An object lesson in what training is good for

LCF · February 4th, 2006, 02:21 AM

My husband and I just got home from a week's vacation in Maui, during which we, of course, did a good deal of diving.

One of the days, we met up with an internet acquaintance, one of the few (perhaps the only?) GUE trained divers on Maui. I drove up to Lahaina early in the morning to get the first dive in with him, and my husband and our friends followed later in the day.

Now, realize I have never actually MET this man, and I have certainly never dived with him. I have never dived this site before, either.

But this, and the dive following, were perhaps the two best dives of my trip. From the moment we began gearing up, we were on the same wavelength. Procedures and protocols were familiar to both of us, all our signals were clear, our dive planning and communication about it was clear. The dive itself was a joy -- shoulder to shoulder, about four feet apart, gently drifting through a really interesting dive site loaded with marine life. At one point, we disturbed a white tipped reef shark who was napping in the sand, and instead of swimming off in a huff, he circled us for several minutes. The two of us just hung in the water and did little helicopter turns to keep sight of him. It was truly great fun.

Following this, we drove to the second dive site to await the others, and while we were waiting, got in the water and burned the rest of the air in the first set of tanks doing S-drills and practicing shooting a bag. We came out of the water grinning like idiots.

I was just incredibly impressed with the fact that the training each of us had had, although we got it in different places and from different people, allowed us to come together and dive as a team in a way I would expect it would normally take a number of dives to achieve.

blackfin · February 4th, 2006, 03:36 AM

LCF - You just gave the rest of us another great example of why we have adopted the DIR philosophy of diving and how it works in the real world.

Thanks,

Joe V.

limeyx · February 5th, 2006, 02:11 AM

Quote: (Originally Posted by LCF)

My husband and I just got home from a week's vacation in Maui, during which we, of course, did a good deal of diving.

One of the days, we met up with an internet acquaintance, one of the few (perhaps the only?) GUE trained divers on Maui. I drove up to Lahaina early in the morning to get the first dive in with him, and my husband and our friends followed later in the day.
...

His name wouldn't happen to be "Tim" by any chance would it?

Ben_Ca · February 5th, 2006, 03:17 AM

Isn't it nice when there's standardization... It's also nice when there's no DIR bashers to give you a hard time...( Scubaboard) There are a ton of people who "don't get it" and just want to give you a hard time and argue. Then you just dive with them and then they go..."How did you do that?"

LCF · February 5th, 2006, 07:42 AM

As far as bashing goes . . . why do you think I posted this here?

And yes, the man I was diving with was Tim. We had such a good time together.

Another thing I really enjoyed . . . we went on to dive with my husband and two of our friends, both of whom are relatively novice divers. One of them said to me, "I don't know how you do it . . . You two are so ELEGANT in the water. It looks like you hardly move at all." Since that was my reaction to my mentor, who was the person who guided me into DIR, I was thrilled with the compliment.

Ben_Ca · February 5th, 2006, 09:32 AM

Did you get any of the funny "Long hose" looks and questions?

"Why don't you stuff that thing?"

"Where's your octopus?"

"Where's your snorkel?"

I was in Maui last Aug and did not get a chance to dive with Tim.. I did get to dive with a bunch of Nor Cal friends who just happened to be there that same week. Great diving

Mark Chase · February 5th, 2006, 01:27 PM

This outlines my primary attraction to DIR. Its nice to imagine with the rapid growth in DIR that it will be possible to find such buddies where ever you go.

Ill be diving in Cuba in a couple of weeks and It's likely Ill have to suffer the usual, Oh your experienced, please can you look after this bloke

I used to turn up an flash my highest qualification card hoping to get put in with the better divers and perhaps do a little bit bigger dive. I have learned my lesson and now offer over my PADI AOW card and tell them I have about 60 dives and hopefully they leave me alone.

Mind you a cautionary tail. I went to Minorca once and went on a dive. I handed in my TDI Trimix certification card but they wouldn't accept it because it didn't have my photo on it :D I had to do a pool test before they would let me out to do a 25m single tank dive.

ATB

Mark Chase

SeaJay · February 5th, 2006, 06:22 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by Mark Chase)

I used to turn up an flash my highest qualification card hoping to get put in with the better divers and perhaps do a little bit bigger dive. I have learned my lesson and now offer over my PADI AOW card and tell them I have about 60 dives and hopefully they leave me alone.

This is the only reason I finished my PADI Divemaster quals. They still ask questions when they see my gear setup, though. It's all about gear to them.

