When did you go DIR
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clgsamson
Koya Kap
and literally "out of the line". Hit the q-reply button.ishbaby:i hope ur wife doesn't sneak-in in sb pinkhammerhead and see that avatar of urssss!
ok im off topic here
Archangel
...
Hmmmm. . ..
I took what Apollo wrote as tongue-and-cheek lighthearted guffawing.
I am certain that is how it was meant. Please Apollo correct me if I am wrong,
Tevis
I took what Apollo wrote as tongue-and-cheek lighthearted guffawing.
I am certain that is how it was meant. Please Apollo correct me if I am wrong,
Tevis
RikRaeder:
DIR-Atlanta
Contributor
For those who are curious, the habit of wearing the SCUBA mask backwards on the head comes from cave diving.
In cave diving, it is common to take a few minutes of "surface deco" after a dive. This is a short period of time spent resting at the surface, prior to climbing out of the water with all your gear (which can be a real challenge at some remote sites!). Frequently, the divers would spend this time reviewing the dive they had just completed, perhaps critiquing each other or discussing impressions (either good or bad) about the dive.
Cave divers typically don't have to worry about waves crashing over their heads, so they got in the habit of putting their masks on "backwards" while they were talking to each other. This placement keeps the mask relatively secure while leaving the hands unencumbered, making it easier to gesture or refer to their notes from the dive. And of course, it doesn't interfere with the necklaced backup reg.
Given the origins of GUE and the DIR movement, it's no surprise to me that this practice is being carried over into other forms of diving.
Personally, I agree with headhunter about putting the mask on the face prior to the start of the dive, and leaving it on during the entire time you are in the water. When I am boat diving, my mask typically goes from the rinse bucket directly onto my face, and then from my face right back into the bucket after the dive is over.
I have seen plenty of people lose a mask at the surface because they took it off and accidentally dropped it, and I have also seen the occasional person knocked off the swim platform or ladder by a large swell while entering or exiting the water. If the mask is securely on the face, then it is much less likely to be lost in those situations.
So no MOF for me, and I usually reserve MOBH for cave diving only.
In cave diving, it is common to take a few minutes of "surface deco" after a dive. This is a short period of time spent resting at the surface, prior to climbing out of the water with all your gear (which can be a real challenge at some remote sites!). Frequently, the divers would spend this time reviewing the dive they had just completed, perhaps critiquing each other or discussing impressions (either good or bad) about the dive.
Cave divers typically don't have to worry about waves crashing over their heads, so they got in the habit of putting their masks on "backwards" while they were talking to each other. This placement keeps the mask relatively secure while leaving the hands unencumbered, making it easier to gesture or refer to their notes from the dive. And of course, it doesn't interfere with the necklaced backup reg.
Given the origins of GUE and the DIR movement, it's no surprise to me that this practice is being carried over into other forms of diving.
Personally, I agree with headhunter about putting the mask on the face prior to the start of the dive, and leaving it on during the entire time you are in the water. When I am boat diving, my mask typically goes from the rinse bucket directly onto my face, and then from my face right back into the bucket after the dive is over.
I have seen plenty of people lose a mask at the surface because they took it off and accidentally dropped it, and I have also seen the occasional person knocked off the swim platform or ladder by a large swell while entering or exiting the water. If the mask is securely on the face, then it is much less likely to be lost in those situations.
So no MOF for me, and I usually reserve MOBH for cave diving only.
Praetor:
Preator: Catherine is a SCUBABOARD favorite. I was giving her a bit of a raz. She would be welcome with any dive group with her 1000+ dives and great attitude.
Randy43068
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your expectations are too high!jeckyll:I think it's sad commentary that a DIR thread degraded to a MOF thread. I expected better from you folks
Randy43068
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Apollo, you are a troublemaker. :11doh:mdb:
But It's pretty funny.....
DIR-Atlanta
Contributor
OK, since I helped reduced the S/N ratio for this thread by posting a MOF message, I thought I would try to help steer it back to its original topic.
My first exposure to DIR (called "Hogarthian" back then) occurred when I took my Cavern/Intro and Cave training in 1994-1995. Unbeknowst to me at the time, both of my instructors for the two courses were active WKPP divers. I didn't really seek them out specifically because of that - in fact, I did not really know much at all back then about cave exploration or the WKPP. It was pretty much just blind, dumb luck (?) that I got them as instructors. They obviously taught me Hogarthian/DIR from the very beginning, and I never really got much exposure to any other style of diving during my cave training.
During this time I was also actively diving the N Florida Springs, and saw many divers with their gear configs, some very different from what I had been taught. I went through a period of time where I tried different things that I had seen other divers using, but always came back to the elegant simplicity of DIR, both in terms of the gear and its emphasis on teamwork. By about 1996 or so, I was using a DIR gear config exclusively for cave diving, as were most of my cave diving buddies.
