Primary Light OVER long hose, right?

[lamont]

I am not qualified to make any statement about what DIR is, or what DIR divers do. If my statement implied this, I apologize. I was merely stating that given my personality and given the very consistent advice to sit back and wait until I receive instruction, I feel like I may not be the right person for DIR, which is a statement about me, not about DIR, and especially not about whether DIR would benefit me or not. I have until next Spring to make a final decision, so it's no big deal.

You are mixing up DIR and Internet DIR.

The advice you're being given is to get off the Internet and take a course where the bandwidth and accuracy of the communication given to you is going to be a lot higher. You'll also probably get some feedback on ways you are practicing that you should avoid, which we simply can't debug over the Internet because we can't see what you're doing in the water. That isn't to say that you shouldn't be curious or experimental, but you need to understand the limits of the Internet.

 

[orange_diver]

why did GUE switch from under to over?

i started with over, which was fine, then our team switched to under, which is also fine. we switched to under because moving the light hose was one less thing to deal with in an OOA. the disadvantage is you need to be careful not the clip off the long hose when stowing the light.

what are the advantages to having the light cord over besides not trapping the light on stowing? or is that the main reason?

 

[DIR-Atlanta]

why did GUE switch from under to over?

It wasn't so much a "switch" as it was a "standardization". More details can be found here.

FWIW, I dive "cord over" and always have. That is what I was taught in my Full Cave class (which was taken in 1995 and was not a GUE class, but JJ was my instructor). Both methods have their strengths and weaknesses, but I believe "cord over" to be the most generally applicable, so that is what I have always used.

 

[Reg Braithwaite]

You are mixing up DIR and Internet DIR.

The advice you're being given is to get off the Internet and take a course where the bandwidth and accuracy of the communication given to you is going to be a lot higher. You'll also probably get some feedback on ways you are practicing that you should avoid, which we simply can't debug over the Internet because we can't see what you're doing in the water. That isn't to say that you shouldn't be curious or experimental, but you need to understand the limits of the Internet.

I think the basic thrust of what you are saying makes sense, although I want to point out the false dichotomy: it is not like I have a choice between asking people questions OR taking a fundamentals course at the earliest reasonable date (May 2009). I am taking the course, so my actual choice is between asking people questions AND taking the course or just taking the course.

I interpret the advice being given as being to JUST take the course, as attempting to prepare in advance for the course through study and practice is held out to be counterproductive.

(There's also the business of going on dives with DR members, but this turns out to be irrelevant as the earliest opportunity to do so up here is May, the same time as the earliest opportunity to take the course. So really, this is about what to do with myself between now and May, and so far what I'm hearing is, relax.

Not a bad thing, mind you.

 

[Bismark]

I think the basic thrust of what you are saying makes sense, although I want to point out the false dichotomy: it is not like I have a choice between asking people questions OR taking a fundamentals course at the earliest reasonable date (May 2009). I am taking the course, so my actual choice is between asking people questions AND taking the course or just taking the course.

I interpret the advice being given as being to JUST take the course, as attempting to prepare in advance for the course through study and practice is held out to be counterproductive.

(There's also the business of going on dives with DR members, but this turns out to be irrelevant as the earliest opportunity to do so up here is May, the same time as the earliest opportunity to take the course. So really, this is about what to do with myself between now and May, and so far what I'm hearing is, relax.

Not a bad thing, mind you.

Reg, jump on a Westjet flight and head out to the west coast. You will learn more in a day of diving with us then you will from 100 hours on the internet. More fun too. Bring your new can light so we can make fun of you (just kidding about the light thing but serious about the invite)

 

[pengwe]

Sadly, I don't practice because I can, I practice because I can't NOT practice. It's just something I do, the way I learn things: Consume information voraciously, try things, let my body learn things, and then unlearn and relearn things when I have access to instruction and mentoring.

But I appreciate the advice.

You could get yourself a pony, and practise some solo deep air dives . That won't trespass on Fundies territory at all.

