Sidemount Diver is one of the most challenging courses that I have ever completed. It was because Big Blue Tech, my trusted dive shop in Koh Tai, and Fiona my instructor included many more skills and dives to my course than necessary. Although we made sure my task load was manageable, we still practiced skills. These included tank removal underwater, mask removable, out-of air drills, SMB deployment, and many other things while maintaining (or trying to maintain) perfect trim.
Twinsets on the other hand are two tanks attached to the back of the diver and are usually connected with each other thru a manifold. This means a diver can access to both tanks using a single regulator.
Cave passages that have been formed through millions of years of erosion are only available to those who are certified in overhead diving. They stretch thousands upon thousands of feet. The incredible time span in which these caves were created is a testament to their unique beauty and tranquility.
I’ve just arrived on Malapascua Island in the Philippines, where over the next two months I’ll work my way up to becoming a Tec diving instructor. I’ve been a recreational instructor in Bali for the last two years and want to expand my experience and professional dive résumé. My first taste of technical diving was at Sidemount PCB, where PADI course director and Tec instructor-trainer Tom West molded me into a Tec-50 diver.
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:
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.
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?
Decompression divers may add Helium into their cylinders to make deep dives over 130ft. Sometimes they are less likely to visit wrecks or reefs than astronauts to reach the moon every year.
One of most significant changes to the equipment cave divers use since the beginning is the shift from using backmounted doubles towards sidemount. While a large number of cave divers are now sidemounting, it is possible that there are many more sidemount cave diver than backmount.
Items such as cylinders and primary lights, which my be difficult to travel with, are available for rental. Be sure to alert us if you will need any of these.
You can rent items like primary lights and cylinders, which may be difficult to carry. Please let us know if you need these.
The sidemount rig was originally invented for cave diving as it allows the diver to pass thru cracks and restrictions (tiny holes) easier than the classic back mount rig.
from 170 to 350 feet
While conventional scuba diving has a recommended maximum depth of 130 feet, technical divers may work at depths ranging from 170 feet to 350 feet, and sometimes even deeper.
Technical diving (also known as tec diving or tech diving) is non-professional scuba diving that exceeds the agency-specified limits of recreational diving.
- 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.