DIR Divemaster?

[Tickler]

thanks guys.

 

[Doomnova]

I got rid of my Air 2 (inflator octo combo) before I started my DM. partly due to the want of being more standardized with what students are using. The person who sold me my octo didn't have an octo/inflator combo so I gave it to him as an example of different gear to expose the students he teaches to. Snorkel is on my mask for pool sessions but as soon as I hit open water its in my bcd pocket simply due to my dislike of having it hanging in the open where in my books 9 times out of 10 its more likely to be a risk of entanglement than it is to be of help. If Its needed its in my pocket and I don't have to worry about the snorkel getting caught on damn bullkelp during a safety stop.

 

[boulderjohn]

The lack of an Oxford comma suggests that "mask and snorkel" are unit.

Dat grammar!

As a former English teacher, I disagree. Before my time (which means quite a while ago), the standard was that no comma was ever used in a series before the word and. I had to find that in outdated grammar books, though. From the time I started teaching (early 1970s) through now, the comma has been considered optional, with most books saying it is now preferred as a matter of style. The Associated Press style sheet says the comma is preferred as well. Still, I assure you that there are many English teachers teaching their students to omit it in a simple series, and many people think it is the rule. Thus, although many people do prefer to add the comma in this construction, it is still acceptable to omit it, and some language purists even insist upon omitting it. Absolutely nothing can be inferred from the missing comma.

I do dive in a jacket and with a snorkel on my mask in the pool for shop OW classes. The jacket is more because I had one (acquired in a mass gear purchase) and because I don't like it, I don't mind soaking it in chlorine The snorkel is because there are specific skills we have to demonstrate involving snorkels. For the OW dives, I dive my Hog rig, with the rolled-up snorkel. MOST students don't seem to notice that anything about my (or Peter's) gear is different. A few ask . . . and guess what, we've sold more BP/W setups in our shop in the last year than all other BCDs put together!

That is pretty much my practice as an instructor.

In the classroom, when we come to the issue of alternative air use and location, I show them all the options they may encounter, including the long hose and bungeed alternate. I tell them why I prefer that system. In the pool, though, I use the same gear they will be using. Like Lynne, I much prefer the chlorine to damage the shop's rental equipment, and I want to demonstrate skills the way they will be doing them. When we do the OW dives, however, I am no longer demonstrating, and I am no longer in chlorine. I wear my own gear then, and it gives me an opportunity to let them see a different system.

 

[PfcAJ]

Plebeians! Long live the Oxford comma!

 

[Diver0001]

As a former English teacher, I disagree. Before my time (which means quite a while ago),

What John means is that he used to drink tea with Chaucer.

the standard was that no comma was ever used in a series before the word and.

This is what I learned at school too but most modern style guides either prefer the Oxford comma or indicate that it can hang either way depending on cadence or ambiguity judgement of the writer.

In other words... it don't matter one bit and it ain't wrong either way.

In the classroom, when we come to the issue of alternative air use and location, I show them all the options they may encounter, including the long hose and bungeed alternate. I tell them why I prefer that system. In the pool, though, I use the same gear they will be using. Like Lynne, I much prefer the chlorine to damage the shop's rental equipment, and I want to demonstrate skills the way they will be doing them. When we do the OW dives, however, I am no longer demonstrating, and I am no longer in chlorine. I wear my own gear then, and it gives me an opportunity to let them see a different system.

When I'm in my hog thingy the snorkel is tucked under the weight belt. I do actually encourage students to hang it on the mask if there is a lot of wave action because I believe it can add to their comfort/safety on the surface. For the rest I instruct them that PADI sees it as a mandatory item of gear but that I interpret that to mean that it's mandatory when there is any reason to believe that you may need it.

R..

 

[Peter Guy]

Rob wrote

I do actually encourage students to hang it on the mask if there is a lot of wave action because I believe it can add to their comfort/safety on the surface.

This is one point that has always intrigued me -- how does a snorkel benefit you when there is a lot of wave action? What are the assumptions being made for that to happen? For example, is it assumed that one is either face down in the water or vertical? What if, as most of us are in my blessed Puget Sound, on our backs? How is a snorkel going to help us then?

 

[Diver0001]

This is one point that has always intrigued me -- how does a snorkel benefit you when there is a lot of wave action? What are the assumptions being made for that to happen? For example, is it assumed that one is either face down in the water or vertical? What if, as most of us are in my blessed Puget Sound, on our backs? How is a snorkel going to help us then?

There are (evidently) waves and there are waves.

I'm talking about the kinds of waves that can wash over you and make it possible to get a mouth full of water instead of a mouth full of air. Having a snorkel in your mouth when waves are washing over your head -- even if it's only 1 in 10 -- does make it more comfortable.

To be honest, I've seldom seen waves in Puget sound that weren't more like big-ass rolling waves. Where I live now, however, with a force 5 wind, the surface conditions can become uncomfortable to say the least. On the North Sea you can't even really dive with force 5. You'd run a good chance of drowning or drifting off on the surface.

Not sure if I'm explaining that in a way that you can easily visualize it.

R..

 

[guyharrisonphoto]

Rob wrote

This is one point that has always intrigued me -- how does a snorkel benefit you when there is a lot of wave action? What are the assumptions being made for that to happen? For example, is it assumed that one is either face down in the water or vertical? What if, as most of us are in my blessed Puget Sound, on our backs? How is a snorkel going to help us then?

Even drift diving here in Florida we can get a nasty 3-5 foot whitecap chop if the winds are strong. These are steep and fast-interval waves and can wash over you quite a bit if you are floating on your back with a heavy rig. Staying on your back in these conditions is, actually, not that easy. It is much nicer to have a "dry snorkel" in you pocket and deploy that, and breathe easy, if the boat is going to be a while getting to you. Also, in any situation where there is a possibility of an incident that would leave you drifting away from the boat and in the ocean for hours (current sweeps you away from an anchored boat, or a drift boat misses the pick-up), I consider a snorkel mandatory safety equipment to minimize fatigue by allowing you to float face down and still breathe safely. Mine always goes with me in the ocean, every time, in my exposure suit pocket so as not to interfere with the long hose.

 

[boulderjohn]

What John means is that he used to drink tea with Chaucer.

Geoffrey wan't much of a tea drinker, as I recall. His dad made some pretty good wine, and that is what we chiefly drank.

 

[Diver0001]

^^ you all noticed the Oxford comma, right?



R..