DIR - WHY?

[thehappychappy]

Off topic again , sorry.

Originally Posted by tootricky

PADI Discover SCUBA offering

Its an experience, you are not certified to do anything after it.

Originally Posted by tootricky

SCUBA Diver qualification.

A Qualification which has a related training course which is usually upsold from an open water DSD experience or sold as a replacement from Open Water course depending on circumstances (usually time restrictions or candidate performance) however its perfectly valid to sell it in its own right.

[tootricky]

Originally Posted by thehappychappy

Its an experience, you are not certified to do anything after it.

That's what I thought but I understood, from the instructor, that, for a year following my DSD, I could dive under the supervision of another instructor. So not all that different to the SCUBA Diver qualification.

In all fairness, though, it did exactly what they wanted it to do - it got me hooked although, initially, I only planned to get qualified so I could dive on holiday. It was my first UK sea dive that dragged me fully under

[AidanS]

And there was me believing DIR merely meant avoid Beaver dive gear like the plague!

[Scubee]

Originally Posted by tootricky

That's what I thought but I understood, from the instructor, that, for a year following my DSD, I could dive under the supervision of another instructor. So not all that different to the SCUBA Diver qualification.

That isn't the case, though, The DSD is simply 'Discover Scuba Diving' and consists of a theory session, a confined water dive, and an optional open water dive which is depth limited. You would always need to dive under the supervision of a PADI pro, but not necessarily go through the theory again, although if you came to me unqualified, you would get the theory as well. It is about knowledge and understanding a bit of dive theory.
The PADI Scuba Diver is an entry level qualification, and consists of about half of the Open Water stuff - i think it is 1,2 and 3 confined/, 1, 2 and 3 theory, and OW dives 1 and 2. You get a cert card, and although you need to dive supervised, there wouldn't be the need to go through theory. You would also be upsold to OW because you loved it so much.

Sorry - Big digression

[piling pete]

Hi
Don’t know if this helps but as you asked "why dive dir? " well I don’t yet. (lol)
This is because me and two friends are doing our Fundys this week .The reason for this from my point of view is that I really like the idea , (because in my opinion this is a well thought-out system) that if I have a problem ,I can ask a question ,of other like minded divers and they will know exactly what I mean. As I am carrying kit with the same setup as them and i am following the same procedures as them .They call dir a unified system and i think this is one of the reasons why .Also that the system works as a whole with eatch bit of kit and each skill working in harmony with each other.
Because of this all the dir dives that are being done are adding to the knowledge base of diving from the same starting place. So if I ask a question about where to put a stage bottle then I don’t have to start explaining that I cannot put it on my right side because of my long hose or the position of my d rings and so on .

I am also in the prosess of selling kit that i bought only to find out that as i progressed as a diver it all needed replacing .Where as in dir/gue all divers share the same basic kit and as you progress you add to it rather than replacing it (big savings in the long run).So if there are any new divers out there please talk to some of the dir instructors /divers about kit it could be the biggest saving you make (if you dont then pm me and see what i have for sale)( it pays to advertise )


Because we are doing this course we thought we should have a bit of a shake down and skill practice. Well to say I am not as good as I thought I was is a understatement. ( Team yo yo has been mentiond ).As the course is about getting the basics right ( I have been diving twins for about a year) we set out to do shutdowns in 3 /4 m of water without moving up or down by much . A skill that most divers will say should be naild from the start ,as if this is not right then how can you progress as a diver .I do not want to start a riot but with some other agences then as long as you have paid your money then you will pass regardless of how good or bad you are . I am shure this is not allways the case and some people will want to argue that the non dir course that they have just done was really hard ,and they know of people failing .But i bet not many will say it has happend to them .I think it mayby happens with the more advanced courses but not a lot with the early courses where i think good divers are made. For me i want to get a solid foundation to my diving .A foundation that i think other agencies overlook a bit .So to all the people that think dir is aload of hot air try and hold a 3m stop for 15min while you are doing something else (shutdowns smb deployment .yes i know its a bit daft in 3m but give it a go )without going up or down.Because you might be surprised how hard it is.This post may seem a bit one sided .But as i am going down the dir road these are my reasons . Others may not agree but as long as we are all safe and enjoying our diving at the end of the day thats all that matters
PS you got to admit black is well f**king cool
PPS this is the ramberlings of a mad man and should be treated as such
PETE

[Garf]

I do not want to start a riot but with some other agences then as long as you have paid your money then you will pass regardless of how good or bad you are . I am shure this is not allways the case and some people will want to argue that the non dir course that they have just done was really hard ,and they know of people failing .But i bet not many will say it has happend to them

spoken like someone who'se never done a course with Mark Powell, who doesn't actually "fail" many people, but quite reguarly wants the students to go away and work on their skills, and come back to be re-evaluated before issuinig their certification.

Don't get trapped into thinking DIR has all the answers, or is a better system than all the others out there. Adopting any system means some element of compromise, and DIR is no different. In fact, perhaps more than any system, DIR is ALL about compromise, in that you must accept the fact that the system is not ideal for every scenario, and for each scenario there may be better unique options, but there is value in having a standard in itself you can apply to every situation. For some it is ideal, for others less so, but the value is in it always being the same, familiar, comfortable system

[steveharriss]

So you can dive the Ghiannis D with two thirds of your team and look really cool in your twinset, two stage bottles, argon suit inflation, hood, and assorted paraphernalia on a recreational dive where you cannot exceed 60 minutes underwater with a depth to seabed of 27.3m.

Lord knows what it cost to get that load out to Egypt.

I blinked when I spotted them on the bow and despite their magnificent trim and buoyancy control the second diver still managed to kick off a hard coral from the wreck whilst his/her chum took pictures.

[Garf]

Originally Posted by steveharriss

So you can dive the Ghiannis D with two thirds of your team and look really cool in your twinset, two stage bottles, argon suit inflation, hood, and assorted paraphernalia on a recreational dive where you cannot exceed 60 minutes underwater anyway.

Lord knows what it cost to get that load out to Egypt.

I blinked when I spotted them on the bow and despite their magnificent trim and buoyancy control the second diver still managed to kick off a hard coral from the wreck whilst his/her chum took pictures.

so what makes you think they were DIR?

[Steve S]

Originally Posted by Garf

spoken like someone who'se never done a course with Mark Powell, who doesn't actually "fail" many people, but quite reguarly wants the students to go away and work on their skills, and come back to be re-evaluated before issuinig their certification.

Don't get trapped into thinking DIR has all the answers, or is a better system than all the others out there. Adopting any system means some element of compromise, and DIR is no different. In fact, perhaps more than any system, DIR is ALL about compromise, in that you must accept the fact that the system is not ideal for every scenario, and for each scenario there may be better unique options, but there is value in having a standard in itself you can apply to every situation. For some it is ideal, for others less so, but the value is in it always being the same, familiar, comfortable system

I was going to reply to Pete's quote but Garf's post is a far better response than I could muster.

Safe diving,
Steve

[piling pete]

Garf thanks for the reply
Please dont think i am under any illusions that dir/gue have all the answers but as i am starting out on the gue/dir road i was trying to give my personal reasons for my choice .As i become more clued up on the whole thing i may decide its not for me but the core basics will still be there.You must admit that for every one Mark Powell there are hundereds of others that even with good intentions offer very bad training