You may have heard of a diving method and philosophy called DIR
(Doing It Right). You may also have heard of a World Class dive
training agency known as Global Underwater Explorers (GUE), lead by the famed cave and shipwreck explorer Jarod Jablonksi (you may have seen him speak about his Britanic Expedition at the Shipwrecks symposium put on by the Niagara Divers).
Dan Mackay is a GUE Instructor, certified to deliver DIR Fundamentals, Tech 1, Tech 2 and Cave 1 and 2 courses. He is a
phenominal diver, having been trained by Andrew Georgitis.
Dan has agreed to give a DIR Fundamentals course in the Toronto area, rather than at his home base at Northern Tech Diver in Kingston. This will reduce travel and accommodation costs for those living in the GTA.
This course not only teaches you the fundamentals of DIR diving. It is a skills enhancement program, focusing on improved bouyancy control, gas management, dive planning, team diving, etc. I took the course 2 years ago (the 1st one Dan gave); it was excellent. I wish to take it again, for further skills training and as a DIR refresher, as much as changed since I took it 2 years ago (DIR constantly evolves, as the DIR community strives for excellence). Moreover, you are given the opportunity to train with some of Canada's best divers. You also get to try out a Halcyon Pioneer Wing and backplate and a DIR regulator setup. :)
If you want to learn more about what DIR is all about or the DIRF
course, go the http://www.northerntechdiver.com or
http://www.gue.com .
The course cost is roughly $300; Dan will confirm fees. It runs one evening and 2 days. We need atleast 3 more people (other than myself) in order to warrant a Toronto course.
Please call e-mail me at removethisjhcolman@rogers.com (takeout the word removethis) if you are interested. I'll put you intouch with Dan.
Best Regards
Julian
Butch103
May 22nd, 2003, 10:32 AM
Doubt there are very many of us NOT aware of DIR.
Do a search on this board and I believe you will find t is one of the most widely discussed issues.
Great to see they are planning training programs up here in Canada for those interested in following their training and philosophy.
I have met the "boys" form NT divers good couple of lads....
dtdiver
May 23rd, 2003, 05:40 AM
what dates are you thinking of?
dt
Doppler
May 23rd, 2003, 06:50 AM
A piece of advice from a technical instructor (not GUE / DIR but Hogarthian) to anyone thinking about this class...
Dan McKay is an excellent diver and instructor and he has worked hard to refine his personal skills. He is one of very few GUE technical instructors in Canada.
His classes will teach masses to any diver interested in learning more about personal goal setting and training. I would highly recommend you check out this DIRf class. You will be a better diver at the end of it.
Doppler
jrtonkin
May 23rd, 2003, 06:56 PM
So I suppose the next questions are:
When (both dates, and time on those days)
Where (within TO proper? Or merely within comfortable driving distance?)
Requirements (# of logged dives, what gear do you need to own, what can you rent, and for more DIR-specific / non-standard items is there anywhere in TO to rent them from?)
Probably a few other important questions I'm forgetting, but that's at least the first bit I'd need to know before being able to say "Yes I'm in."
Jamie
coldwaterdiver
May 24th, 2003, 12:22 AM
dtdiver once bubbled...
what dates are you thinking of?
Hi DT
Could you send me an email (to removethisjhcolman@rogers.com ) with your name, address, phone and email; Dan and/or I will follow up with you. To email me, delete the "removethis" from the email address.
Dan has (until now) held all of his Southern Ontario, Canada courses in Kingston, Ontario. I wish to encourage him to hold courses in the Greater Toronto Area, for the convenience of divers who live in this city. Dan is generally agreed, if I can pull a class together. I already have substantial interest, from my Toronto dive club (Ontario Underwater Explorers) and members of this list.
The next step is to obtain a number of date options from Dan and identify a weekend that will work for Dan, myself and the other students. So, we'll be back to you.
But please do email me, so that I have your information. I will also pass your email to Dan.
Thanks for your interest
Regards
Julian
coldwaterdiver
May 24th, 2003, 12:41 AM
jrtonkin once bubbled...
So I suppose the next questions are:
When (both dates, and time on those days)
Where (within TO proper? Or merely within comfortable driving distance?)
