My Fundies Experience: A Class Report

[SelkieDVM]

Instructor: Bob Sherwood
Instructor Intern: Errol Kalayci
Dates: February 14-18, 2011
Location: South Florida
Number of Students: Six

Sorry, this is long, but being the profound experience that it was, I wanted to address it in detail and give it the attention it deserved. I tried to write it keeping those is mind who may be unfamiliar with GUE procedures.

Wow, where to begin? Well, to start I’ll say this was without a doubt the most challenging dive course I have taken to date. However, it was also the most rewarding. If you’ve read a lot of Fundies class reports, this may sound like a cliché, but this was truly my experience. To give you some idea of my experience going in, you can check my profile, but I will add that I had about two dozen dives in doubles and about three dozen in a drysuit. I took the Primer with Bob last summer when I had just a few dives in each. I’ve been logging about 25-30 dives per year (absolutely, I wish it was more), and I live in an area with few GUE divers with whom to practice.

Day one: We met at a local dive shop, made our introductions, and started with the first lectures and videos. We then assembled our gear for review by Errol and Bob, and made adjustments accordingly. Since my gear had previously been reviewed by Bob, I did not have to make many changes. After this we headed to a club pool for our initial dives. All dives were videotaped and reviewed at the end of the day, with a couple of exceptions due to conditions later in the week. Also, we preformed the standardized pre-dive check (“GUE EDGE” plus long hose deployment and bubble check) before every dive. On this day, we went over the frog kick, modified frog, flutter kick, and modified flutter. We also began to get feedback on trim and buoyancy, both in the water and in the video review, which continued all week. The kicks were not new to me, and I had done some work on trim and buoyancy, so today for me was more about learning what I needed to refine rather than beginning from scratch. Thus began the list I still carry in my head of things I need to work on. The class does not give you a lot of time to practice things before moving on to new skills which need to be performed in addition to the ones already introduced.

Day two: Meeting at the same pool, we worked on helicopter turns, the back kick, and the “basic five,” which consists of reg removal, reg exchange, long hose deployment, mask clearing, and mask removal and replacement. Bob had helped me adjust my harness a bit more before we got wet. I had rudimentary versions of the helicopter and back kick coming into class, but the basic five as presented was new for me. The most trouble I had was with clipping off the primary and deploying and restowing the long hose with efficiency and control. Keep in mind the skills should be done while maintaining trim and staying within a given buoyancy window, so just consider this a running theme for the week. This also began the more intense introduction of team skills, as you need to communicate, cooperate, and provide visual reference for your buddy while doing all this stuff. The day ended with the video review and the nitrox lecture.

Day three: We did the valve drill and s-drill in the shallower eight foot pool we had been using so far, and went to the 25 foot tank for SMB deployment and unconscious diver recovery. The tank was only about 15 by 15 feet so it was cozy with two students and two instructors (especially if two people in the pool don’t have quite the same degree of control, haha), but it had windows to watch the other teams which was pretty cool. I had never done a valve drill in the water and had some trepidation about it before class, but it went pretty well I thought. The s-drill is similar to the long hose deployment in the basic five, except that you actually share gas with your buddy and travel some distance. Managing the long hose while maintaining trim and buoyancy was again the challenge here (hmm, detecting a trend). I had shot lift bags a few times but never an SMB, but it went ok (read completed but far from perfect). Recovering it at depth and restowing it was also new and challenging. I had practiced unconscious diver recovery in rescue class but never with both of us in doubles. It was inelegant but we got it done.

Continued...

 

[SelkieDVM]

Day four: At the beginning of the day we did our swim tests. We then prepared for our first open water dives. Well, on this day I was not at my best. We were diving in the ocean this time, to a depth of about 55 feet. On the first dive, my buddy and I were to do a time controlled descent (stopping for a specified time at two levels for practice), then each did of us did a no mask swim while maintaining touch contact. Next, we were to do an s-drill and time controlled ascent while gas sharing and making our stops. Finally, we were supposed to do a normal descent and repeat the same gas sharing ascent, just reversing roles. We never got to this part because I became very stressed and had to take a break. There was current, not terrible to be sure, but enough to contribute an additional challenge, and my situational awareness was lacking. By the time we finished the first ascent I was working hard, hyperventilating and had gotten a taste of the beginnings of the panic cycle. I never felt in danger and was never tempted to bolt, but suffice as to say I was not having fun. After the dive I got rather emotional, I think the cumulative effect of fatigue (I never slept well the entire week), stress from the previous dive, and performance anxiety. The other GUE divers who were on the boat, some of whom I had met and some who were complete strangers to me, were flat out terrific in trying to offer me encouragement and help me feel better. I elected to sit out the second dive, as I needed the time to get my head straight. Truthfully, I felt somewhat ashamed about the whole day, but with a little time I got over myself and was able to continue on.

