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New to DIR Articles Articles written which will explain what DIR is and help you get the most out of it as a newcomer.
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| Fundamentally…….Different Dictionary definition of Fundamental: Basic, primary, essential, elementary, underlying.  Introduction Imagine having a training agency and calling your style of diving, Doing It Right, this would obviously infer that everyone else was, Doing It Wrong, which wouldn’t make you very popular. This is exactly how Global Underwater Explorers (GUE) –a non-profit making, American based training and exploration organization- decided to describe their diving philosophy…. and no, it hasn’t made them very popular. Most divers are now aware of the term DIR, it is often met with scorn and skepticism, but is this justified, or are people encountering wana-be DIR divers (a bit like the Territorial Army guy who wants you to think he is Special Forces) and assuming they faithfully represent the philosophy of a whole organization? Are DIR divers elite or elitist and worthy of the scorn they seem to attract? On February the 3rd, the UK’s inaugural GUE course was scheduled to be taught. To see what all the fuss was about, Craig Nelson and I decided to go along and discover if we fitted the DIR mold. Before I even attended the course, I had to visit the GUE web site and fill in no less than six student registration forms. Along with the regular disclaimer medical stuff, I was required to give a detailed account of why I wanted to take the course and my diving experiences, along with a list of my training to date and who taught the courses. I also had to register every item of equipment I use right down to my underwear! Lastly, I had to attest to a regular exercise program, that I was not overweight and was a non-smoker. I was informed that should my position change, GUE could and would withdraw my certification cards! Already, this course was looking unusual. Day one, 8am On arrival in Portland, I met up with a bleary eyed Andy Kerslake and Andrew Georgitsis, both having attended LIDS for two days and then shot down to the coast to get ready for the course. Andy Kerslake is the UK’s resident GUE Instructor and was hosting the course. Already a long-time member of GUE, he was a far cry from the arrogant stereotype I half expected to meet. Andy was part of the team that developed the widely acclaimed Deco Planner Software and was trained by the organization's founder, Jarrod Jablonski. However, on this occasion, he would act as assistant to Andrew Georgitsis, GUE’s training director. Some of you who attended LIDS will have heard Andrew Georgitsis give a presentation on the Britanic expedition, on which he was a pivotal team member. Apart from being one of the worlds most accomplished technical divers, Andrew also invented the course we would be taking and the first thing he did, was explain how the GUE Fundamentals class was conceived. GUE was founded in 1995 and to date, offer no entry-level training. (Although this is rumored to be less than a year away) GUE’s first level of qualification used to be their Tec1 and Cave 1, courses. Unfortunately, divers kept turning up for these without the required skill level or equipment, so prior to teaching the courses proper, Andrew started to run pre-class workshops. “It quickly became obvious” he explained, “that these classes were not just desirable but essential.” Consequently, the Fundamentals class became a mandatory pre-requisite. I was surprised to learn that as an introduction to DIR diving, recently qualified diver as young as sixteen are eligible to attend this course, or they may do so simply for the learning experience. However, as of June 1st, it will be a pass/fail affair for anyone seeking to go further with GUE and the pass level is strict, so much so that there are three distinct levels of failure!
Although the number of cylinders and range of experience was allowed to vary, the equipment was not. GUE promote a standardized approach that all students were required to use. Most students had already decided to go this equipment route (or at least their interpretation of it) and so had their own, for those that had not gone this far, Underwater Explorers, based just across the road, had full sets for hire. In order to get the full ‘DIR‘ experience, I agreed to go the whole hog and use all of the proscribed equipment…right down to my underwear! In for a penny… After the brief introduction and outline of the day’s activity shedual, things progressed at a rapid pace. Firstly, all the students were asked to reach back and touch their second vertebrate, which even the least mobile amongst us could do comfortably. “If you can do that, then you can shut down cylinders easily, provided your equipment is properly set up and your clothing is correctly cut,” said Andrew. We then climbed into under suits and repeated this test, with varying degrees of success. Over the next hour, he went on to explain what he meant by ‘correct’ and the desired properties an under suit should have; how some cuts of under suit allow better movement than others, exactly how it keeps you warm and as a consequence, why more air in the suit will not make you warmer. I thought I knew all this stuff but I had obviously not thought it all the way through. At this point, before continuing with the equipment theme, we were all instructed to lie on the floor whilst AG balanced on a coffee table and told us how to go about finding correct trim and controlling it. He started by explaining why he thought this was so critical, it should be the first thing an entry-level diver ought to learn. “Trim and buoyancy are the platform on which everything else is built, so logically it needs to be taught first.” That seemed to make sense. “Imagine you are a see-saw and balancing on a point around your stomach. Now, by straitening out my legs…. I go head up, by dropping my head and pulling my feet back to my butt… I tip forward.” “By using our legs and heads in this way,” he continued, “it is possible to float at any angle we choose.” I had never though of trim in this way, or thought to use my body in this fashion. Whilst still on the floor with our backs arched and knees bent, we then went on to try a number of different fining methods, including frog kicking, flutter kicking, helicopter turns and my own nemesis, fining backwards. All of these techniques were first developed for cave diving in order to minimize silt disturbance whilst at all