Experience DIR/Fresh Water/Sea etc w: Exp DIR - Weekend 11/12 August 2007 - Vobster

[JasonP]

Originally Posted by GLOC

And this is also the point, there are no real DIR clubs because there isn't the population base for this to happen. The closest we get is DIRx and this sub-forum. Hence why I/we want to increase that user base. Does that make sense?

I disagree about there not being enough population base. You don't need that many people in an internet forum to get this kind of thing going. For a boatload of 12, you need something in the region of 20 or so regulars and about the same occasionals. It doesn't need to be a formal club. You just need a bunch of like minded people to book the boats and sort the logistics out. And it's a PITA, but it's not rocket science.

And I'd think you'd at the very least get plenty of DIR curious people coming along. It got to be a bit of a joke on the UKRS dives that people would turn up on their first dive on a single and 6 months later would be on a backplate and wing. TBH I thought that some of them did it a bit too quick. And we were making no conscious effort to promote any kind of diving. If people asked questions, we answered them.

Jason

[Garf]

LOL. what a ridiculous thread. I do appreciate the irony though. A thread started simply to tell DIR divers they are not doing proper diving, IE Doing it Wrong. Fantastic does this mean DIr divers are now free to start threads telling people they are not diving properly, or is it only acceptable for the accusation to be directed AT DIR divers rather than FROM them.

There seems to be a myth that DIR divers dive only in quarries. We don't - we dive in quarries between sea dives. This year we have a week charting and exploring an unknown wreck in 54 metes. I have 8 sea dives scheduled for June. 6 for July. 4 for August, 12 for September. We have a week in the northern isles of Scotland doing deep wrecks. Next year we have a week in Narvik diving world war 2 wrecks, another week in scapa, as well as several other sea gigs already planned.

I do love it when people accuse of not doing proper diving. What, exactly, is proper diving. We do shitloads of inland dives, shitloads of sea dives. I suspect when people say "proper" diving they mean "diving like me". So if we are not using breathers, we are not "proper" diving for some people. If we are not 100metre down, we are not "proper" diving for some people. Which is all fair enough, actually. But we would be slated for telling a breather diver he is not "proper" diving, so how come the same thing is acceptable when directed at us.

[JasonP]

Originally Posted by Fiona

I am struggling to grasp the point of your post Jason

That if you dive in the sea, you train and practise in the sea as much as is feasible.

Jason

[JasonP]

Originally Posted by wilbo

I think everyone that attends these practice days goes diving. You know. Proper diving. In the sea and that. Otherwise they will fall into the same pigeon hole as you are trying to put them in - this "wannabe DIR/Tech divers only dive in a quarry - so whats the point of all the training and all that kit" type image..

There's plenty of wannabe tech divers that go diving in the sea too. I remember a certain trip where some divers insisted on bringing their twinsets, despite me telling them it wasn't a good idea, and then they whinged about carrying them down the pebble beach and swimming out to the boat in a small swell. And then we did technical wrecks like the Mohegan.

Jason

[JAG]

Originally Posted by Janos

The other, much bigger reason is that it's much, much easier to fiddle around with kit. A second dive is a drift dive for much of the South Coast, and so it's a bit impractical to do a proper weight check off the back of a boat. You also can't take your cylinders off the backplate, move them around a bit, and jump back in again. I couldn't imagine doing that off a charter boat.

So in Janos-world: Quarries = perfect for fiddling with kit and skills and drills
Sea = perfect for 'fun' dives.

Beat me to it but agree completely.

[neilh]

Originally Posted by JasonP

That if you dive in the sea, you train and practise in the sea as much as is feasible.

I can't argue with that - but does that mean you should never visit a quarry?

I mean we're talking about one quarry session being arranged here after all!

[Mal Bridgeman]

I ride my horse out and gallop across fields and through woods.

I ride my horse in an indoor school training him for dressage competitions.

One is much more of an adrenalin rush and the other is much more difficult to do.

Which one is "proper" riding?

Mal

[JAG]

Originally Posted by JasonP

That if you dive in the sea, you train and practise in the sea as much as is feasible.

Jason

Unless you are shore diving then it's not really feasible is it. I'm buggered if I'm going to travel down to the coast for a couple of hours tide window to kit test and certainly won't use the 40 odd minute window on a second shallow dive to be up and down like a whores drawers, removing kit, adjusting, going back down etc.. unless you know of any skippers that would pick me up every 5 minutes and keep dropping me in.

[And]

Originally Posted by Garf

What, exactly, is proper diving.

That would be cave diving, with lots of stages and lots of scooters Anything else is a bounce dive scuby-duby bimble, just to get out of the house.

The thing about arranging something like this mentoring day, is that you have no idea who is going to turn up. If you decide to charter a boat then not only do you have to be mindful of the experience and ability of the interested divers, you are at the mercy of the weather, you do not have the space to show people things like equipment configs and the like. You do not have the relaxed 'can dive any time of the day we like and do as many dives we like' advantage of an inland site, and effectively, you will spend less time doing what the focus of the day is, which is an introduction to DIR for those people who are interested. Bear in mind what the purpose of this day is and it is pretty obvious what kind of venue is best.

If you want to do sea dives, go and do them, but those are days when you have better things to do than go through the intimate workings of a spool, or have a debate over where the switch goes on a light canister .

Andy

[Buoyant Babe]

I don't think I'm a DIR wannabe but I am becoming DIR curious and had it not been a bit far I would have put my name down for the gig.

I tend not to dive in quarries these days. I am fortunate that I live on the North East coast and can get in at The Farnes or St Abbs all year round – conditions permitting. I’ve probably had as many dives blown out this year as I’ve done in the UK, but hey-ho that’s the nature of the beast.

If I have a new bit of kit to try I am more than likely to go to the gulley at Eyemouth or shore dive Beadnell than I am to go to a quarry – but I haven’t always felt like this. It is only within the last few years (and curiously since joining YD ) that my confidence and competence have increased to a level where I am happy to sensibly try new things in the sea in an environment where I know I can get me and my buddy out of the poop safely if anything goes wrong.

Thinking back to how I felt as a relatively novice diver, I’d have preferred to try new stuff and learn new skills in a puddle. I know nothing about DIR really, so I would be a ‘newbie’ again, and if I was going to travel a considerable distance to meet up with a number of people who are also giving up their own time, I’d want to make sure I could get into the water without fear of being blown out, and to try new kit without the added stress of current, swell and challenging dive site entry conditions.

On top of this, I suffer from Irritable Bowel, and whilst I’m sure you don’t want to her the ins and outs of my colon , meeting somewhere with decent facilities makes for a much more comfortable day for the likes of me.

Hxxx