DIR- GUE Why are non-GUE divers so interested in what GUE does?

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I do not know the costs. I will have to search them. Sorry Im so ignorant. I am considering a cave class by a UTD instructor. If the output is significantly higher then I will pay for it. I do not know the overall standard of cave training to compare if it is fair to pay more.

When I took fundies, it was $800 with everything for 4 intense days of training. Full days. It was exhausting.
You could add up all the almost 20 con ed courses I've taken at far more total expense and time, and what I got out of those courses is nothing compared to fundies.

Fundies is very inexpensive when you factor in actual value.

 

[lostsheep]

Has this occurred in recent time? I know all the tech divers of that club and the older members who joined from the club's inception, which probably dates back to those "dark times." Haven't seen anyone lecture other divers or even attemtp to sway them toward GUE training. You might have that evangelical recent Fundamentals student, but the long time members just want to dive. Some that train through GUE and join our club, but I don't think a large portion does.

The club organizes boat trips for its members according to the dive profile (deco/no deco). I don't know of any strategy beyond this. People network with each other to train and dive. I never witnessed the "dark time," but I hope the days of the Global Underwater Evangelists have faded into history.

If you want to know specifics, feel free to DM me.

 

[rddvet]

GUE's cost for fundies is intentionally limited. Instructors aren't supposed to charge more than a set amount as an incentive to get people into the class.

 

[Esprise Me]

I have a high-quality pair of suede boots in my closet that cost ten times what I usually spend on shoes. I bought them when I was living in Boston, to replace a cheap pair I'd bought in southern California that weren't keeping my feet warm. The expensive boots are comfortable and have held up well over many years. But unfortunately, now that I've moved back to SoCal, they don't get much use. And if I were to move to, say, Portland, I don't imagine I'd wear them much because rain and suede don't mix. They were perfect for New England's dry, chilly autumn days, and for cold winter city sidewalks that had already been shoveled, but they're too much and also not enough for the weather on the west coast.

That's a bit how I feel about GUE training at times. If you just want to go a little deeper than you can snorkel on a tropical reef, you might get everything you need from the training equivalent of a pair of flip-flops. And if you want to brave surf entries, or learn self-sufficiency so you can focus on hunting/photography/doing your own thing without worrying about a buddy, or if you want to dive a particular wreck in the 100-130 foot range without selling a kidney to fill your tank, you may find that the training equivalent of a pair of rubber boots does the job you need cheaper *and* better. I guess it's a good thing my suede boots can't talk, because in some ways they really are better-quality shoes than the ones I'm wearing. And yet...

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I have a high-quality pair of suede boots in my closet that cost ten times what I usually spend on shoes. I bought them when I was living in Boston, to replace a cheap pair I'd bought in southern California that weren't keeping my feet warm. The expensive boots are comfortable and have held up well over many years. But unfortunately, now that I've moved back to SoCal, they don't get much use. And if I were to move to, say, Portland, I don't imagine I'd wear them much because rain and suede don't mix. They were perfect for New England's dry, chilly autumn days, and for cold winter city sidewalks that had already been shoveled, but they're too much and also not enough for the weather on the west coast.

That's a bit how I feel about GUE training at times. If you just want to go a little deeper than you can snorkel on a tropical reef, you might get everything you need from the training equivalent of a pair of flip-flops. And if you want to brave surf entries, or learn self-sufficiency so you can focus on hunting/photography/doing your own thing without worrying about a buddy, or if you want to dive a particular wreck in the 100-130 foot range without selling a kidney to fill your tank, you may find that the training equivalent of a pair of rubber boots does the job you need cheaper *and* better. I guess it's a good thing my suede boots can't talk, because in some ways they really are better-quality shoes than the ones I'm wearing. And yet...

 

[beester]

Still better to have both the nice and warm suede shoes next to the flip flops and wellies ;-) than to be limited by the flip flops in New England weather ;-)

Totally OP but ... very strange for me actually. I'm currently living in Italy working from home, so my normal attire from about mid may till end of september is shorts, t-shirt and flipflops (if I'm obviously not hiking in the mountains). This week I had to go to the office (located in Paris, FR) for the first time... and my feet are actually no longer used to wearing "office style" shoes... and wearing a nice shirt... well it's an adjustment ;-)

But coming back to the diving... I wouldn't consider a fundies course (or it's equivalent) as a very specialized course but really like a baseline that's useful in all diving. The more specialised stuff for sure is more like those suede shoes, but even then many GUE divers will adapt to the circumstances at hand.

 

[Matan]

I don't know if you read the whole thread, but later in the thread it is asked why, if you're interested in these facets of the GUE system (or UTD, I suppose), have you not taken GUE's Fundies (or UTD's Essentials) course? Several people mentioned the cost of the course as a reason. I think I also recall someone saying something along the lines of that, while they appreciate learning these various facets or pieces of the system, the idea of conforming to the system as a whole turns them off. You?

In reality it seems that most people are turned off by paying money to someone who tells them the truth - it's easier ( not cheaper ) to just buy a rebreather.

All GUE trained divers I have met always claimed the best training they have took was their GUE classes.
all non-GUE divers I have met always claimed GUE training it too expensive/don't want to pay and not get a card.

A real spectacle are a bunch of divers claiming they don't need GUE training or any training for that manner and just treat dive classes as "pay money get a card" and let experience and Darwin do the rest - sadly some of these divers survive long enough to spread this nonsense. Some of them end up as pretty good divers - as long as nothing goes wrong under water


Matan.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

A real spectacle are a bunch of divers claiming they don't need GUE training or any training for that manner and just treat dive classes as "pay money get a card" and let experience and Darwin do the rest - sadly some of these divers survive long enough to spread this nonsense. Some of them end up as pretty good divers - as long as nothing goes wrong under water

Some of them wind up as instructors. <shudder>

 

[boulderjohn]

A real spectacle are a bunch of divers claiming they don't need GUE training or any training for that manner and just treat dive classes as "pay money get a card" and let experience and Darwin do the rest - sadly some of these divers survive long enough to spread this nonsense. Some of them end up as pretty good divers - as long as nothing goes wrong under water


Matan.

Some of them wind up as instructors. <shudder>

So I am curious to know how people who say you don't need any training and just get experience wind up as instructors. Is there an agency that certifies instructors who don't take any training for it?

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

So I am curious to know how people who say you don't need any training and just get experience wind up as instructors. Is there an agency that certifies instructors who don't take any training for it?

Reread to what I was responding to please.