I recently completed a GUE-F evaluation with Ed Hayes and was granted a "tech pass." CBSAW from the board was my buddy for the evaluation dive since he had completed Tech 1 with Dan MacKay. I was thinking about the strength of the DIR system after the dive. I had never been diving with Chris until that day, but we were able to enter the skill set for fundies and be on the same page more or less; Chris more, and me, less, because protocols had changed so I was being brought up to speed at the same time that I was being tested by performing a skill set I hadn't done lately. While I could pick apart the dive and my diving in video, I also realized that it would only take a dive or two for well-trained and rehearsed divers to be in synch. I know if I were to go into the water with Chris today, our teamwork would be 100 times better after just one dive because I'm up to speed on the new protocols and I have a better idea of Chris's underwater personality. I also learned that team unity is even more unified.
By the way, he really likes stickers. If you dive with him make sure you put a dive sticker on his rear window. He wants lots and lots of them on his vehicle.
Having a positive experience like getting in the water with someone you haven't met before and diving on the same page can make even a guy like me love DIR. I'm glad I had that experience with Ed and Chris before this past weekend. I was teaching a PDIC instructor course to a woman who is a PADI divemaster and an Apprentice level cave diver. After she reached her turn pressure and exited with her buddy (one of my AOW students) from the bus, my friend Ed (also a PDIC instructor) and I decided to take the scenic route out of the water at Dutch Springs by venturing over to the helicopter then swimming around the island before returning to shore. At the helicopter, I noticed an HID light, double tanks, and pretty decent diving among a cluster of "train wreck" students. Ed had a video camera and had been filming skills for the class and was now just shooting video of our dive. I entered the helicopter after the other diver and secretly buddied with him since he didn't notice me beside him. Ed swam around to the nose to shoot me coming out, but once the other diver noticed me, he began backward kicking out the nose. I decided to show him that I had reverse too and backed up and exited at the side doors then swam to the nose to meet Ed. After the dive, we exited the water at the same ramp at the same time and I walked over to say hello expecting to share the secret DIR handshake or something. Instead, I was accused of solo diving in the helicopter. I said that I had a buddy and that he was the one with the video camera. I was then corrected that he wasn't in the helicopter with me so I was solo. Now, yes, that was true, but considering that I often swim through that helicopter by myself while breath hold diving, I felt pretty warm, fuzzy and safe knowing where my buddy was, having twin tanks with an isolation capability, and having done emergency ascents from that depth. If anything, I was probably placing my poor buddy Ed at risk since his photographic instincts would take over if he was drowning and he'd probably film it rather than try to seek help. I was then told I wasn't DIR. I agreed. I'm not DIR -- especially when solo cave diving. Then, it hit me that the same guy who was scolding me was inside the helicopter BY HIMSELF too! Well, actually I was with him the entire time, but he didn't know that so his awareness sucked. I asked where his buddy was and he was sort of buddied with a group. Plus, he was diving independent doubles. But, he had taken GUE-F and now had the religion.
So, diving with a really cool guy like Chris and being able to get oriented to new DIR procedures -- TWO THUMBS UP FOR DIR!
Getting questioned and lectured about how I'm violating DIR by some "newb" who took fundies -- TWO THUMBS DOWN FOR DIR!
It's been the latter experience that has been the bane of my diving existence since this philosophy reached open water divers and soon I'm going to start reinacting the film
Amsterdamned when I encounter it. But, Bob Sherwood told me I've been attacking that problem from the outside and he suggested that I start trying to fix it from within the system.
