Although we can teach the SDI course if specifically requested, by default we offer the TDI one. It is possible to take this as a standalone program; however, our students generally combine this with our Apprentice Cave Diver course.
‘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.
Cave passages formed over millions years of water erosion and extending thousands of feet from their entrance are reserved only for overhead divers. They are stunning in their beauty and peacefulness, but only because they were formed so long ago.
‘Shadow Divers’ by Robert Kurson is about the identification of a German submarine that was tried to be identified by John Chatterton and his crew during almost a decade.
As your goal in taking this course is to learn the basic set up and operation of the equipment you will use as part of your cave and/or tech diver training, you will need that same equipment for this course. This includes:
Television, magazines, stories from a friend – it doesn’t matter the source, exploring the underwater world and escaping the surface is enticing and exciting. So how do we keep exploring? What exactly is technical diving?
How To Become A Sidemount Technical Scuba Diver GoSidemount is not something you'll be doing during cave diving training. Instead, you should look at our CDS Basics Orientation Course.
Specific Skills - These are the skills required to perform specific types of diving. Navigation and line skills are developed until they are effortless for overhead diving. Decompression divers have the ability to execute stops and gas management plans without a blink of an eye. Rebreather divers test, build and then disassemble their equipment meticulously to ensure it works properly. Each course requires skills that are established at the initial level. Then, it is possible to move on to higher levels. Each step further or hones these skills, and adds more challenges to make a diver well-rounded and knowledgeable.
Sidemount PCB can answer your questions regarding medical fitness to dive.
Technical divers explore reefs and wrecks at depths below the 40 meter/130-foot recreational limit. With specialized training, they can explore underwater caves and other places well beyond the reach of mainstream recreational diving.
It's normal to be anxious about how it will all work out. Your instructor will assist you with everything!
Backmounted doubles came into use in part because of the problems with backmounted independents and single orifice doubles, neither of which are as common in modern diving. Independents are two cylinders strapped to one’s back with independent regulators on each one. If a 1st stage was to fail the diver was down to one cylinder. Single orifice doubles were two cylinders linked together with a valve, and one 1st stage regulator. If a first stage failed on a single orifice doubles set all the gas would be lost. The isolated manifold doubles used today eliminate both of those problems. Each cylinder can be worked independently, but the diver can also breathe gas from both cylinders out of one regulator. This form of doubles is typically held together with metal bands and the valves are linked with an isolation manifold, allowing the two to be separate if needed. Backmounted doubles diving is similar to regular single cylinder backmount, offering a profile that is vertically the same.
According to experts, approximately 40% of technical divers enroll in additional education and training programs. This yields a reasonable estimate of approximately 160,000 active technical divers worldwide.
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.
Have a PADI Deep Specialty Instructor certification or have completed a PADI Deep Specialty Instructor course. Have at least 100 logged dives, including at least 20 enriched air dives, 25 dives deeper than 18 meters/60 feet, and 15 dives deeper than 30 meters/100 feet. You can become a Tec 45 diver.