Value of the DIR approach

[Adobo]

I think this statement is false.

IMHO Their (new divers i think you mean) will to survive will get them in trouble...

Just being in the water for some is unnatural Take for example the nature of a student to bolt for the surface? That's their instinct to survive kicking in.... Do you really want that? You stated you dive solo and do not want a buddy... but the majority of the divers out there believe in the buddy system and the benefits of having someone by your side.

Ben,

Understanding where some of these folks are coming from is very important... it puts what they say in context. I've been following another thread wherein things like small pony bottles and ascent rates of up to 90 fpm are being advocated by a rep from a company - that I used to have respect for. What you have to understand is that there is a segment of the diving population that truly believes in the "same ocean" style of buddy systems. Or that solo diving is safer.. or even that safety is overrated.

In this case, you are getting a perspective from someone who dives what looks like high vis/warm water. And I didn't see some of the other hazards we tend to see when we dive such as kelp beds. No doubt that they have their own set of challenges but if you think about where this guy is coming from, it's not hard to see why he would challenge the notion of needing skills proficiency, situational awareness and strong team. If you and your buddies have a loose or non-existent emphasis in the team, you are left with few options in emergencies - either bolt to the surface or drown.

It's quite likely that the presence of structured diving systems such as DIR (among others) are common in areas such as ours simply because there may be more "gotchas" where we are.

 

[HowardE]

I think this statement is false.

IMHO Their (new divers i think you mean) will to survive will get them in trouble...

Just being in the water for some is unnatural Take for example the nature of a student to bolt for the surface? That's their instinct to survive kicking in.... Do you really want that? You stated you dive solo and do not want a buddy... but the majority of the divers out there believe in the buddy system and the benefits of having someone by your side.

More often than not, I have a buddy. I don't have a problem diving solo, in my "hood" - but that's neither here nor there.

I frequently see (on just about every boat I go on in S FL) someone on vacation. I frequently see inexperienced divers, and I've yet to see anyone in need of rescue. I think ANY certified diver knows the dangers of bolting to the surface. If they don't... they shouldn't be certified.

BTW - I have dived in San Diego and Catalina, and I would not dive in Kelp without a buddy (in the vicinity)

But part of my point all along is that the AVERAGE diver doesn't dive in California for most of their diving. The "average" diver is a warm water/ high viz / vacation diver. (the average diver is NOT on ScubaBoard - for the most part)

 

[Adobo]

Out of curiosity, what did you do when you saw the subject of your photo give you this signal?

 

[HowardE]

Out of curiosity, what did you do when you saw the subject of your photo give you this signal?

I took his photo, and knew he meant "thumbs up" and not "I'm surfacing" - Then I continued on my way.

 

[cerich]

yes, you see this a lot...and hard as it is for you to beleive, it doesn't really matter. because someone shows them and then they have a great dive.

The person we "babysit" might be our pilot on the way home or our kid's pediatrician. Once, this pilot was coming up from the head, (on the dive boat) and was struggling with the hatch. The boat captain said "LET"S SEE IF WE CAN BE SMARTER THAN THE DOOR!!) It was a classic moment, the pilot and I exchanged looks that said "people...they are in there own little universe".

He could have taken the captain's loud remark as a sarcastic slam, but he was basically so far beyond that, it did not matter. I told the captain later that he needed to realize these "tourists" all are probably very capable at something somewhere else and to remember that. Acting all superior because someone does not know something YET, is so lame.

When I was in the Caymans I would every few moonths call staff meeting where I would "remind" the Instructors that the "stupid tourist" were no doubt very much not stupid, in fact given the cost of a Cayman vacation they most likely had to excel and be very smart at what they do... If we didn't have the meeting every now and then then the staff would start to treat the custuomers as stupid which made us be stupid...

 

[cerich]

Out of curiosity, what did you do when you saw the subject of your photo give you this signal?

I would question ANY divers skills and judgement if they saw this diver doing this and thought it meant they were thumbing the dive...

This argument is as bad as hearing some diver correct a 8 year old in wal mart that sees fins and calls them flippers!

 

[matts1w]

Acting all superior because someone does not know something YET, is so lame.

This is perhaps the best line I have ever read on Scubaboard. Thanks, Catherine.

 

[Adobo]

This argument is as bad as hearing some diver correct a 8 year old in wal mart that sees fins and calls them flippers!

What argument are you talking about?

 

[Adobo]

I took his photo, and knew he meant "thumbs up" and not "I'm surfacing" - Then I continued on my way.

Out of the thousands of pics that I've seen, I think this is the first one I've ever seen where the diver actually gives a thumbs up. I always wondered what would happen if somebody gave the thumbs up to say "all cool" as opposed to using the another gesture. First for everything.

 

[GreenDiverDown]

What argument are you talking about?

He means that anyone should know that the fella is driving a big invisible scooter! Geesh!