Question How to improve dive skills as a rec diver - alternatives to GUE fundamentals course

[Wagiman]

My first question on this forum, and in case this is the wrong area to post, please redirect me.

My wife and I are in our fifties and have been (travel) diving for a while, but with low frequency (70-90 dives spread over many years, warm water only, AOW/Nitrox certification level). We always used rental gear.
On our first liveaboard trip, with conditions a bit more challenging than we had seen before, we really noticed that our skills are not sufficient for those conditions, and also that mastering equipment takes time if you need to adjust each time to a different rental setup. Conclusion was 2 things : we need to get (re)trained to improve our basic skills, and we probably should invest in our (travel friendly) own gear (eg BP/W and longhose setup). I might post a different question about the gear, but this post is about the skills.

After reading on this forum and the web about DIR and GUE fundamentals, I kind of got hooked on the idea of following a training that would step up our skills, and get us comfortable and more relaxed in the water (buoyancy, trim, propulsion) but also ready to respond to emergencies in most circumstances as a Rec diver (including wreck & drift dives, low visibility, ...). The GUE Fundies (Rec) training could be exactly what we need, and is absolutely an option (although probably split in 1 & 2).

Looking at the curricula of other dive agencies as an alternative however, I really do not know what to pick. A Tec intro course ? But then which one ? Maybe we might go for some Tec training some day, but today, we would like to just become much better Rec divers.

So my question is for recommendations for an alternative route to getting those recreational fundamental skills in a non-GUE world. Which course(s) should we follow? Focus should be on acquiring the skills and practicing them until we really internalised them. If you have a particular instructor recommendation, that also would be very appreciated. We live in Europe, so the Med could be a destination for that.

Thanks for your experience and wisdom.

 

[Marie13]

You could do a cavern course. TDI allows this to be done single tank for recreational divers not looking to go onto cave. Some gear tweaks, such as adding a long hose.

Is there cave diving on Malta? Seems to be from posts I see on FB. Or you could take a week long trip to Mexico (where I recently did full cave). My instructor for full cave was Alessandra Figari. She’s Italian, and speaks fluent Spanish, French, and English. Based out of Playa del Carmen. She was excellent. She specializes in older (over 40) divers and us gimpy people. She’s early 60s herself. I’m early 50s. We used a porter to haul gear (lots of steps to the cenotes) as I have bad knees and sciatica. She’s patient and very funny. I did a trip report under Mexico you can search for.

 

[Marie13]

My trip report.

Trip Report - PDC: Full cave Aug 2022

I was down in PDC (Playa del Carmen) for full cave Aug 3-10. Class took 5 days and the last day was guided fun dives with instructor. I had a very specific timeline I was working with, to get full cave done OC SM before my CCR arrived the second half of September. I prefer cold. Me going to MX...

scubaboard.com

 

[Rayk]

I think focus should be finding right instructor rather than agency or course, then make a dive together. Based on your stated goals, instructor will make suggestions and create a learning path for you and your wife accordingly.

Could be good to identify available instructors around you, which some/most of them (probably) would be teaching with multiple agencies, then you can select your next course/agency.

 

[Rich1280]

This is a really interesting way to get to recognising the need to change some of your diving skills, as you have not mentioned a progression to tech diving. I think you identify a couple of points, so lets try and split them out. As (generally) holiday divers you may find it difficult to know who good instructors are locally (I'm UK, so can't make a recommendation specifically for example), so that means you need to just pick a course or training delivery on an internet search or seek out local recommendations. TDI Intro to Tech or IANTD Essentials are the other brand options.
A "one and done" relationship for an Intro to Tech type course with a credible instructor may be a really valid option to just smarten up your skills and let you carry on. GUE Fundamentals is the standard setter for an Intro to Tech type course, but not for everyone with the prescriptive nature of some elements.

