Wikipedia article on "Doing It Right"

[ucfdiver]

OK, I know this will be controversial.

The historical information about DIR is certainly valuable. The difficult thing will be explaining the current state of DIR. It has been debated within this forum without a clear consensus. There is obviously a difference of opinion within the larger DIR community.

I've heard JJ Casey & David in the same room discussing a variety of topics (gear procedure etc) and not one of them conflicted with the other. I've been cave diving with a GUE instructor from the other side of the globe and it took minutes to get on the same page regarding gear and procedures. Same with George Irvine, I saw minor if any differences between his current rig today and what I've been shown from everyone else. I don't see this as all that difficult at all, unless you hope to legitimize others who have stolen the term and manipulated it for financial gain.

 

[boulderjohn]

I've heard JJ Casey & David in the same room discussing a variety of topics (gear procedure etc) and not one of them conflicted with the other. I've been cave diving with a GUE instructor from the other side of the globe and it took minutes to get on the same page regarding gear and procedures. I don't see this as all that difficult at all, unless you hope to legitimize others who have stolen the term and manipulated it for financial gain.

The controversy is whether the larger DIR community includes UTD, not just GUE divers from other countries.

 

[ucfdiver]

The controversy is whether the larger DIR community includes UTD, not just GUE divers from other countries.

No, you shouldn't. Even UTD states that they have foundations in DIR, but it's clear that UTD is not DIR.
http://api.ning.com/files/BChhC8tJg...-GwDtGmZDO859EPR1ci/procedurespreviewv1_1.pdf

Although “DIR” has many tenants that are excellent and make a great foundation from which to build your diving skills, the extreme rigidity and lack of expandability beyond open-circuit back gas doubles
and deco/stage bottles became limiting. In 2008 Georgitsis and Jeff Seckendorf teamed up, and Unified Team Diving (UTD) was born.

UTD is a progressive training agency with roots in DIR....

 

[boulderjohn]

No, you shouldn't. Even UTD states that they have foundations in DIR, but it's clear that UTD is not DIR.
http://api.ning.com/files/BChhC8tJg...-GwDtGmZDO859EPR1ci/procedurespreviewv1_1.pdf

I hadn't seen that before. I was just told everything was DIR when I as with them.

If you had quoted more than you did, starting with the sentence after you stopped, you would see things are not so clear:

To that end, we continue to teach a very consistent “DIR” open
circuit program, from our Open Water and Recreational 1
basic certification classes, through more advanced recreational
diving, technical, trimix, cave, wreck, and rebreather.
Our open water students learn the same team procedures,
same emergency procedures, same gas planning and ascent
procedures as our Trimix students. This means there is a consistent
path to all training within the agency. There is no need
for students to replace gear, or learn new protocols as they
move though more advanced classes. Each class advances on
the previous, adding to the students’ experience as they move
to deeper and more complicated diving, such as overhead
cave and wreck environments.

UTD then pioneered the integration of other diving disciplines
into the “UTD/DIR approach,” including the MX
Series mCCR Rebreather, a fully closed circuit manual
rebreather, based on designs and disciplines learned, taught
and propagated by Andrew Georgitsis and other WKPP
members using pSCR rebreathers in exploration during the
late 1990’s and early 2000’s. This is a UTD/DIR compatible
configuration for a rebreather, allowing a mix of open circuit
and closed circuit divers to seamlessly function as a team –
gas planning, ascent strategy, and emergency procedures are
all similar.​

 

[PfcAJ]

I distinctly remember something from the good old fashioned "rules" of DIR. Something about don't dive a rebreather unless you need it. If one member of the team is on OC (and therefore doesn't need the RB to complete the dive), why is the second team member on the rebreather?

 

[nadwidny]

Halcyon sadly no longer makes the divers life raft. There are still a few kicking around but it never caught on. I have not been able to make it work in the storage pouch, but have tried it tucked into the inntertube on the side of a stage bottle no problem.

Add me to the list of those who couldn't get the life raft to fit in the backplate pouch (so I sold the raft on ebay). However I am not sorry to see its' demise as it was a good idea in theory, unwieldy in practicality.

 

[nadwidny]

I distinctly remember something from the good old fashioned "rules" of DIR. Something about don't dive a rebreather unless you need it. If one member of the team is on OC (and therefore doesn't need the RB to complete the dive), why is the second team member on the rebreather?

Because the OC team member isn't smart enough to realize that an RB is the best option for that dive??

 

[Tortuga68]

Why do you believe the DIR stance (policy?) would be to use the smallest SMB appropriate to the conditions, and how would you identify what size that would be?

Because the bigger a Surface Marker Buoy is, the harder it is to fill & the more lift it has, both of which have the potential to create problems rather than solve them. DIR being based on minimalist philosophies, you don't take things you don't need and bigger isn't necessarily better The primary purpose of an SMB, as the name inplies, is to enable it to be spotted at the surface - so the size of the SMB would be determined by surface conditions ie waves, possible distance from boat/shore etc. There's not much point packing a life raft if you're diving in a small lake

 

[jago]

I distinctly remember something from the good old fashioned "rules" of DIR. Something about don't dive a rebreather unless you need it. If one member of the team is on OC (and therefore doesn't need the RB to complete the dive), why is the second team member on the rebreather?

Some people can handle huge twins, on the ground and in the water, some not.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Some people can handle huge twins, on the ground and in the water, some not.

That's as may be ... but it doesn't really address the issues of dive planning in mixed teams. Issues of gas matching, deco schedules and emergency bailout are significantly different with mixed teams than they are when all teams are on the same type of gear ... and I'm not sure any of the potential solutions would fall within what is considered DIR protocols. For example, in the mixed-team dives I've done, each diver carries their own emergency bailout ... which rather violates the whole team resources concept. It works ... but it ain't DIR ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)