Posted by MuckDiver on January 04, 2001 at 07:44:59:
In Reply to: The Cosmology of DIR on the West Coast - Part 3. posted by seahunt on January 03, 2001 at 22:22:55:
You are seriously long winded. But in this it's a good thing. You're taken seriously when you explain yourself thoroughly. I live in Michigan where the water is cold, low vis rules often and a lot of diving can be deep (200+ or more). I was trained through IANTD with the instructor incorporating DIR concepts. I'll have to say I like a lot of it. The biggest difference from DIR is we were trained with a 10 ft octo hose. If in a wreck (or cave etc.) your partner runs out of air for whatever reason, he would be able to follow through tight passages easier. The premise from DIR that the long hose keeps me away from a panicked diver I don't believe in. Face to face and human touch can do wonders to a diver who's panicked. The biggest turn off for me is the attitude (for lack of a better word) that if you're not DIR you're doing it wrong. On my deep dives with wreck etc, I dive DIR. But when I dive shallow? I dive with the setup I like (not DIR). Does this make me a bad diver. According to some hard core DIR enthusiasts I am. My question is why? I'm still a safe diver no matter which way I choose to dive. Oh and one last item, the fitness issue. An avid diver is fit....from scuba diving.
I guess it might've been easier to say that I believe that a safe diver is exactly that. No matter which configuration they choose to dive with.