trip report : stroke experience day

[divingniknaks]

115 GBP retail + shipping.

Changing your mind yet ?

Only available in Japan

[ratcliffe]

Originally Posted by Scubee

I was more impressed with the 'beluga white' except they would end up grubbier than the average YD'ers mind.

Thats pretty grubby. Mind you, Finless does bring the average down quite a bit...

[Scubee]

Originally Posted by divingniknaks

115 GBP retail + shipping.

Changing your mind yet ?

Only available in Japan

But not red though

[big_si]

Originally Posted by Scubee

I was more impressed with the 'beluga white' except they would end up grubbier than the average YD'ers mind.

Probably made with real beluga too!

[The Penguin]

what's all this guff about fin colour and using them for propulsion?

you can't see the colour cos they're always so gobboed up with silt and rust, and scratched to pieces, and they are behind you anyhoo. you're going to kick your buddy in the face anyway, whether they are black or pink, as they'll be too close to avoid them (if they can even see them for the silt) when you do a 'helicopter turn' inside that hold having just recovered a 4" shell. (assuming of course that you had a buddy to start with, or haven't lost them.)

the most important attribute of a fin is stiffness. if you can't brace against a bulkhead in them how are you ever going to push that collapsed door out of the way? or wrench that porthole off?

but more important than fins are your gloves. we need a thread that discusses longevity of stroking glove fingertips. hands are the stroke's propellers par excellence. we think about our gloves.

[Finless]

Originally Posted by Garf

A few weeks ago, I pm'd a few people and said "I'm really interested in learning how you incompetent strokes manage to defy the laws of probability and survive even putting your kit on int hr shallowest of water.". Truth be told, I had been genuinely interested in Doing it Strokey for quite some time, and wondered how much of the crap on the internet was real, and how much was just web bullshit.

The stroke community in the UK is very helpful, and it wasn't long before someone responded. Scubee pm'd me and said she was a complete stroke, and could be happy to spend a day in Wraysbury, with the intentions of removing some of the misconceptions surrounding strokery, and its perception on the internet, hearing from a a real stroke what stroke diving is all about, watching some stroke skills and drills, and generally experiencing first hand what it is like to dive with strokes. Naturally, after calling my insurance company and paying a phenomenal excess ( I now have deep, foreign and stroke cover), I leapt at the chance and replied, suggesing we meet today.

There's a lot of nonsene on the web about strokes, so I was keen to see what DIS was all about. We met up and sat down. We discussed how DIS divers plan dives, calculate gas requirements and reserves, and what the ethos of DIS is all about.

I don't want to go too much into the details of the day, as the skills and configuration are best explained by a trained stroke, or experienced DIS diver, to ensure standards are not accidentally created or maintained, but rest assured I now have a firm grasp of strokery and the commitment it details, and am able to say with confidence that I can understand why some people do it. I'm not sure I'll ever become a complete stroke, but there's definitely aspect of the stroke configuration that appeal to me, and I suspect I'll cherry pick the least shit bits and adopt them to my own configuration.

Anyway, a fun day was had by all.

Surely you are now outcast from DIR/GUE for ever? Did they rip off your DIR badges? Dig they slap you in the face with 3 fingered mitt? Did they boot your twinset? Has your understanding of the hand signals faded?

[G man]

Originally Posted by Garf

A few weeks ago, I pm'd a few people and said "I'm really interested in learning how you incompetent strokes manage to defy the laws of probability and survive even putting your kit on int hr shallowest of water.". Truth be told, I had been genuinely interested in Doing it Strokey for quite some time, and wondered how much of the crap on the internet was real, and how much was just web bullshit.

Come on Garf I'll save you a shit load on gas, I'll lend you a spare VR3 and we can get some tyre gas and swim round at 65m.

There's bugger all to look at but it feels great.

G x.

[TerryH]

Being a stroke i'm a bit confused.

Is a helicopter turn, one done by non-strokes inside the helicopters
often found in muddy puddles

[The Penguin]

Originally Posted by TerryH

Being a stroke i'm a bit confused.

Is a helcopter turn, one done by non-strokes inside the helcopters
often found in muddy puddles

no...

...it's the one where you use your arms and legs. think of a Chinook, that's the sort of helicopter turn that demostrates real stroke-ness.

[TerryH]

Originally Posted by al kennedy

no...

...it's the one where you use your arms and legs. think of a Chinook, that's the sort of helicopter turn that demostrates real stroke-ness.

A Chinook turn - I like it

Loads of noise, lots of flaying about and of course loads of dust (silt)
whipped up.

The Chinook Turn