Seriously, you could practise stuff like removing your mask while staying horizontal. Or if it's too cold for that, try writing in wetnotes (pull them out and put them back, too) while maintaining trim and buoyancy. Another one is to maintain a constant depth regardless of what the dive site contours are. Then go up 10 feet and do it. Can you hover indefinitely without moving your hands or feet? Can you do it on your side, on your head, facing up? What happens if you close your eyes?

Also practise awareness. Where's your buddy? Which way is North (or, the boat)? How long have you been underwater? What will your SPG say next time you look at it?

Not something to practise exactly, but if you have a need for information, you could find out about your local dive sites - species, ecology, geology, wreck history, human interference etc. Makes your dives more interesting, and keeps your brain occupied.

 

[rainman_02]

pengwe has some great practice suggestions in my opinion.

Remember there are three "major" parts to this whole DIR thing (not in any particular order):

Environment
Equipment
Team

As you start out, you can only pay attention to all three when "calm." When you're busy fiddling with Equipment (like an S-drill or a Valve drill) you pay less attention to the Environment and Team. So, instead of focusing on the Equipment right now, the more you can focus on the Team and the Environment...the more natural it will be for you to pay attention to both when you're focusing a lot of energy on the Equipment.

In a real OW OOG situation, tangling up the long hose and the light cord isn't really going to make that much of a difference. Let me go rummage for a good video example.




Having said that, to the OP: are you diving single or double tank right now? which will you be diving in Fundies?

 

[rjack321]

It wasn't so much a "switch" as it was a "standardization". More details can be found here.

FWIW, I dive "cord over" and always have. That is what I was taught in my Full Cave class (which was taken in 1995 and was not a GUE class, but JJ was my instructor). Both methods have their strengths and weaknesses, but I believe "cord over" to be the most generally applicable, so that is what I have always used.

That's the gist of what I understand as well. As I also understand, (pre-GUE) NACD was "under" for a long long time (10+yrs) but JJ was an institutional anomally being "over". GUE in its infancy struggled with both. Once AndrewG left, the "tech" way lost its voice and GUE switched to exclusively "over".

While the "cave way" (over) has alot of benefits for stage drops and switches etc. "Over" ends up being a total CF on a scooter, there just aren't enough hands to hand off the reg, light, and controlling the scooter. I definately need to practice this more, but its never going to be "smooth".

 

[lamont]

I think the basic thrust of what you are saying makes sense, although I want to point out the false dichotomy: it is not like I have a choice between asking people questions OR taking a fundamentals course at the earliest reasonable date (May 2009). I am taking the course, so my actual choice is between asking people questions AND taking the course or just taking the course.

I interpret the advice being given as being to JUST take the course, as attempting to prepare in advance for the course through study and practice is held out to be counterproductive.

Keep in mind:

practice does not make perfect, practice makes permanent

If you're practicing something counter-productive over and over again before the course, you might just have to unlearn it.

The biggest thing that you can practice is probably just being comfortable with scuba equipment and being in the water and being *still*. Then add a single simple motion and try to do it deliberately and with economy of effort and without losing that stillness in the rest of your body. You can literally spend hundreds of dives practicing this to get better at it.

 

[Blackwood]

we switched to under because moving the light hose was one less thing to deal with in an OOA. the disadvantage is you need to be careful not the clip off the long hose when stowing the light.

Exactly. Personally, that seems more in line with the DIR philosophy, regardless of what GUE may currently be teaching. Prepare for the unlikely emergency so that if it does ever occur it's as smooth as possible.

Is it difficult to move the light around the hose? No. But it is one additional task in an already stressful (regardless of training) situation. On the other hand, when you stow your light, it's neither stressful nor an emergency, and merely pulling the long hose off your chest to pass the head underneath is pretty seamless... smooth as ays [/inside joke]

In any case, whatever you do, discuss it as a team so that you all agree, and then be consistent.