Divesherpa
May 28th, 2002, 11:00 PM
Although most of the DIR reasonings should be applauded, I am learning more of the drawbacks of the system as I redefine my own comfort level in "adverse" conditions. This is almost strictly from a cave perspective, but also from any small area, limited-no viz situation.
I finally had the opportunity this weekend to meet and learn from one of the British sump divers from the CDG. Their system of diving makes DIR impossible in their applications. (Through the limited sump diving that I've done, I agree that doubles are a miserable failure) Not only does the gear fail in this setting, but the attitude of buddy diving also falls short and actually makes the diving less safe.
At the NSS convention, I had the pleasure of speaking with several DIR only advocates. The places they are trained to dive are very limited. They were very nice people, but seemed biased not on reasoning, but on being part of something bigger. It was as though they were pushing 20,000 feet in at 300feet depths through gear configuration rather than through experience. This was very sad.
On Sunday, three of us went for a dive in a very tight section of cave close to home. We are all solo divers who like to dive with people. We were about 500 feet back in a very hairy (back on rock, belly 2-6 inches from thick clay silt) area. The lights went out by an accidental fin placement(I won't divulge who it was) It took about 25 minutes getting in this place. There was no reasonable way to come out in touch contact as one hand was on the line and one hand was "assisting with propulsion". The viz stayed less than 3 inches for about 45 minutes. When I burst out into the relatively crystal clear viz, I couldn't believe how bright the lights were. My pupil must have been the size of a pin head.
If we had to come through this area in touch contact, we would have taken a very long time. After discussion, we all laughed, had a british deco beverage, and planned Monday's diving.
There are several other points, but my hand is getting tired.
I finally had the opportunity this weekend to meet and learn from one of the British sump divers from the CDG. Their system of diving makes DIR impossible in their applications. (Through the limited sump diving that I've done, I agree that doubles are a miserable failure) Not only does the gear fail in this setting, but the attitude of buddy diving also falls short and actually makes the diving less safe.
At the NSS convention, I had the pleasure of speaking with several DIR only advocates. The places they are trained to dive are very limited. They were very nice people, but seemed biased not on reasoning, but on being part of something bigger. It was as though they were pushing 20,000 feet in at 300feet depths through gear configuration rather than through experience. This was very sad.
On Sunday, three of us went for a dive in a very tight section of cave close to home. We are all solo divers who like to dive with people. We were about 500 feet back in a very hairy (back on rock, belly 2-6 inches from thick clay silt) area. The lights went out by an accidental fin placement(I won't divulge who it was) It took about 25 minutes getting in this place. There was no reasonable way to come out in touch contact as one hand was on the line and one hand was "assisting with propulsion". The viz stayed less than 3 inches for about 45 minutes. When I burst out into the relatively crystal clear viz, I couldn't believe how bright the lights were. My pupil must have been the size of a pin head.
If we had to come through this area in touch contact, we would have taken a very long time. After discussion, we all laughed, had a british deco beverage, and planned Monday's diving.
There are several other points, but my hand is getting tired.