GUE.tv: DIR 2004: The Basics of “Doing It Right”

A Word from Jarrod Jablonski

Welcome to the re-release of DIR 2004. The early and mid-2000’s were an impactful part of GUE’s history. In 2004, very soon after celebrating GUE’s fifth birthday, we decided to organize a compendium of our developing thoughts, plans and observations. These ideas were presented as a three disk set of DVDs, which is its own marker of the years that have since elapsed this recording. Many people might struggle to locate a DVD player and others never even had one. Either way, we save you the trouble and present these historical waypoints in proper ethereal format, fitting with our modern-day world.

For good and bad, we didn’t make any other changes, leaving the history, the mistakes, the awkward filming environment and other funny particulars just as they were nearly 15 year ago. For some it will be a free trip down memory lane and for others a glimpse into the developing ideas that took shape as GUE. Fortunately you can skip around, bypassing some areas and locating something of particular interest. We hope you have some fun, even if it is at our expense.

One word of caution seems appropriate. This information is presented purely for entertainment purposes and should not be considered instruction of any sort. The ideas presented may or may not align with current thinking or teaching methodology and are not meant to be indicative of GUE recommendations. Now that we have the formalities out of the way, please feel free to be entertained.

Click the image below to watch the first part in the series!

Accompanying Text On Original Single DVD

The most comprehensive overview of the “Doing It Right” system ever available on video. When Jarrod Jablonski and George Irvine set out to develop a replacement for the very-popular (but somewhat dated) DIR video series, their goal was to provide a complete head-to-toe presentation of how they configure their own dive gear to conform to the DIR standard. By the time they finished filming, the project had grown in scope to cover not only essential DIR concepts like team procedures and dive planning, but advanced topics like gas mixing and Gavin Scooter maintenance.

Encouraged by their results in covering the DIR basics, George and Jarrod then sat down to an extensive series of interviews that provide a fascinating history of the development of DIR diving within the Woodville Karst Plain Project and the logistics of exploring Wakulla Spring’s deep cave system at the extremes of dive technology and practices. To cap the project off, George and Jarrod narrate a complete dive within the Wakulla cave system. It’s the first time that anyone outside the team has been able to listen in as the WKPP’s lead explorers review the results of a project dive.

DIR 2004 is essential viewing for anyone interested in applying DIR concepts to their diving. It can be seen as a supplement to the successful DIR Fundamentals book or to a DIR Fundamentals class, but it also stands alone as a document of the evolution of safe diving practices at the cutting edge of underwater exploration.

Did you enjoy this video? Read the full original article by Jarrod Jablonski.