Hi there. I need help figuring out what the bar is for tech diving [generally, and with emphasis on skills]. How do I find out? I think there are probably some skills that I want to perfect and know as second nature to get the edge for tech diving. How can I figure out what these are? As for where I want to be - I just want to go really deep, but not necessarily wrecks. I have an idea what tech diving is, besides being diving that is more than rec diving. But am not sure which skills would be extremely important [I'd imagine buoyancy, nav and gas maintenance being up there]. In the meantime I'll be getting more dives in. I'm curious what folks on this board think.
Tech diving is any of the following:
1) going into a cave or shipwreck;
2) going deeper than 130 ft; or
3) staying down longer than the NDL limits.
Tech training requires finding a tech instructor, and saving up enough money from your day job to buy the extra gear and pay the instructor. The training program is normally divided up into modules variously called intro, intermediate, and advanced. It normally takes about 6 months to a year to finish all of it.
The gear normally involves a drysuit, a 6 cu ft argon bottle with a basic 1st stage and LP hose to feed the suit with, four 1st stages, four 2nd stages, two lights, two masks, a big reel, a small spool (metal ones are best), 2 surface marker buoys (SMBs), a backplate, a wing, a harness (self-made is best and least expensive), small jetfins, a gauge-mode computer (some agencies, the better ones, require 2 of them), a wrist slate, and some kind of deco tables (either software generated or pre-printed).
You should not start buying gear, however, until you have found your super-instructor first, though.
Some stores let you rent the twin tanks and the two deco bottles, otherwise you will need to buy these as well.
You are ready for tech diving if you can do the following:
1) Plan your dive, and dive you plan;
2) Control your buoyancy so that you can go down slowly, go up slowly, and stay level the rest of the time;
3) Know when to dive at a spot, and when not to dive there, based on conditions;
4) Enjoy scuba diving and stay relaxed during the dives.
Tech diving opens new depths for you, down to 350 ft for open circuit (tanks) scuba, and/or cave diving with lights, and/or decompression diving where you must wait additional time before you can come back to the surface.
If this is what you want, you should start now to find an instructor. The instructor will be affiliated with one of several agencies:
1) IANTD
2) TDI
3) NAUI Tech
4) GUE
5) etc.
Which agency does not matter that much. What matters is that you get along great with him/her. Try to meet several instructors before you make your choice. The instructor is your most important decision, since this person may or may not get you killed, may or may not teach you false principles that later get you killed, etc.
The instructor(s) will ask you a lot of questions too. He/she/they want to know if you are the kind of student who is going to get them killed. Answer honestly.
The training starts with getting your underwater configuration and set up alligned so that:
1) you are horizontal underwater;
2) your weighting is not 1 lb heavier or lighter than perfect;
3) you can change depths easily and stop at any depth;
4) you dont scull your hands nor kick your fins unnecessarily;
5) you can drift effortlessly and hold that depth while drifting;
6) you can send up an SMB on the line of your spool and use it to egress slowly;
7) you can use the reel to mark your course through a wreck or cave;
8) you can use the reel as a backup spool;
9) you can handle a single deco bottle with EAN 50 in it;
10) at all times you stay off the bottom so that you don't silt up the site;
11) etc.
After this, you then normally begin to train on more progressive gas mixes, such as nitrox first, then norm-oxic trimix (TMX 21/40), then finally hypoxic trimix (TMX 15/50 etc.) together with EAN 50 and 100% O2 for deco.
Then there are valve drills where you need to reach back behind your head and shut down your twin tanks variously. There are also air-sharing drills that are slightly different than what you were taught for basic open water.
You will also be changing your mask underwater with your spare in your cargo pocket several times throughout the training, so I hope you are already good at this. One agency will actually rip your mask off by surprise (I do not like those who do this, because I believe it is counter-productive and unsafe).
Give all this some serious though. Otherwise, you could be wasting your time and a lot more money.