I have continued to make changes over the years as different refinements and developments have been made on gear or procedures (replacing brass clips with SS, spring straps on fins, an HID light, etc), and I actually took a DIR-F course a few years ago to see what that was all about (well worth the investment, IMO). All of this simply served to reinforce what I had been taught and they way I had been doing things for many years in my cave diving.
On the OW side however, my transition was not as quick, and for a long time I bought into the (mistaken) notion that different gear was better suited for OW diving. Somewhere around 1998-1999 I began to realize that it did not make sense to have two different gear configs for two different environments, so I started switching my OW gear to DIR as well. The first change was the use of a 7 foot hose in OW, and I added other changes gradually over the next few years as I replaced worn-out pieces of equipment with new. I'm pretty much using a DIR config for all my diving now.
One thing to realize from this is that not everyone turns on DIR "like a light", not even the most die-hard DIR proponent. Sometimes it takes a little longer as adjustments are made gradually - certainly that was the case for me personally. That's especially important to understand as you talk to other divers about DIR. DIR divers have a bit of an image problem in the dive community right now (some of which is our fault, some of which is not), so I think it behooves us all to present a positive explanation of DIR to people who may not understand the benefits of the system. As we say in the South - "you catch a lot more flies with honey than you do with vinegar". I think that advice definitely applies here.
My first exposure to DIR (called "Hogarthian" back then) occurred when I took my Cavern/Intro and Cave training in 1994-1995. Unbeknowst to me at the time, both of my instructors for the two courses were active WKPP divers. I didn't really seek them out specifically because of that - in fact, I did not really know much at all back then about cave exploration or the WKPP. It was pretty much just blind, dumb luck (?) that I got them as instructors. They obviously taught me Hogarthian/DIR from the very beginning, and I never really got much exposure to any other style of diving during my cave training.
During this time I was also actively diving the N Florida Springs, and saw many divers with their gear configs, some very different from what I had been taught. I went through a period of time where I tried different things that I had seen other divers using, but always came back to the elegant simplicity of DIR, both in terms of the gear and its emphasis on teamwork. By about 1996 or so, I was using a DIR gear config exclusively for cave diving, as were most of my cave diving buddies.
I have continued to make changes over the years as different refinements and developments have been made on gear or procedures (replacing brass clips with SS, spring straps on fins, an HID light, etc), and I actually took a DIR-F course a few years ago to see what that was all about (well worth the investment, IMO). All of this simply served to reinforce what I had been taught and they way I had been doing things for many years in my cave diving.
On the OW side however, my transition was not as quick, and for a long time I bought into the (mistaken) notion that different gear was better suited for OW diving. Somewhere around 1998-1999 I began to realize that it did not make sense to have two different gear configs for two different environments, so I started switching my OW gear to DIR as well. The first change was the use of a 7 foot hose in OW, and I added other changes gradually over the next few years as I replaced worn-out pieces of equipment with new. I'm pretty much using a DIR config for all my diving now.
One thing to realize from this is that not everyone turns on DIR "like a light", not even the most die-hard DIR proponent. Sometimes it takes a little longer as adjustments are made gradually - certainly that was the case for me personally. That's especially important to understand as you talk to other divers about DIR. DIR divers have a bit of an image problem in the dive community right now (some of which is our fault, some of which is not), so I think it behooves us all to present a positive explanation of DIR to people who may not understand the benefits of the system. As we say in the South - "you catch a lot more flies with honey than you do with vinegar". I think that advice definitely applies here.
Randy43068
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Great post DIR-Atlanta! Thanks.
I'm as DIR as I can afford to be at the moment. I'd love to have a drysuit, twinset (gotta love the English) and more training. But at the moment I’ll have to settle for a single tank, and wetsuit. However, I do have a Pioneer wing with Halcyon SS backplate, long hose. I don’t have a canister light yet, but working on it. I’ll probably end up with a DIY canister light this summer.
Diving was getting so difficult for me and I got to the point where I was ready to quit diving because it was too much work to move through the water, and knew somehow there was a better way to dive. If not, diving wasn’t for me.
I switched from a back inflate Dacor RIGII to the Pioneer BP/W. Man-O-Man, diving is easier now that I don’t have all of that drag from the cummerbund, chest strap and all of the other hoopty stuff I had hanging off of me.
I also felt a little cheated when I took my PADI advanced training. It was self study of the book. (selected chapters for the specialties) then we did a few “follow me” dives. Not much to get excited about.
Taking the GUE fundies class last year was a real eye opener for me. It was the first time I felt that I really learned something about diving. Finally I learned HOW to calculate how much air I can use and be able to get back to the boat with 500 PSI. The HOW of doing that was missing from mo other training. In fact figuring turn pressure and rock bottom isn’t even in the PADI Encyclopedia of Diving, sad to say.
The DIR philosophy makes sense to me. It makes sense for open water diving as well as technical diving, and I really believe that if divers could get past the emotional (for lack of a better word) issue they'd like it, too.