...But having a DM qualification, their questions have stopped being offensive remarks, and started being genuine curiosity. I've had to change my attitude from, "Whatever - you dive your way, I'll dive mine," to, "Well, it's a little different approach that's borne of reducing the difference between recreational and technical diving." That sort of short explanation makes sense to the diver that's never seen the DIR philosophy at work, and tends to remove the stigma of DIR being so wildly different. In fact, when they hear the magical words, "technical diving," their curiosity is piqued and they stop making fun in a heartbeat. If I still get offensive remarks, I ask them if they remember the first few pages of the PADI AOW manual, where there is a reference to "this sort of system" as an alternative for "more advanced diving." (I think it's page eight, if I remember correctly - there's a guy in a poodle jacket wearing a long hose and a bungeed backup.) That typically shuts them up quick, as their comments have proven that either they didn't properly read the AOW manual, or haven't taken the class yet. Of course, I then have to explain that the system is equally effective for ALL "kinds" of diving, and that "diving the same rig - or the same configured rig - allows me to always have the same response to situations underwater."

I believe I've come to understand what's really going on in the mind of the non-DIR diver when they make those derrogatory comments... They've just spent a load of time and money on learning how to dive and dropping a couple grand on poodle jackets and split fins, and the fact that you're diving something different, in a different way, sheds light on the fact that their education and gear purchases may not have been the best. This is offensive to people, and they can get really uncomfortable pretty quickly. Your shine and black is a THREAT to them... And to deal with that, they want to do everything they can to convince themselves that YOU are "wrong," not them.

...Which is okay - it's not your issue, so you don't have the ability to do anything about it. You didn't foster the issue, and it's not your issue to resolve. "Proving" to them doesn't help matters - it only makes them more uncomfortable as they come to the conclusion that your gear is shinier and cooler - which, as we know, has next to nothing to do with the DIR philosophy anyway.

...So when someone says something to you like, "Why don't you stuff that hose," tell them that's a great question and tell them that you once had that question too. Tell them that you'd love to talk about it after the dive, and leave it at that - tell them that you'd like to focus on your mental preparation for the dive, and that you'd love to discuss it later. I've found that rarely does the question come up again, especially after they see the system work in the water.

If it does come up, though (usually with a different attitude), be genuine in your answer - tell them that the long hose is for THEIR safety, and allows them to "have a little room" in case of an OOA. It also allows them to swim in a single file during a donation - which may be necessary, depending on what they're diving. I've never had them ask me about "stuffing" after they see the system work during the dive.

Personally, I've found all of these things to be less and less of an issue in my diving, though - firstly, I don't generally dive on "other peoples'" dives anymore - I either dive my own boats or my own charters, and/or I bring my own dive buddy - one that's been properly trained.

...But don't let their questions or comments get your panties in a wad - it's got nothing to do with you. Imagine you're on your first couple of dives and finally getting to go out on a boat or go to the dive site and realizing that with all of the time, effort and money... You're not the shiniest penny on the bottom of the pool. Know what I mean? All the DIR diver can do is smile and welcome their curiosity, even though it's come across with less-than-adept people skills. After all, you do represent the DIR community, and often are the ONLY representative of DIR - or GUE - to them. Remain corduial and polite and you'll be surprised at how quickly their insults become genuine curiosity... And you can gain many a great dive buddy from those that are genuinely curious as to how they can improve their diving.

LCF · February 5th, 2006, 06:43 PM

This trip, I got very few comments -- one from the boat captain saying, "You've got more clips and hardware on that rig than I've ever seen!" The boat crew in Australia kept telling me I was going to strangle myself on that long hose. They asked me if I dove wrecks, because "Wreck divers use those long hoses, don't they?"

I have yet to have anybody ask any questions about my gear, why it's different or why I use it, which is a shame, because I'd love to talk about it. I am enjoying watching the newly certified friend who was in Maui with us compare the DIR divers she dove with with the divers on the charter boats, and start making up her own mind about how SHE wants to dive.

Ben_Ca · February 5th, 2006, 07:01 PM

Hey Sea Jay,
Nice seeing you online again... I still refer people interested in DIR to your Fundies report... Lyn's transition is also good reading.

I often just PM people who are interested and tehn go dive with them... let them decide if DIR is for them or not.

