AOW vs GUE Fundamentals

[Peter Guy]

AOW vs. Fundies -- really they are two different classes with different goals and focus. While it is highly unlikely you won't get your money's worth (and then some) from Fundies, AOW, well you've all read the stories of the good and bad.

Is a Fundies card good for anything on a boat dive? Well, as I was getting ready to head out to Molokini (Maui) after having reserved a 32% Nitrox tank, I was asked for my Nitrox card and handed in my NAUI HeliTrox Diver card (Helium/Nitrox mix) and was told, "What's this?" and refused. I pulled out my Fundies card which said "Trained in... use of 32% Nitrox" and was good to go.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

AOW vs. Fundies -- really they are two different classes with different goals and focus. While it is highly unlikely you won't get your money's worth (and then some) from Fundies, AOW, well you've all read the stories of the good and bad.

Is a Fundies card good for anything on a boat dive? Well, as I was getting ready to head out to Molokini (Maui) after having reserved a 32% Nitrox tank, I was asked for my Nitrox card and handed in my NAUI HeliTrox Diver card (Helium/Nitrox mix) and was told, "What's this?" and refused. I pulled out my Fundies card which said "Trained in... use of 32% Nitrox" and was good to go.

And you still went out with such "knowledgeable pro's?" Gotta love the dive industry and it's cadre of experts supposedly in charge of your safety. Which is why I never turn that responsibility over to anyone. I wonder if my Adv Nitrox and Deco Instructor cards would be good enough for that level of scrutiny?

 

[hroark2112]

I always enjoy handing over my OW card when I'm holding my rebreather...they never bat an eye!

 

[rivers]

You GUE folks are quite conservative. My SRMV is about 0.35 cu ft per minute. A 100 foot dive with the NDL of 30 minutes using 32% nitrox (DSAT), takes me a little under 50 cu ft of gas with a normal descent, and a normal ascent with a safety stop.

Because my gas is my team's gas and vice versa. My SAC averages between 10-12 L/minute. It's a fairly low cold water SAC rate. I am quite often one of the smallest people on the boat, and a lot of the guys (who are a bit bigger than I am) I dive with have a SAC of somewhere between 16-22 L/minute. I plan my dives using a 20 L/minute SAC rate for useable gas, and I make sure I begin my ascent with at least enough gas left in my cylinders for 2 divers with a 30 L/minute SAC rate each to reach the next available gas source (either deco stage or surface), while completing all stops.

 

[Bob DBF]

And you still went out with such "knowledgeable pro's?" Gotta love the dive industry and it's cadre of experts supposedly in charge of your safety. Which is why I never turn that responsibility over to anyone. I wonder if my Adv Nitrox and Deco Instructor cards would be good enough for that level of scrutiny?

Your card has Nitrox written on it so no problem.

Why NAUI didn't write out Helium/Nitrox is beyond me, but I'm not big on catchy names. If my boss (and his insurance carrier) said I had to see Nitrox written on the card, I would be hesitant to interpret HeliTrox, even though I might have a good idea what it means. Lawyers make a good living on technicalities, and although the card means Nitrox, and more, it does not say Nitrox.


Bob

 

[kr2y5]

Unfortunately, this is not at all uncommon. I once went out with my 65-old father to a university gym, and he was politely asked for an ID to verify that he is an adult.

 

[tursiops]

Is a Fundies card good for anything on a boat dive? Well, as I was getting ready to head out to Molokini (Maui) after having reserved a 32% Nitrox tank, I was asked for my Nitrox card and handed in my NAUI HeliTrox Diver card (Helium/Nitrox mix) and was told, "What's this?" and refused. I pulled out my Fundies card which said "Trained in... use of 32% Nitrox" and was good to go.

Good thing they were giving you 32% and not some other 21-40 percentage!

 

[Centrals]

Unfortunately, this is not at all uncommon. I once went out with my 65-old father to a university gym, and he was politely asked for an ID to verify that he is an adult.

He must be bemused or pleased!!

 

[Ayisha]

You can certainly rent or borrow gear for a GUE Fundies course. Many GUE instructors have all kinds of kit for students. If you know anyone in the GUE community, they are very generous about letting people try their equipment and loaning it out.

For me, my jacket BCD was 9 years old and past it's useful life, so I had already replaced it with a backplate and wing years before I thought about doing GUE training. Once I did think about it, I just needed to change a couple of hoses, and since I didn't have a wrist mounted computer or bottom timer, I bought a wrist mounted computer, an SPG, some bolt snaps, and my GUE instructor gave me jetfins to keep.

I lucked out that my OW instructor was a GUE diver and he went on to become a Tech 2, Cave 2 diver. He stood out from all the rest of the instructors and I wished that I could emulate him, but never thought I'd be able to do it. I saw the difference from the beginning between GUE divers/instructors and others, even other tech divers/instructors. I did the AOW/Deep Diver/Rescue Diver/Master Scuba Diver route, but I learned the most from the discussions about GUE practices over the years, and then through the GUE Fundamentals intensive training.

Quite a bit of my dive gear has seen way more GUE Fundies classes than I have ... and I'm not even GUE. Despite what you commonly read on ScubaBoard, it doesn't have to be a specific brand ... the only Halcyon equipment I own is an Eclipse wing and a few argon bottle tank straps ...

Bob, perhaps you meant to quote someone else's post. I didn't mention Halcyon or suggest that any brands of equipment might be required. I can assure you that the few things I changed prior to the Fundies course were to meet equipment requirements for the Fundamentals course.

 

[scubadada]

Because my gas is my team's gas and vice versa. My SAC averages between 10-12 L/minute. It's a fairly low cold water SAC rate. I am quite often one of the smallest people on the boat, and a lot of the guys (who are a bit bigger than I am) I dive with have a SAC of somewhere between 16-22 L/minute. I plan my dives using a 20 L/minute SAC rate for useable gas, and I make sure I begin my ascent with at least enough gas left in my cylinders for 2 divers with a 30 L/minute SAC rate each to reach the next available gas source (either deco stage or surface), while completing all stops.

Thanks for the more detailed explanation, your SRMV and mine are about the same. This puts your calculations into perspective for me. That's a lot of gas