Tech diving is gaining popularity. We were so excited to see it here at Girls that ScubaHQ! There were a lot of questions, and we were nervous so we headed to Theresia Geller, a Blue Marlin instructor in Gili T. Lombok. She taught us the basics of twin sets and introduced us to technical diving. Here's what she taught:
It doesn't matter if you get your news from television, magazines, or a friend, diving under the sea is exciting and fascinating. How can we continue to explore? What is technical diving?
Technical diving was something that I never had an interest in at first. I remember laughing at the Tec divers and wondering why anyone would need more equipment. I love the feeling you get when you are close to nature. Tom had a reputation for being an inspirational teacher. It seemed to me that I should at least try.
Technical diving is a combination of passion, training, and experience. Technical diving is not for those who lack any of these three.
Academics: The academic sections of a technical class are the same as any other scuba class. Students will complete some self-study, and then bring their knowledge to the instructor for a discussion. While the technical course's dive planning is more complicated than what most people are familiar with it is an essential part of performing a successful dive. Decompression and overhead diving require gas management discussions that will take much longer than normal. To calculate the required gas volumes for the dive, they use a computer program.
You can choose between recreational Sidemount or technical Sidemount with most agencies. Although the prerequisites are the same for TDI and SDI, the tec sidemount course will give you more skills. This course will require you to be more skilled in mastering the skills. You must maintain a perfect trim and keep your body level throughout.
Sidemount diving is easy with an Open Water Diver. You will need to be able to handle your equipment yourself. Sidemount diving adds a new dimension in terms of equipment setup and skill.
SDI/TDIIncludes two open water divesMinimum of 18 years, or 15 with parental consent
Sidemount diving can be done by anyone who is an Open Water Diver. While it is essential to have good buoyancy and trim, you will be able setup and handle your equipment by yourself. Sidemount diving is a great way to expand your skills and knowledge in equipment setup.
My first courses were sidemount and technical sidemount. Sidemount diving, as the name suggests, involves placing your tank my hands and knuckles were covered in cuts by the end of the session. The idea is that you can unclip the tanks and put them out in front of you, Superman style, thus streamlining yourself. After some sizing adjustments to the harness, the afternoon dive went much more smoothly. I was now comfortably unclipping and ‘Superman-ing’ with the tanks. Compared to having doubles on your back, sidemount offers an incredible level of freedom. Matt set up obstacle courses and we were soon flying around them with tanks held out front, barrel-rolling and even swimming upside down.
Being a technical diver requires a lot of training, experience, and passion. The added risks of technical diving are not worth the risk if any one of these is missing.
An Open Water Diver is all you need to get started in Sidemount diving. It is important to have good buoyancy, trim, and be able set up your equipment and manage it yourself. Sidemount diving can bring a new dimension to your equipment setup and skills.
You can share the adventure or give the gift that never ends! PADI eLearning(r), which you can purchase and send to any recipient of your choosing, is now available! It doesn't matter if you want to give the course as a gift, or if you need to assign it to your family members.
SDI/TDIIncludes 2 Open Water DivesMinimum 18 Years, 15 Years with parental Consent.
The depth range of oxygen rebreathers (simple closed circuit) is limited to approximately 6 m, beyond which the risk of acute oxygen toxicity rises to unacceptable levels very quickly.
- 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.
Technical diving (also known as tec diving or tech diving) is non-professional scuba diving that exceeds the agency-specified limits of recreational diving.