Safe Diving all,

Ben

February 4th, 2006, 02:21 AM	#1 (permalink)
LCF(Offline) New Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Seattle Posts: 625	An object lesson in what training is good for My husband and I just got home from a week's vacation in Maui, during which we, of course, did a good deal of diving. One of the days, we met up with an internet acquaintance, one of the few (perhaps the only?) GUE trained divers on Maui. I drove up to Lahaina early in the morning to get the first dive in with him, and my husband and our friends followed later in the day. Now, realize I have never actually MET this man, and I have certainly never dived with him. I have never dived this site before, either. But this, and the dive following, were perhaps the two best dives of my trip. From the moment we began gearing up, we were on the same wavelength. Procedures and protocols were familiar to both of us, all our signals were clear, our dive planning and communication about it was clear. The dive itself was a joy -- shoulder to shoulder, about four feet apart, gently drifting through a really interesting dive site loaded with marine life. At one point, we disturbed a white tipped reef shark who was napping in the sand, and instead of swimming off in a huff, he circled us for several minutes. The two of us just hung in the water and did little helicopter turns to keep sight of him. It was truly great fun. Following this, we drove to the second dive site to await the others, and while we were waiting, got in the water and burned the rest of the air in the first set of tanks doing S-drills and practicing shooting a bag. We came out of the water grinning like idiots. I was just incredibly impressed with the fact that the training each of us had had, although we got it in different places and from different people, allowed us to come together and dive as a team in a way I would expect it would normally take a number of dives to achieve.

February 4th, 2006, 03:36 AM	#2 (permalink)
blackfin(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Rochester MN Posts: 16	Great Example LCF - You just gave the rest of us another great example of why we have adopted the DIR philosophy of diving and how it works in the real world. Thanks, Joe V.

February 5th, 2006, 03:17 AM	#4 (permalink)
Ben_Ca(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: SF Bay, CA USA Posts: 50	Isn't it nice when there's standardization... It's also nice when there's no DIR bashers to give you a hard time...( Scubaboard) There are a ton of people who "don't get it" and just want to give you a hard time and argue. Then you just dive with them and then they go..."How did you do that?" Last edited by Ben_Ca; February 5th, 2006 at 03:17 AM. Reason: cannot spell :)

February 5th, 2006, 07:42 AM	#5 (permalink)
LCF(Offline) New Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Seattle Posts: 625	As far as bashing goes . . . why do you think I posted this here? And yes, the man I was diving with was Tim. We had such a good time together. Another thing I really enjoyed . . . we went on to dive with my husband and two of our friends, both of whom are relatively novice divers. One of them said to me, "I don't know how you do it . . . You two are so ELEGANT in the water. It looks like you hardly move at all." Since that was my reaction to my mentor, who was the person who guided me into DIR, I was thrilled with the compliment. Last edited by LCF; February 5th, 2006 at 07:44 AM.

February 5th, 2006, 01:27 PM	#7 (permalink)
Mark Chase(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Kent England Posts: 905	This outlines my primary attraction to DIR. Its nice to imagine with the rapid growth in DIR that it will be possible to find such buddies where ever you go. Ill be diving in Cuba in a couple of weeks and It's likely Ill have to suffer the usual, Oh your experienced, please can you look after this bloke I used to turn up an flash my highest qualification card hoping to get put in with the better divers and perhaps do a little bit bigger dive. I have learned my lesson and now offer over my PADI AOW card and tell them I have about 60 dives and hopefully they leave me alone. Mind you a cautionary tail. I went to Minorca once and went on a dive. I handed in my TDI Trimix certification card but they wouldn't accept it because it didn't have my photo on it :D I had to do a pool test before they would let me out to do a 25m single tank dive. ATB Mark Chase __________________ The only DIR Inspiration diver in the village

February 5th, 2006, 02:11 AM	#3 (permalink)
limeyx (Online) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 714	Quote: (Originally Posted by LCF) My husband and I just got home from a week's vacation in Maui, during which we, of course, did a good deal of diving. One of the days, we met up with an internet acquaintance, one of the few (perhaps the only?) GUE trained divers on Maui. I drove up to Lahaina early in the morning to get the first dive in with him, and my husband and our friends followed later in the day. ... His name wouldn't happen to be "Tim" by any chance would it?

February 5th, 2006, 09:32 AM	#6 (permalink)
Ben_Ca(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: SF Bay, CA USA Posts: 50	Did you get any of the funny "Long hose" looks and questions? "Why don't you stuff that thing?" "Where's your octopus?" "Where's your snorkel?" I was in Maui last Aug and did not get a chance to dive with Tim.. I did get to dive with a bunch of Nor Cal friends who just happened to be there that same week. Great diving

