Team ethos and recreational diving

[Derek S]

pssst . . . I think the laser talk was a joke . . .

I must've been too out of it to realize.

 

[lamont]

I want a ruby laser mounted on a goodman handle so that i can fry things underwater...

if its got the same form factor as a primary HID can light, there's nothing stopping it from being DIR...

 

[Randy43068]

I want a ruby laser mounted on a goodman handle so that i can fry things underwater...

if its got the same form factor as a primary HID can light, there's nothing stopping it from being DIR...

order two of 'em, one for you and one for me. Maybe we'll get a discount if we go together on the deal.

 

[Randy43068]

a scout sized lazer?

What The Heck?!? Underwater laser talk in a DIR forum?!? :07:

One of the main tenets of the DIR system is to create a "thinking diver". So, to that end, whenever a new piece of gear is added to the DIR configuration, 2 questions must be asked:

1) How does this piece of equipment enhance the dive?

2) How does it impact the rest of the system?


IMHO, this piece of equipment doesn't enhance the dive. Hands, touch contact or dive lights are used for signaling. I understand that not everyone is ready to run out and get a Helios, but buying a laser pointer isn't the answer.

Again, IMHO, I feel it impacts the system negatively. It isn't uniform. Sure, you may have a "team" using them, but on the larger scale, probably few, if any, other GUE trained divers would be using them. Also, due to their "pen-like" shape and size, I would think they could be easily lost and difficult to stow and deploy, especially for those of us in drygloves or 7mm 3-figered mitts.

A set of Scouts or mini-Scouts (especially if equipped with the LED upgrade) would be a much better alternative than a laser pointer if a diver wanted a signaling device but didn't have a canister light. Or better yet, get out there, dive more with said teammate(s), and develop that innate communication that will surely come with time and experience. :14:

Just my .02psi.....

 

[Randy43068]

your thread is now totally out of control. *laughing*

One of the things I have enjoyed (before I even realized that it was different, or something focused upon by DIR training) is the secure feeling of diving with my DIR-trained friends. In our waters, HID lights are marvellous communication devices, allowing divers to stay in close contact and to signal one another without having to stay shoulder to shoulder.

But what do you do in bright, clear tropical water? My light was useless, and the only way to stay in constant contact with my buddy (my decidedly non-DIR husband) would have been to stay close enough to be in one another's peripheral vision, something which is significantly limited in a mask, which means you have to stay pretty darned close to each other. My husband absolutely refuses to do this, and says that, if you are spending your whole dive watching one another, you are NOT watching the reef and the sea life you went down to enjoy. He is quite convinced that a) DIR divers don't ever have FUN diving, and b) DIR ideas do NOT generalize in a useful fashion into uncomplicated recreational diving.

I'm sure I'll get a chance to ask such questions this weekend, but does anybody have any good answers that I might be able to use in the meantime with my husband? He was seriously considering looking into 5D-X's Essentials class until this argument convinced him that he wouldn't like it.

 

[TSandM]

Well, having gotten my butt chewed by my respected mentor for having started it (not a good idea to hash out marital disputes on a BB), it probably should spiral somewhere very else than where it began

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Well, let's get this discussion back on track by stating that good team skills begin with good communication skills ... before, during, and after the dive.

Joe T wrote an excellent article on the topic here ...

http://forum.5thd-x.com/viewtopic.php?p=5652&sid=9765ac3e3f8b9942a4aa1d32a74beae9#5652

... Bob (Grateful Diver)