garyfotodiver:
Oddly enough, if I saw someone with a LP hose wrapped around his neck, I'd probably want to limit HIS dive profile.
As you should, if you are not familiar with either the diver or the configuration.
garyfotodiver:
Seriously though, if DIR diving is such a self-evident thing, why haven't the main-stream agencies picked up on it. They could market it to the masses, make everyone safe, and make lots of money for themselves.
For a number of reasons, not least of which is that a majority of divers really don't
want to take their diving to the level that DIR takes it. Really, the mainstream agencies are selling a product that the average consumer wants to buy. I've spent enough time in dive shops to know that they offer week-end "quickie" courses because there's a significant number of people who want to buy them. I've even tried convincing people that these course aren't a good idea, and that they'd be much safer taking a full-blown curriculum ... only to watch them go ahead and sign up for the quickie course anyway.
People don't want to buy "safe" ... they want to buy "easy". Those who sell "easy" are the ones who make lots of money. Those who hold themselves to higher standards, and insist on providing a quality education, are marketing to a minority segment of the available market. It's the consumer that's driving the standards down ... the agencies are just selling them what they want to buy.
There are those outside of GUE who refuse to teach quickie classes. There are those outside of GUE who insist on a higher standard than the RSTC minimums. There are many, like myself, who decided to teach independent of any dive shops, so we can set our own curriculum and teach to a higher standard. None that I know of who took this route expect to make lots of money. That's not the motivation.
Unless GUE lowers its standards (which I hope they don't) they will remain a small part of diving, because they are targeting a niche market ... the
serious diver. Which is not to say that all serious divers go this route ... but rather that the majority, who only want easy access to scuba, will not.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)