You next need to consider if you want to dive at home as well? I know there is a GUE-Be group, I've dived with a couple of guys in Scapa a few years ago and there's a very large community across the border in the Netherlands. If you have any interest in diving locally for ongoing practice and increasing the scope of your diving, then this could be an option, and a visit up to Vinkeveen to Scuba Academie would probably sort you out quite easily, and link you up with some locals. Scuba Academie or Deepstop could probably sort you out training and a kit rental package I'd guess. The GUE NL facebook page would be a good place to start. Alternatively there's GUE dive centres in Portofino, Sardinia, Krnica in Croatia for warmer water training, and most instructors will Travel, UK instructors often end up in Malta for example and everyone ends up in Krnica it seems. Even the UK had 27deg air and 17deg water this summer! I'm sure a UK instructor could accommodate if you want to come over here!
Have a think about where you want to end up, and then pick a path. If you do come the GUE path and get into the community, come say hi in the UK.
Rich

 

[Darnold9999]

Not sure why you just don’t do GUE or DIR fundamentals. I was in pretty much exactly your situation 100 vacation dives over a number of years after diving locally for a couple of years. I did Rescue first and then did DIR fundamentals with absolutely no interest in continuing on with DIR. Excellent training and instruction. Didn’t feel at all pressured to continue - the options were offered but not pushed. (If that is why you don’t want to go that route). Will leave it to others to suggest alternatives.

 

[boulderjohn]

One of the problems with reading through agency options is that they do not list what are called distinctive specialties--authorized classes offered by individual instructors. There are so many it would be impossible. About a decade or so ago, a friend and I, first working independently and then together, created a PADI-approved class that taught those skills without requiring specialized gear. You could take it in any gear you wanted. Several years after that, I discovered that a whole bunch of instructors did the same thing, getting almost identical courses approved, but under slightly different names. I cannot guess how many such courses exist, all without clear publication.

I suggest you go to a program near you and talk about what you want. You may find that the shop has just such a class. If the shop offers technical diving instruction, there is a very good chance that instructor can give you what you need.

 

[johndiver999]

Since you are certified and have done many dives, I don't see formal courses as the first choice. Ideally, find a good instructor (who may also teach tech courses) and schedule a 2 on one evaluation session, hopefully in local waters that are not too challenging. After an evaluation, see what he says.

Using different gear each trip and diving relatively infrequently is going to add stress for almost anyone. Getting your own gear, is a great idea and probably will give you confidence, especially considering you could potentially practice in a pool before a big trip if you haven't dove in a long time. Something like that would provide big benefits in familiarity and confidence.

Another potential issue for someone of your age is physical conditioning. Are the both of you in sufficient cardiovascular fitness and have sufficient muscular strength to comfortably handle a self-described challenging dive? There is no substitute for fitness, and perhaps improvement of that aspect may generate significant benefits as well.

See what the instructor says, get your own gear, practice a little and then decide what holes need to be filled and I bet a good instructor teaching a customized refresher course would be cheaper and quicker than some other route.

 

[Wagiman]

Thank you for the suggestions. I am indeed also contacting the GUE community in my region. I was also in PDC over the summer and enjoyed Cozumel and cenote dives. I have actually read about Alessandra while I was there, but we did not have time to do training.
The point is also very correct that as a holiday diver, you are not able to have an instruction anchor point and an instructor that helps you evolve in line with your needs. That is why holiday divers get stuck in an agency rec curriculum, with might not offer what you are looking for. I think GUE is a quality label, which indeed is not for everyone, but it is an attractive option to get trained and challenge yourself. Finding an instructor at a holiday destination (eg our children got their AOW in Malta) is very practical and that is probably the route to go. I will investigate the TDI Intro to Tech or IANTD Essentials suggestions.

 

[bubblemonkey2]

Excellent question yeah you can get really good additional skills training done under a variety of good instructors and agency products.

Here for example is someone who even went through the trouble of making several series of video playlists about it:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCca6dklxao4M5IY4g94pUnA/playlists

Note that the GUE cult is highly protective and "secretive" about very similar skills sessions with pretty much the same skills--which they didn't actually invent, imagine that!--and yet they try to keep it all private to protect their "GUE [business] Edge" : ) Gotta protect that inflated mantra of being different ('but better'), and the premium-level cash flow! Be warned, it does operate like a cult, after you shell out the first $2-5k of initiation tithes, you will be encouraged to only dive with GUE divers, only take GUE courses, and only buy their specially endorsed products & equipment (customer retention, lots of religions work this way too)

As someone who went through the "GUE Fundamentals" in a twinset & drysuit with someone who was also just an amazing diver/instructor/human being--as well other courses under different agencies--I'll repeat others who say it's almost all about finding a good instructor who covers the skills adequately, honestly and with ample attention to your development of personal competence & comfort. And I think that should be about you and the diving (e.g. TDI vibe), not so much about how the organization renders all other divers to be untouchable heathens (GUE vibe)