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"G. M. I. III" <gmiiii@in*.co*> stepped up to the plate and hit THIS home run: [snip] > These guys all looked miserable , were sweating like pigs on the boat >stuffed >into their mouuntain of gear, and spent most of the dive hanging in the nasty >green freshwater lens, while we cruised around, saw all kinds of cool things, >decoed out at 30 feet in the blue water, and had a nice day in the sun. I point this sort of thing out to most over-burdened divers -- we call it "recreational" diving because it's supposed to be fun. You don't need all the stuff on every dive. You do need your comfort zone on equipment redundancy. Reduce your rig to only what you need to complete the planned dive. Your mission, G. M. I. III, should you decide to accept it, is to counsel these divers WELL BEFORE the dive as to the exact conditions they can expect, so that they can use the optimal rig for those expected conditions. Your mission is to ensure that they have the most optimal experince diving that they can have. Counsel them on the most interesting depth to plan their deco stop. Mention that their pneumatic speargun won't work at 200' and that a bangstick might be a better hunter's weapon for the deep. Without making an issue of their rigs, ensure that they are diving safely and will not blunder into a life-threatening situation because of a minor top-side boo-boo that could be corrected in a few minutes with a few gentle words. Provide constructive advice that will enhance their dive. Basically -- be a good divemaster. Ensure the safety and fun of your entire group. Somehow I feel that most of the people on this list missed out on the fundamental concept that diving is supposed to be fun. "Recreational" includes tech-diving nowadays. And the same "safe=fun" that all my instructors drilled into me since forever ago still holds true. Make a difference for these people. Don't just piss and moan after the fact. Jim Strohm PADI OWSI 51985
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