times leaving the hands free to do other things. “By mastering these techniques in conjunction with proper trim, it is possible to virtually eliminate silt disturbance in any environment.” Andrew explained. He then went on to break down each fining technique into its component parts so the student could feel what they were trying to achieve. Convincing the class by providing a compelling rational and inviting debate was to be a reoccurring theme, it is a powerful teaching method and one I am familiar with through my work with various Olympic level cycling teams. However, I have never once experienced this on a diving course, neither have I attended one were fining techniques or trim were given more than a fleeting mention. Back to our study of the DIR equipment set-up and already hot in my 400grm undersuit, we climb into our dry-suits, before trying to reach our vertebrate again. This time, some people really struggled and Andrew took the time to point out the precise changes needed to the various suits to facilitate a full range of movement, as well as other features desired in a suit. Lastly, it was time to discuss the one-piece-webbing harness and backplate that, along with the long hose regulator, most people associate with DIR diving. Again, the set-up and components employed were explained in great detail; all unnecessary equipment was striped away leaving the bear minimum to do the job; less is defiantly more in DIR. I won’t even begin to recount the details of this process, but suffice to say, it was another hour before we even did up the wait strap! After we had finished and all harnesses had been re-adjusted, there was a heap of superfluous webbing, clips, D-rings and other paraphernalia in the middle of the floor; obviously, people were not yet quite as DIR as they thought they were. Not one of our number had equipment that was the same as when we had walked in the door. With one hour to go before pool time and sweating like…well, very hot people, we tie-wrapped our regulators to the back plates. We then went through the rational for DIR hose routings and S-drill. (Safety or emergency air sharing procedures.) GUE teach from the start to donate the regulator being breathed to the out of air diver, not only to ensure they receive gas quickly without having to hunt for a stowed octopus, but also to ensure the diver in question gets a guaranteed working regulator with a breathable gas for the depth they are at. (This becomes even more relevant when multiple gasses are being used.) With the other hand, the donating diver pops the back up regulator -tucked neatly under their chin on a necklace- into their mouth. We practiced these procedures, including re-stowing the long hose behind the wing, repeatedly, until it started to become almost intuitive. Finally, three information-packed hours later, it was time to dash the hundred yards to the local pool for another long stint of tuition. Before getting wet, we all lay down on the edge of the pool and repeated the prone fining and trim techniques. This was made a little more difficult for those with stiff dry-suit boots. Everything that had been dry land practiced was re-iterated to make sure each person was clear what we were trying to achieve. Another new touch (now one of many) was the use of a video camera. The whole session would be taped for review later in the day. In groups of three, we lapped the pool and with each change of direction, we changed to a different fin kick. At every corner, we practiced helicopter turns and backwards fining. An ankle-aching hour later, we assembled at the deep end, (all desperately trying to look slick, not touch the bottom, sides or each other….and failing) to watch as AG gave us a ‘how to do it properly’ demonstration. I have seen many divers on my travels, but this was without doubt the slickest bit of buoyancy control and technique I have ever witnessed. Unfortunately, we then had to demonstrate each technique and were given help were necessary…. which was demoralizing often. Have you ever tried to fin backwards? Well, the only thing I seemed to achieve was to look like I was having a seizure…whilst definitely not moving anywhere! 3 hours, numerous S-drills and much humiliation later, we got out of the pool a wiser set of individuals. After a brief lunch, the pace continued as we went back into the classroom for a review of the skills we had practiced, this was accompanied by a set of video clips showing them being performed correctly. Next, new skills to be introduced the following day were discussed and demonstrated. Again, each skill was broken down into many parts and a rational was produced for performing each one in a given way. Included in this session was DSMB deployment using a spool rather than a reel. GUE proscribe the use of a spool over a reel, as it stows easier and has no moving parts to snag or jam. To further avoid entanglement, the primary regulator is used to inflate the DSMB, which I always thought was a no, no, in cold waters. “Trying to inflate from your regulator exhaust leaves you at increased risk of entanglement, if you remove the regulator and hold everything out in front of you, this is less likely to happen.” Andrew explained “It is of course important not to jam your finger on the purge button in cold water, but if you are careful, why would there be more stress on the regulator than if you were breathing from it?” This was irritatingly logical. “In addition” he continued “If your trim is horizontal rather than vertical, it is quite easy to fin gently, slightly head down, countering the small amount of gas in the DSMB until your ready to let go. This method takes away the panic to let go of the buoy” More logic that really served to demonstrate how one method is only really effective in conjunction with the others. Last on the days agenda was a review of the pool video…just before they dispatched it to You’ve Been Framed. Video cameras are powerful learning tools, again, these are something we use a lot with the National cycling team; it is the only way to see what you actually look like as apposed to what you think you look like, seldom the same thing! The footage allowed us to work out exactly where we were going wrong and have remedies suggested. It also confirmed that my attempt to fin backwards had indeed looked like some kind of severe fit. This was the first time I have seen one employed in a diving course. After some final questions on GUE procedures, philosophy and general technicalities, the day ended. It had been a non-stop 12 hours. Day