February 5th, 2006, 06:22 PM	#8 (permalink)
SeaJay(Offline) New Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Beaufort, SC, USA Posts: 162	Quote: (Originally Posted by Mark Chase) I used to turn up an flash my highest qualification card hoping to get put in with the better divers and perhaps do a little bit bigger dive. I have learned my lesson and now offer over my PADI AOW card and tell them I have about 60 dives and hopefully they leave me alone. This is the only reason I finished my PADI Divemaster quals. They still ask questions when they see my gear setup, though. It's all about gear to them. ...But having a DM qualification, their questions have stopped being offensive remarks, and started being genuine curiosity. I've had to change my attitude from, "Whatever - you dive your way, I'll dive mine," to, "Well, it's a little different approach that's borne of reducing the difference between recreational and technical diving." That sort of short explanation makes sense to the diver that's never seen the DIR philosophy at work, and tends to remove the stigma of DIR being so wildly different. In fact, when they hear the magical words, "technical diving," their curiosity is piqued and they stop making fun in a heartbeat. If I still get offensive remarks, I ask them if they remember the first few pages of the PADI AOW manual, where there is a reference to "this sort of system" as an alternative for "more advanced diving." (I think it's page eight, if I remember correctly - there's a guy in a poodle jacket wearing a long hose and a bungeed backup.) That typically shuts them up quick, as their comments have proven that either they didn't properly read the AOW manual, or haven't taken the class yet. Of course, I then have to explain that the system is equally effective for ALL "kinds" of diving, and that "diving the same rig - or the same configured rig - allows me to always have the same response to situations underwater." I believe I've come to understand what's really going on in the mind of the non-DIR diver when they make those derrogatory comments... They've just spent a load of time and money on learning how to dive and dropping a couple grand on poodle jackets and split fins, and the fact that you're diving something different, in a different way, sheds light on the fact that their education and gear purchases may not have been the best. This is offensive to people, and they can get really uncomfortable pretty quickly. Your shine and black is a THREAT to them... And to deal with that, they want to do everything they can to convince themselves that YOU are "wrong," not them. ...Which is okay - it's not your issue, so you don't have the ability to do anything about it. You didn't foster the issue, and it's not your issue to resolve. "Proving" to them doesn't help matters - it only makes them more uncomfortable as they come to the conclusion that your gear is shinier and cooler - which, as we know, has next to nothing to do with the DIR philosophy anyway. ...So when someone says something to you like, "Why don't you stuff that hose," tell them that's a great question and tell them that you once had that question too. Tell them that you'd love to talk about it after the dive, and leave it at that - tell them that you'd like to focus on your mental preparation for the dive, and that you'd love to discuss it later. I've found that rarely does the question come up again, especially after they see the system work in the water. If it does come up, though (usually with a different attitude), be genuine in your answer - tell them that the long hose is for THEIR safety, and allows them to "have a little room" in case of an OOA. It also allows them to swim in a single file during a donation - which may be necessary, depending on what they're diving. I've never had them ask me about "stuffing" after they see the system work during the dive. Personally, I've found all of these things to be less and less of an issue in my diving, though - firstly, I don't generally dive on "other peoples'" dives anymore - I either dive my own boats or my own charters, and/or I bring my own dive buddy - one that's been properly trained. ...But don't let their questions or comments get your panties in a wad - it's got nothing to do with you. Imagine you're on your first couple of dives and finally getting to go out on a boat or go to the dive site and realizing that with all of the time, effort and money... You're not the shiniest penny on the bottom of the pool. Know what I mean? All the DIR diver can do is smile and welcome their curiosity, even though it's come across with less-than-adept people skills. After all, you do represent the DIR community, and often are the ONLY representative of DIR - or GUE - to them. Remain corduial and polite and you'll be surprised at how quickly their insults become genuine curiosity... And you can gain many a great dive buddy from those that are genuinely curious as to how they can improve their diving. Last edited by SeaJay; February 5th, 2006 at 06:34 PM.

February 5th, 2006, 06:43 PM	#9 (permalink)
LCF(Offline) New Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Seattle Posts: 625	This trip, I got very few comments -- one from the boat captain saying, "You've got more clips and hardware on that rig than I've ever seen!" The boat crew in Australia kept telling me I was going to strangle myself on that long hose. They asked me if I dove wrecks, because "Wreck divers use those long hoses, don't they?" I have yet to have anybody ask any questions about my gear, why it's different or why I use it, which is a shame, because I'd love to talk about it. I am enjoying watching the newly certified friend who was in Maui with us compare the DIR divers she dove with with the divers on the charter boats, and start making up her own mind about how SHE wants to dive.

February 5th, 2006, 07:01 PM	#10 (permalink)
Ben_Ca(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: SF Bay, CA USA Posts: 50	Hey Sea Jay, Nice seeing you online again... I still refer people interested in DIR to your Fundies report... Lyn's transition is also good reading. I often just PM people who are interested and tehn go dive with them... let them decide if DIR is for them or not. Safe Diving all, Ben