Requirements (# of logged dives, what gear do you need to own, what can you rent, and for more DIR-specific / non-standard items is there anywhere in TO to rent them from?)
Probably a few other important questions I'm forgetting, but that's at least the first bit I'd need to know before being able to say "Yes I'm in."
Jamie
Hi Jamie
Could you send me an email (to removethisjhcolman@rogers.com ) with your name, address, phone and email; Dan and/or I will follow up with you. To email me, delete the "removethis" from the email address.
Dan has (until now) held all of his Southern Ontario, Canada courses in Kingston, Ontario. I wish to encourage him to hold courses in the Greater Toronto Area, for the convenience of divers who live in this city. Dan is generally agreed, if I can pull a class together. I already have substantial interest, from my Toronto dive club (Ontario Underwater Explorers) and members of this list.
The next step is to obtain a number of date options from Dan and identify a weekend that will work for Dan, myself and the other students. So, we'll be back to you.
But please do email me, so that I have your information. I will also pass your email (and your questions) to Dan. Just copy your questions (from your post) to the email.
While I am only a fellow student, I will try to answer a couple of your questions. I suspect that Dan will indentify a location for the academic portion, either here in Toronto or near the dive site. The diving would be done in convenient proximity; Lake Simcoe or Innerkip Quarry are two options.
Check the website ( http://www.northerntechdiver.com ) for course prerequisites. Dan can provide further quidance. Also check the website (and gue.com) re DIR equipment.
I do not know of any shops that will rent (or even sell) DIR gear in Toronto proper, but Dan likely will (and might possibly bring the gear with him to Toronto for the course). FYI, I bought my Halycon backplate and Pioneer wing (for single tank diving; I now dive doubles with an Explorer wing) before the course. I was then able to gradually adjust (and aclimatize to) my own gear during the course. But others try the equipment out during the course and purchase after. But once you tried a DIR rig, you can't/won't look back. There is absolutely no way I would dive anything else!
However, I'm just a student. Please discuss this with Dan.
Thanks for your interest
Regards
Julian
diver gadget
May 26th, 2003, 08:04 AM
I am with the rest of them. What dates are we looking at?? Also where abouts in the GTA??
coldwaterdiver
May 26th, 2003, 09:34 PM
diver gadget once bubbled...
I am with the rest of them. What dates are we looking at?? Also where abouts in the GTA??
Hi Diver Gadget
Unfortunately, I don't have a clear answer for you just yet.
I had encouraged Dan Mackay to hold a DIRF course in the GTA. He agreed, but left it to me to garner enough interest. He stated that we would likely simply move one of the posted DIRF dates (see their website at http://www.northerntechdivers.com ) to the GTA. I have since had copious interest, so I looks like we should be able to firm up a date.
For the same reasons, Dan has not firmed up a location. We'll pick a location that is within a reasonable drive time of the GTA. Innerkip Quarry or Lake Simcoe are possible dive sites. All we need is about 3o to 40 fsw and adequate visibility. We'll find a meeting room nearby for the academics.
Bottom line: I need to get past the "chicken or the egg" stage. Dan will only know that he has enough interest if each interested party commits to taking the course, subject only to the identificationn of a convenient date. So you need to put your name and contact info in the ring.
So, can you send me an email (to removethisjhcolman@rogers.com ). Just delete removethis and you have my email. Please provide your name, address and phone # and I will forward it to Dan. Or send it to Dan at removethisdan@northerntechdiver.com , with a cc to me.
Thanks for your patience and help. The opportunity to hold a DIRF course right here in the GTA will be well worth it.
Best regards
Julian
diver gadget
May 28th, 2003, 07:03 AM
Sorry for the confusion, but I already e-mailed you and Dan now about the Course. Jamie Grant
sisterJ
June 26th, 2003, 01:36 PM
Coldwater,
I was just wondering how your DIRF course ws coming along. I have not heard anything about it for sometime? What did you decide on for dive locations? And how many diver do you have signed up?
Take care
sisterJ
ScubaScott
July 7th, 2003, 10:31 PM
I don't know if this course is still happening, but I can say that this is some of the best training you can get. Almost full details are posted here (http://www.scubaboard.com/t31232/s.html) . Save the cash, take the course..... I'd take it all over again and still learn a bunch.....