two 8am Today we would be using the murky waters of Portland’s, Castletown beach to continue or fundamentals training, but first it was another session in the classroom with harness and regs. AG believe every skill should be heavily practiced on land before even going near the water “If you can’t do it slick in the classroom, you sure as hell won’t be able to whilst hovering horizontal with no visual reference.” Fare comment. We went through air sharing procedures again, team configuration/positioning, use of lights to communicate, shutdown procedures and a pre-dive check format. Now that everyone was using the same equipment, this was performed a little differently. When shutting off cylinders in an emergency, I had always been trained to close the center isolator first to prevent at least half of the gas escaping before looking for the problem. GUE teach to shut down from right to left. “Isolating first provides no useful feedback as to where the failure has occurred” Andrew explained, “By shutting down from right to left, (primary regulator first) each step will yield information and it’s 100 to1, that it will be the reg your breathing off anyway, not the one sitting passively around your neck.” Lights too can be a useful tool; one example is when swimming in single file. By the second diver keeping his light largely in front of the first diver, diver one knows his partner is there and OK, without having to turn around all the time. After another full morning in the classroom, we headed outside to get ready for our first dive. We were split into groups of three and after pre-dive checks; we headed out to a depth of just three meters to perform the designated skills. “The hardest place to perform skills” said Andrew, “is at 3 meters; if you can do them here you can do them at 150M, the only differences depth brings are psychological” The skills we had to perform included: q Descent with horizontal trim to 1M from the bottom q Regulator out q Swap to back-up regulator (clipping off the primary with the right hand only) q Flood and clear mask q Mask removal, hover with no mask, then replace q Out of air drill, donor and receiver (re-stowing the long hose behind the wing each time) q Out of air swim at a constant depth. These all seem pretty straightforward, but when you consider they had to be performed (not that we managed it!) hovering horizontal and motionless one meter above a very silty bottom, with almost no visual reference, it was harder than it sounds. 25 embarrassing minutes later, it was back to the surface for a de-brief and dine. After lunch, dive two. This time DSMB deployment and shut down drills. Surprisingly, these went OK. I think this was helped by my getting a visual fix on an old lobster pot through the gloom, this way I had a depth reference that made all the difference. (No this was not cheating….it was using my initiative!) Using a spool is a bit…’different.’ Keeping control of ones buoyancy whilst winding in line and ascending requires the user to be really on the ball. The key, I realized, is horizontal trim. In this position, if the diver should get a little too buoyant, it is possible to simply fin down gently until sufficient air is dumped from the wing to regain neutral buoyancy. Yet another demonstration of why one DIR skill will not necessarily work without employing the others. Dive two over, it was now four o’clock and time for the final four-hour classroom stretch. This dealt with dive planning, gas management and gas dangers. GUE advocate the use of standardized gasses and ideally, the use of helium from just 30M down. I won’t get bogged down in too much detail here, this was a good hour of the session, but suffice to say, their rational for these recommendations was compelling and obviously born of many years of research by GUE as part of their extreme exploration activities. 48 intense hours later, the course was over. It was time to drive the 400 miles home and time for a lot of thinking. Conclusion I can say without doubt that this was the most powerful and professional learning experience I have ever had in diving. Regardless of whether you have technical aspirations or not, if other GUE instructors are able to teach as well as Andrew Georgitsis, I would challenge anyone to take the course and not find it one of the most instructive thing they ever did. The only criticism of the whole experience was the venue. The exceptionally silty conditions afforded by Portland’s Castletown beach, made it difficult to gain the maximum from the exercises and use of the video camera was quickly abandoned. I think the content of the course would be well suited to a good inland site with classroom facilities, such as Capernwray in Lancashire or Stoney Cove in the Midlands. (You may notice some of the illustrating photographs don’t look to bad….this is because they had to be re-done at a certain inland location in the North!) Such was the intense nature of the forty-eight hour experience three of the original twelve students quit the course before the end of day two. When I asked them why, their answers were all very similar. “My skills were just not up to it, without having truly mastered trim and buoyancy control, it was impossible to do the skills to the required level.” Perhaps even more telling was that each retiree was still adamant that this was most excellent course they had ever attended. “The best two things for me” said one student “was having the skills broken down and the video feedback. Now I know what to go away and practice and most importantly, how to practice it.” GUE’s approach to diving appealed to me; they are clearly committed to pursuing excellence and will except no compromise, however, this approach will not be for everyone; you can, after all, own a bicycle and enjoy it without having to train for the Olympics. However, for those who want to push themselves, GUE could well be the organization for you. And what about the charges of arrogance and elitism? Arrogant? no, elitist? maybe, elite? I would have to say yes. Unfortunately, all elite organizations attract morons who simply want to belong. (Ever sat in a football crowd and listened to the thousands of premier league coaches around you?) GUE has it’s fare share of these, visit any Tec forum on the net and you will find them lurking and ready to put you straight in condescending, even vitriolic terms. These hangers on may prove to be GUE’s biggest hurdle in spreading the DIR word…but then again, do they even care? |
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