Day five: On the final day we elected after a group discussion to do the final dives in a lake about an hour away rather than the ocean. In addition to my “moment,” there had been some issues with seasickness, so I think this was for the best. However, the lake was not without its own challenges, namely colder temperatures and increasingly poor visibility as the day wore on. On the first dive, we did another time controlled descent, shot the SMB, then did a time controlled ascent while gas sharing and managing the SMB line. This ending up being somewhat of a cluster to say the least, how I managed not to entangle myself or my buddy while reeling in the SMB and receiving gas I don’t know, I might have had unseen help. But we came up laughing about it and feeling good about the dive. On the final checkout dive, we were to do the time controlled descent, valve drill, s-drill, demonstrate all the kicks, then do another gas sharing-SMB deployed-time controlled ascent. However, we thumbed this dive at the valve drill due to poor vis and the fact that we had already blown our buoyancy window. Oh well. The day ended with the final lectures (tank factors, dive planning, gas management), the written test (which wasn’t too bad), and some one-on-one feedback. Sorry I’ve forgotten on which days we covered the other lectures as the week wore on, but they were in there somewhere.

Final thoughts: As a result of this class, I feel I’ve shown significant improvements in my diving. I’ve accomplished things I’ve never tried before, and I have a clear picture of what I can work on to improve further. There were surprises about the class, in that I was better at things I didn’t expect (teamwork) and worse at things I didn’t realize would be as challenging as they were (such as buoyancy control while task loaded). I tend to be more critical of myself than anyone, and so I was pleased to be offered a provisional, which for those unfamiliar means I have six months to attempt another checkout dive for a pass. I have more work to do (it really never ends), but I feel proud of what I’ve accomplished and sticking it out under challenging circumstances. I hope this report has been of interest or is helpful to some, and again, sorry it’s so long.

Cheers,
Lilla

Edit: I forgot that on the first dive of day five, we also did the secondary light deployment. Again this is something that needs work, but somehow I managed to restow it eventually with not one but two inner tube retainers (one is just there in case the other breaks).

 

[ScubaSam]

Wow, Lilla, great write-up.

It's difficult to get a true "flavor" for the class unless you've taken it but I thought your write-up did a great job of capturing the challenges, frustration and joy of Fundies.

Look forward to seeing you at Dutch this season.

I am very *proud* of your accomplishment!

 

[mselenaous]

Thanks for the class report. Sounds like a very enriching experience full of challenges and personal growth.

 

[ScubaFeenD]

Lilla,

I was great to meet you. While i didn't get a chance to see you in the water, your determination and hard work were very clear to me on land. Im glad to hear that you enjoyed your class and that you got a lot out of it. You've taken a huge step towards becoming a better and better diver, and no doubt that as you continue you will be superb in the water.

I wish you good luck in practicing, and if you ever need a buddy to dive with in Va please dont hesitate to send me a message--im only an hour and a half away

 

[liuk3]

Congratulations on taking the class. The standards in GUE classes are high, so definitely don't be too hard on yourself. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it. Just keep at it, and be patient with yourself. Nobody is born with these skill sets. Everybody has to work at it, so know that you are not alone in this process. You are very fortunate to have gotten into a class with Bob. He's a phenomenal instructor. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

 

[gsk3]

Lilla,

Sounds like you had a learning-filled Fundies class. With both Bob and Errol, I'm not surprised! You should definitely take ScubaFeenD up on his offer. He's a great buddy.

Best,
Ari

 

[Ben_ca]

Congratulations and nice write up. I love hearing about diver's experiences during class because often it is often very challenging and rewarding.

It is a big accomplishment and will open the door to more fun diving both at home and specially around the world. It's fun to meet up with people who have the same training and be on the same page almost immediately.

 

[TSandM]

It was great to meet you, however briefly, and I'm sorry you guys didn't come out on the boat on Friday (when conditions were apparently MUCH less challenging).

The thing about Fundies, as I tell everybody, is that you won't know what the class meant to you until you look back in about six months, and realize you're quite a different diver. The things that are so hard in class become easier with time and practice, and as they are easier, the usefulness of the skills becomes so much more clear.

Have fun with it. Fun is what it's all about.

 

[SelkieDVM]

Thanks everyone! The support this community shows to one another is truly amazing.

Wow, Lilla, great write-up.

It's difficult to get a true "flavor" for the class unless you've taken it but I thought your write-up did a great job of capturing the challenges, frustration and joy of Fundies.

Look forward to seeing you at Dutch this season.

I am very *proud* of your accomplishment!

Thanks Sam. I put a lot of thought into it and tried to write it in such a way that expressed some of the "true grit" of the class but at the same time wouldn't scare away anyone up for the challenge. See you at Dutch!

Lilla,

I was great to meet you. While i didn't get a chance to see you in the water, your determination and hard work were very clear to me on land. Im glad to hear that you enjoyed your class and that you got a lot out of it. You've taken a huge step towards becoming a better and better diver, and no doubt that as you continue you will be superb in the water.

I wish you good luck in practicing, and if you ever need a buddy to dive with in Va please dont hesitate to send me a message--im only an hour and a half away

It was great meeting you as well and a really appreciate your kind words on the boat. I do hope we can dive together.

Lilla,

Sounds like you had a learning-filled Fundies class. With both Bob and Errol, I'm not surprised! You should definitely take ScubaFeenD up on his offer. He's a great buddy.

Best,
Ari

Thanks - already getting the ball rolling on that front.

You guys are all great.