The Pillars: (not sure if they’re in the correct order)
Correct gas for the dive
Unified team concept (not just a dive buddy)
Situational awareness
Diver preparedness (training)
These things were drilled into us during the DIR Fundamentals class. (So was no mask diving, but that’s another story)
As we know, DIR is not just about diving a HOG rig, it’s a really cool diving concept or philosophy.
One thing we in the Midwest are really lucky to have are two great GUE instructors. Brando and Scot. Both are not only top notch divers, who have probably forgotten more about diving than I’ll ever know, they teach in a very non threatening manner and have more patience than I can imagine. I really cannot say enough good things about either one of them. We’re really lucky to have these guys so close at hand.
The DIR people I know are really good people. Friendly, helpful, and really care about the environment, and the diving industry.
Like any group situation, you can find people who aren’t as nice. You’ll find those kinds of people trained by all agencies, sad to say.
I'm as DIR as I can afford to be at the moment. I'd love to have a drysuit, twinset (gotta love the English) and more training. But at the moment I’ll have to settle for a single tank, and wetsuit. However, I do have a Pioneer wing with Halcyon SS backplate, long hose. I don’t have a canister light yet, but working on it. I’ll probably end up with a DIY canister light this summer.
Diving was getting so difficult for me and I got to the point where I was ready to quit diving because it was too much work to move through the water, and knew somehow there was a better way to dive. If not, diving wasn’t for me.
I switched from a back inflate Dacor RIGII to the Pioneer BP/W. Man-O-Man, diving is easier now that I don’t have all of that drag from the cummerbund, chest strap and all of the other hoopty stuff I had hanging off of me.
I also felt a little cheated when I took my PADI advanced training. It was self study of the book. (selected chapters for the specialties) then we did a few “follow me” dives. Not much to get excited about.
Taking the GUE fundies class last year was a real eye opener for me. It was the first time I felt that I really learned something about diving. Finally I learned HOW to calculate how much air I can use and be able to get back to the boat with 500 PSI. The HOW of doing that was missing from mo other training. In fact figuring turn pressure and rock bottom isn’t even in the PADI Encyclopedia of Diving, sad to say.
The DIR philosophy makes sense to me. It makes sense for open water diving as well as technical diving, and I really believe that if divers could get past the emotional (for lack of a better word) issue they'd like it, too.
The Pillars: (not sure if they’re in the correct order)
Correct gas for the dive
Unified team concept (not just a dive buddy)
Situational awareness
Diver preparedness (training)
These things were drilled into us during the DIR Fundamentals class. (So was no mask diving, but that’s another story)
As we know, DIR is not just about diving a HOG rig, it’s a really cool diving concept or philosophy.
One thing we in the Midwest are really lucky to have are two great GUE instructors. Brando and Scot. Both are not only top notch divers, who have probably forgotten more about diving than I’ll ever know, they teach in a very non threatening manner and have more patience than I can imagine. I really cannot say enough good things about either one of them. We’re really lucky to have these guys so close at hand.
The DIR people I know are really good people. Friendly, helpful, and really care about the environment, and the diving industry.
Like any group situation, you can find people who aren’t as nice. You’ll find those kinds of people trained by all agencies, sad to say.
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Well, seein's how DIR is an "all or nothing" sort of thing ... I haven't gone DIR yet.Jorbar1551:
My first exposure to DIR came fairly early on ... a few months after I started diving ... when I met Terkel Sorenson. He was the first real DIR diver I knew. He and his buddies from 5th D did a Friday night dive'n'pizza ... not sure which appealed to me more, actually. So I started showing up and diving with all these crazy dudes in double 104's and long hoses. Kinda liked what I saw and started trying to emulate it ... even with my TUSA reg and BCD and my Apollo biofins. Actually, I did make some progress.
Equipment transformation was slow ... got my first (non-DIR) backplate at about 400 dives. Traded in the Biofins for Turtles at about 650 dives. Converted to a long hose at about 800.
Along the way, I met Uncle Pug ... that's when the real transformation started taking place. Had more to do with the mental approach to diving than the gear. Learned what it meant to be a dive buddy ... rather than just somebody that happened to be in the same general location in the water at roughly the same time. Started taking a more serious view of dive planning and profiles. Learned that buoyancy control means not having to kick to stay in one place.
At about 900 dives I took DIR-F ... THAT was a real eye-opener. Found out I wasn't half as squared away as I thought I was. Found out that buoyancy control is way harder when you're task-loaded ... especially when you put a third buddy in the mix. Some will remember my reaction to the class ... I posted about it, and it wasn't pretty.
Took the class again about 300 dives later ... realized I had made some improvements, but still had a ways to go to get where I wanted to be. I'm still working on that.
And I'm still not DIR ... who knows, I may never be ... I'm content with my progress, and to be honest, not particularly interested in labels ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
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