucks. I'm sorry you had that experience. With that said, we have a Midwest GUE community here in the Great Lakes, and I tend to dive in your area (Mid-Atlantic, I assume) when I am home visiting my folks, which has few of us out there as well. Please join us for a dive anytime. GUE has changed a lot, and while there were some bad experiences in the past, the community is becoming a welcoming place. Feel free to PM me here, and I can send you the details.

 

[Jack Hammer]

@NothingClever, I've seen a few GUE fakers over the years. People who claim the training but have never actually taken any at all. The worst part is they tend to be the most vocal. They stick out to people who've taken any GUE course because the things they say show a lack of the most basic understanding of the training itself. My favorite was a very vocal guy about 10 years ago who told us how great GUE was then proceeded to lecture us about our gear and how we should consider taking Fundies to improve our skills. This was for a tech charter and all before we had even left the dock. Funniest part was at the time I had a tech pass in Fundies, using the gear he was criticizing, and my dive buddy was Tech2. We still laugh about it.

 

[NothingClever]

Yeah, we call those guys “geardos” at work. They reel off all kinds of statistical data and advice about gear but crumple when things get sporty, heart rates go up and they have to use available tools (however simple they may be) to get the job done.

My daughter’s swim team has an awesome slogan...”Speak less, do more.”

 

[Hartattack]

Yeah, we call those guys “geardos” at work. They reel off all kinds of statistical data and advice about gear but crumple when things get sporty, heart rates go up and they have to use available tools (however simple they may be) to get the job done.

My daughter’s swim team has an awesome slogan...”Speak less, do more.”

"Don't let them know what you're against or what you're for.' #unexpectedHamilton (I'm here all week)

 

[ginti]

@NothingClever, I've seen a few GUE fakers over the years. People who claim the training but have never actually taken any at all. The worst part is they tend to be the most vocal. They stick out to people who've taken any GUE course because the things they say show a lack of the most basic understanding of the training itself. My favorite was a very vocal guy about 10 years ago who told us how great GUE was then proceeded to lecture us about our gear and how we should consider taking Fundies to improve our skills. This was for a tech charter and all before we had even left the dock. Funniest part was at the time I had a tech pass in Fundies, using the gear he was criticizing, and my dive buddy was Tech2. We still laugh about it.

That's a crazy story, I can imagine you still laugh about it

 

[Ayisha]

@NothingClever, I've seen a few GUE fakers over the years. People who claim the training but have never actually taken any at all. The worst part is they tend to be the most vocal.

And some think they've taken the training when they actually took a workshop.

Last summer I ran into a couple that I had met on an earlier LDS trip, and along came one of the instructors from the shop, and we were all chatting. The husband mentioned to me that he was very interested in taking GUE Fundamentals. The instructor piped up that she had taken Fundies and it wasn't that challenging. I was like, "what, you ended up taking Fundies?" (I knew that she had not). She said to me, "remember, you were helping out". She insisted that the GUE instructor (intern) gave the course all in that one pool session. I said, "that was a free 3 hour intro to Primer workshop. That wasn't Fundies. Fundies takes a minimum of 4 days and includes OW dives. Did you go beyond the workshop?" She replied, "No".

The 3 instructors and 1 DM were given the free intro in 2014 when the instructor intern was finishing his internship and several of us were asked to help out. Not one of the 4 could hold their position in the pool and were bouncing throughout, so the instructor intern was not able to have them progress in the skills. It was an absolute shocking disaster and all 4 were frustrated. We all went out for a dinner debrief and watched the video. One of the 4 said, "We had our asses handed to us. I'm so humbled", and they all agreed and talked about that. The instructor intern handled it all very gracefully and with empathy.

I can only imagine how many people she had told that she did Fundies (all in 3 hours), and that it wasn't challenging.