Sidemount diving can be fun, especially if your are a tec diver. Learn how to adjust your rig and how to get in the water with it.
In addition to the Sidemount equipment, you will need your regular wetsuit and fins.
How To Become A Sidemount Technical Scuba Diver MachineYou might consider continuing to Tec Sidemount Diver, where you will learn additional skills that are specific to tec diving in sidemount like switching deco cylinders and staging.
I was a bit numb after my initial pool sessions. I was strapped into the twin tanks, trying to conduct valve drills. But, the Tec 40-45 and 50 courses helped me to feel more comfortable and my skills began to improve. By the end of the course, I was enjoying myself. It's about taking your diving skills, buoyancy and awareness up to the next level. This is what Tec diving offers. This is a great feeling. Knowing you're capable in managing life-threatening emergency situations at depth without the need to ascend to the surface (dues decompression requirements), is an amazing feeling. It's very satisfying to execute your dive program with military precision.
Technical diving is growing in popularity and it didn't take long until it grabbed our attention here at Girls that Scuba HQ! But we had a lot of questions first and a few nerves so we headed to the woman in the know - one of the only female tech instructors in Asia - Theresia Gollner - who is working at Blue Marlin in Gili T, Lombok. She gave us an intro course to twin sets and let us into the wonderful world of technical diving. Here's what she taught us:
Rebreathers allow for greater diving ability by eliminating large cylinders. Instead, they recycle the gas exhaled by divers, scrub the CO2 and inject small amounts of gas. This can greatly increase the time it takes to dive, especially if you are doing deeper dives. Rebreathers can either be sidemounted or back, and their profile is determined by the configuration.
Sidemount regulators will be taught. Asidemount regulators can be used on both long and short hoses. Sidemount regs are marked differently to normal regs. This allows you to easily identify the tank that you are currently breathing from. In my training, I was given a swivel elbow to use as a regulator for my short tube. There will be 2 SPGs available - one each for each stage.
Sidemount Diver was by far the most challenging course I have ever taken. However, my instructor Fiona at Big Blue Tech (a trusted dive center) and Big Blue Tech (my instructor) included a lot of skills and dives in my course. We made sure to keep my task load manageable and practiced many skills including tank removal underwater, mask and tank replacement, out of the air drills, and many others while trying to stay in top trim.
The Sidemount diving setup differs from that used for backmount diving.
It's becoming increasingly popular and Girls that ScubaHQ noticed it quickly! There were lots of questions and nerves. So we went to Theresia Gullner, one of the few female tech instructors in Asia. She works at Blue Marlin Gili T Lombok. We were then introduced to the twin sets and given an introduction to technical diving. Here's what we learned from her:
‘Caverns Measureless to Men’ by Sheck Exley, one of the pioneers of cave diving in Florida, USA. He also wore ‘Basic Cave Diving: A Blueprint for Survival’ which studies many cave diving accidents.
SDI/TDIIncludes two open water divesMinimum of 18 years, or 15 with parental consent
With GUE as a non-diver, the first levels to be completed before a technical diver training are Recreational Diver 1 to a maximum depth of 21m. After completing the course the Fundamental Rec Pass can be completed which is teaching the basic fundamental skills for a diver and prepares the diver for the Fundamental Tech Pass.
I just arrived on Malapascua Island, Philippines. I will be working my way up to become a Tec diving instructor over the next two-months. Since the past two years, I have been a recreational instructor in Bali. Now I want to increase my professional diving experience. Sidemount PCB was where I got my first taste of technical diving. Tom West, Tec instructor-trainer and course director at PADI, made me a Tec-50 diver.
5-6 days
Rebreather training classes are typically 5-6 days long, but can be longer depending on a variety of factors such as the training agency, your local conditions, your instructor, and your ability to meet the class standards.
- Increased Bottom Time A Closed Circuit diver is not concerned with running out of gas because they are only limited by decompression. This can also be reduced by selecting an oxygen partial pressure that provides the diver with virtually limitless bottom times in 60 feet or less of water.
2-3 hours
Even with small cylinders, you can usually dive for 2-3 hours (rebreathers typically have two 2/3l cylinders or one 3/5l cylinder).