Spew

[24940]

After two years of being in the closet, the LDS is coming around on DIR. LDS politics being what they are, it's been a long and frustrating test of patience that is far from over.

I'm doing a presentation on DIR for the LDS dive club and part of that presentation will relate to fallacies regarding DIR. Can I get some help?

1) DIR is a cult

And one of my favorites:
2)

To give an example of strokery at its finest: some hard core DIR divers wouldn't dare dive with Zinc simply because he has yellow webbing on his plate instead of black. Some of them are that fanatical. He could have everything else perfectly DIR including training and there would be those who claimed that we was an unsafe diver because he wasn't "conforming to DIR standards."

3) DIR divers don't have fun because all they do are skills dives.

 

[cool_hardware52]

After two years of being in the closet, the LDS is coming around on DIR. LDS politics being what they are, it's been a long and frustrating test of patience that is far from over.

I'm doing a presentation on DIR for the LDS dive club and part of that presentation will relate to fallacies regarding DIR. Can I get some help?

1) DIR is a cult

It is sort of, depending on how you define cult. Why is this a bad thing?

2) To give an example of strokery at its finest: some hard core DIR divers wouldn't dare dive with Zinc simply because he has yellow webbing on his plate instead of black. Some of them are that fanatical. He could have everything else perfectly DIR including training and there would be those who claimed that we was an unsafe diver because he wasn't "conforming to DIR standards."

My **Guess** is there was more than just a webbing color involved. Many "anti DIR" tales have a kernel of truth. What's usually missing is the context.

3) DIR divers don't have fun because all they do are skills dives.

What's not fun about improving one's skills?

Tobin

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

My **Guess** is there was more than just a webbing color involved. Many "anti DIR" tales have a kernel of truth. What's usually missing is the context.

Oh ... I dunno ... my DIR buddies don't seem to mind red, yellow, blue or silver webbing ... but they kind've drew the line when I mentioned that I was gonna go with a pink harness ...

Mostly it was just a "please don't" kind've reaction ...

What's not fun about improving one's skills?

Skills dives can be fun ... but what I've noticed is that, especially around class time, some folks tend to get so caught up in skills dives that they forget to just go out and relax and do fun dives sometimes.

I got caught up in that cycle for a time too ... tends to burn ya out after a while ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[wreckchick]

Don't forget the popular:

"A bp/w is inappropriate for recreational diving."

Rachel

 

[LG Diver]

This ought to be fun. How about this one... "the long hose is inappropriate for recreational diving because it could choke you if an OOA buddy grabs your reg from your mouth." (yes, I've been told this).

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

This ought to be fun. How about this one... "the long hose is inappropriate for recreational diving because it could choke you if an OOA buddy grabs your reg from your mouth." (yes, I've been told this).

A well-known ScubaBoard personality once claimed to have seen it happen ...

... to someone he wasn't aware I dive with ...

Oops ... busted ... :11:

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[sheck33]

This ought to be fun. How about this one... "the long hose is inappropriate for recreational diving because it could choke you if an OOA buddy grabs your reg from your mouth." (yes, I've been told this).

Well that is easy to understand, most people bashing the DIR gear configuration don't know how to set it up or use it.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Well, let's keep in mind that a 7-foot hose is not strictly exclusive to DIR ... I've seen lots of people using them in very non-DIR fashion. My original YMCA instructor used a 7-foot hose on his octopus ... and kept the extra length stuffed in a sleeve between his BCD and tank.

I also saw a guy at a local dive site a couple years back in doubles with the long hose wrapped ... twice ... around his head. It had never occurred to him that it was supposed to go underneath his arm until I pointed out to him a more comfortable way to use it.

I didn't have the heart to ask him how he would've managed to deploy it like that if his buddy ever needed air ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Ben_ca]

Myth: DIR divers will not dive with non-DIR divers
Alt vers: DIR Divers are prohibited from diving with Non-DIR divers

Truth: DIR divers are usually more averse to pick-up dives and random instabuddies. Like most divers you end up with a group of buddies (Some better/worse than others) and most everyone would probably pass on doing "big" dives with a diver other than your regular buddies. It's the same with the DIR crowd, increase the difficulty then we becomes more and more critical of who we dive with.....

There is the rule of: Do not dive with "unsafe divers" which could be interpreted by different people as different things.


The dive buddy is an essential part of the equation and to put an unknown (instabuddy) in place of your regular buddy/team is a very big gamble. Having a good buddy/team there who you have done skills with and you trust with your life is invaluable; like my buddy Ted says it's like "Stacking the deck"

Now does this mean that a DIR guy will not dive with a new diver? No... a lot of us dive with new guys... it's just that you usually try to keep it simple and easy until the new guys is no longer an "unknown"

Where does this myth come from? Probably from the people who recycle DIR lies and propaganda... there's plenty of those around here

 

[Jasonmh]

One I hear kind of often:

"DIR doesn't work <blank>"

Fill in blank with: Where I dive, in cold water, in murky water, wreck diving, in rough water, in the ocean, for spearfishing, for phototgraphy, etc. etc.