Thank you GUE

[iowasnowboarder]

I took my DIR-F class back in April, and recieved a provisional rating. This past weekend, I did my first open water diving since the class and finally put the class to practical use. I love the backwards kick.

We dove the wreck of the Straits of Mackinac, off the coast of Chicago. The wreck is really cool, and the vis was great...especially since I wasn't kicking up silt/zebra mussels/misc. marine life/etc.

It was nice to be able to dive and have good trim and buoyancy, and see why it is useful to be able to do helicopter turns, backwards kick and modified kicks.

I am so glad i took DIR-f as early in my diving career as I did. Thank you GUE.

 

[Tanked Monkey]

Good to hear that you enjoyed your Fundies class. Mine is in a week, and I'm nervous as he11.

 

[melfox26]

Good to hear that you enjoyed your Fundies class. Mine is in a week, and I'm nervous as he11.

No need to be nervous, just enjoy the ride. One tip I can give is to not focus on "passing" the class, it's not about that. Learn as much as you can from these guys/gals and be prepared to laugh at yourself. I took DIR-F in January, got a provisional, worked on the skills that I needed to improve on and got my "passing" last month.

Good luck,

Mel

 

[diveh3]

Don't be nervous Mike,
I will keep you company under the bus

 

[H2Andy]

I love the backwards kick.

fist, congratz on taking the DIR-F

second... i'm envious... sounds like you're doing the backward kick already.

i'm still having trouble with mine, but... hey... at least it works MOST of the
time now


Miike: don't think of it as a performance thing. you don't have to pass.
just go in there, have fun, learn a lot, and get better at diving! (which you
almost certainly will if your experience is anything like mine)

 

[Henryville]

Makes a big difference, doesn't it? You'll never go back. Did you use a commercial dive service for the dive in Chicago?

 

[Tanked Monkey]

No need to be nervous, just enjoy the ride. One tip I can give is to not focus on "passing" the class, it's not about that. Learn as much as you can from these guys/gals and be prepared to laugh at yourself. I took DIR-F in January, got a provisional, worked on the skills that I needed to improve on and got my "passing" last month.

Good luck,

Mel

Congrats on passing the course. I have come to the conclusion that I won't pass the class right off. Knowing that actually takes some of the stress away. I know there will be quite a bit of new skills and ideology taught, and I'm excited to learn them.

From what I have seen so far, DIR-F is a great thing, teaching so much more than just specialized propulsion and equipment configuration. I really can't wait, but I've heard about the video they take of the students... Looking in a mirror can be very humbling.

 

[detroit diver]

Good to hear that you enjoyed your Fundies class. Mine is in a week, and I'm nervous as he11.

Mike,

Don't get yourself so worked up over this class. Just enjoy it. You'll learn a lot, and will be a better diver for it. Even if you don't pass you will be far ahead of the pack.

Have fun!

 

[mrobinson]

I read your posts. I think GUE saved my life. Actually, I know it. I know prior to the DIRF I was in denial about the seriousness of diving because of the fluffy way I was taught. (A peer of mine just had a case of DCS but he didn't take DIRF with me and we were on the same training styles prior to the DIRF.) I was nervous too about DIRF but I wish in hind-sight I just relaxed through it. You'll learn so much. Good luck! Please keep us posted.

 

[iowasnowboarder]

Makes a big difference, doesn't it? You'll never go back. Did you use a commercial dive service for the dive in Chicago?

I dove from the "Enterprise" (http://www.captaindales.com/)


I found that for me with the backwards kick, it was quite a lot easier to do when I had a frame of reference, and a reason for doing it. I had been looking into the entrance door into the bow of the ship, and I decided to move on. I didn't want to push off of the ship (delicate zebra mussels, etc.) so I decided to backwards kick...and it worked. I was so excited, since I had previously had trouble with it.