What Fundies did for us

[Lorenzoid]

Another awkward moment was when I reached back to check that my valve was on before entry. Seeing that, the guide said "It's okay, I turned your air on." I said, "thanks, but I have to check for myself and be sure I can reach the valve."

Oh, and wait until you see your guide's reaction when you do an S-Drill. "IS SOMETHING WRONG?!" Uh, no, it's just a drill we do. We dived with three different outfits on this Indo trip, and I got a little tired having to explain ourselves each time. And the time I shared a little air with my wife towards the beginning of a dive because she tends to use it faster than I do .... Oh well. I guess it's par for the course as a GUE diver.

In summary, I think to get the maximum benefit as a recreational diver, you just have to stick to your guns, and you sometimes have to put up with the eye rolling and foot tapping of others.

 

[Sloth]

Recreational GUE in the real world tips.

GUEEDGE should be a really quick review of the dive plan. It should never take more then a few minutes. If you find yourself taking to long or debating the details with the team get that worked out in the GUEPLAN before you even get close to the dive site. Also splitting it up can save some time.

For example, go over GUE and Environment on the boat ride out and then before you splash cover EDG, head to toes and long hose deployment. That should take no more then two to three minutes.

Its ok to let someone set up your gear, nothing anti-GUE about it. Obviously you would want to go over your gear when you get on the boat. This is a pet peeve with a lot of people which is fine. Personally, I have no qualms being a lazy tourist diver.

Try to think ahead on where and when you do your head to toes. Last thing you want to do is setup at the back of the boat and have people waddle around you while you go through your checks.

If you think the boat crew/DMs arent use to seeing divers practicing skills let them know what you are doing and at what part of the dive. Crew can and should be viewed as a part of the team.

 

[sea_otter]

Beto is amazing. I finished Fundies with him last weekend, and it wasn't until I did a fun dive yesterday that I really appreciated just how much I got out of it. The class itself was hard, sometimes disheartening, and I struggled a lot through the constant criticism and unforgiving eye of the GoPro. But afterwards, the drysuit felt like it was second nature. I could move forward and backwards in the swell with no challenges. Trim seemed to come naturally. Ran into Beto on the beach last night and gave him a big hug. I am so thankful for the experience.

 

[KenGordon]

My wife and I are relatively new GUE divers, too.

What's going to be interesting is whether after the course you and Emily continue to rigidly adhere to the GUE system, or whether you make some allowances for the real world, especially in places like Bali. My wife and I have so far been pretty dogmatic about our GUE training, but the recreational diving world doesn't always make that easy for us. In, say, the Florida Keys, our gear and the pre-dive checks we do don't raise an eyebrow. But we just returned from two weeks in Bali, and when we insisted on setting up our own gear and going through all the checks, the dive guides rolled their eyes and looked at us like we were risk-averse nerds from another planet. Sometimes it was virtually impossible to set up our own gear due to the way the gear was delivered to the boat and where it was placed on the boat (crammed together at the bow). The Balinese ladies who carry your rig on their heads down to the beach in Tulamben certainly don't know anything about dive gear, and one lifted my rig by grabbing the wing alone. I also don't think any of the dive guides had a clue about the long-hose configuration. "No weight belt, sir?!" "No, it's a balanced rig, and I can get by without one." And I loved this one: "Sir, I analyzed your tank this morning, and it's 32%." I secretly envied the other divers, many of whom rented their gear and dived in blissful ignorance of any "system."

I love the idea of having a consistent routine and diving in a consistent way no matter whether the dive is a challenging one or a lazy 20 foot coral reef dive. But in practice--for the recreational diver--it seems allowances need to be made.

I analysed every cylinder I dived on my recent trip, using my own analyser. I discovered one op which thought they were having problems with a membrane compressor actually were having problems with an analyser reading low.

Of course every agency tell divers to always analyse their gas.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I analysed every cylinder I dived on my recent trip, using my own analyser. I discovered one op which thought they were having problems with a membrane compressor actually were having problems with an analyser reading low.

Of course every agency tell divers to always analyse their gas.

I am afraid I don't see what point you are making. That you were able to use your own analyzer? It's great when one can use his own analyzer. However, it is not always practical to have one's own analyzer. In the Tulamben shore diving trip I was referring to, if I had I brought my own analyzer, then after analyzing I would have had to run back to my room at the resort to put the analyzer away and run back to the truck that was all too anxious to depart for the dive site. Just getting the flurry of truck-loading activity to stop for a moment so I could participate in analyzing a tank before someone hoisted it onto the truck and buried it under other tanks was difficult enough.

 

[KenGordon]

I am afraid I don't see what point you are making. That you were able to use your own analyzer? It's great when one can use his own analyzer. However, it is not always practical to have one's own analyzer. In the Tulamben shore diving trip I was referring to, if I had I brought my own analyzer, then after analyzing I would have had to run back to my room at the resort to put the analyzer away and run back to the truck that was all too anxious to depart for the dive site. Just getting the flurry of truck-loading activity to stop for a moment so I could participate in analyzing a tank before someone hoisted it onto the truck and buried it under other tanks was difficult enough.

First, that you cannot trust the op's analyser. I also met one in Egypt which reported 100 as 95ish. The Indonesian one reported 32 as 28 and a bit.

Second, that all agencies teach that you should analyse your own gas. This is not like being taught to back fin.

 

[Lorenzoid]

First, that you cannot trust the op's analyser. I also met one in Egypt which reported 100 as 95ish.

Second, that all agencies teach that you should analyse your own gas. This is not like being taught to back fin.

Well, okay. Certainly no argument there. In an ideal world, we all use our own analyzers and do everything exactly as we were taught by the agency.

 

[KenGordon]

Btw at Scuba Seraya the analysers worked (at least all the cylinders actually had 32% as claimed) and they give you a guide and boat to yourselves, so no trucks or rushing.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Btw at Scuba Seraya the analysers worked (at least all the cylinders actually had 32% as claimed) and they give you a guide and boat to yourselves, so no trucks or rushing.

Good info. I plan to post a complete trip report. We thought the much-lauded Liberty Dive Resort was great, but a few things could be improved. For what it's worth, we DID have a guide to ourselves (and outrigger boat on one occasion), but the truck takes us and the guide to the shore dive location, drops us off, and leaves. There's only one space at the resort for one truck to load at a time, so they seem to want you ready and gone without delay so the next diver's truck can do the same. Anyway, full report forthcoming in the Indonesia forum!

 

[patrickkwk]

But we just returned from two weeks in Bali, and when we insisted on setting up our own gear and going through all the checks, the dive guides rolled their eyes and looked at us like we were risk-averse nerds from another planet.

There's a GUE recognized dive center in Bali where I took my fundies last September.
http://livingseas.asia/

All DMs are fundies trained and I think they will be delighted if you want to run through GUE EDGE with them.