When should I look into getting my tech cert?

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JPacDiver

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Messages
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Location
TX/CA
# of dives
100 - 199
Hello all,
Just curious about getting some insight about when a good time is to get certified for caves and caverns. I'm not much of a risky diver, so I want to make absolutely sure that I'm ready for it. How many logs should I have before thinking about it?

Thanks!
 
I'm certified on the tech side, and not cave, but the mindset is similar. There is no defined progression from recreational diving to deep/cave. It is not the next step on the road to being a diver like many people see AOW, Rescue, DM, etc. It is best looked on as a separate interest, although it does leverage off of any skills you already have.

I would say the best indicator of how ready you are for a cave/deep class is an Intro to Tech style course like TDI's, or GUE's Fundamentals. That and a big wallet. You could also try something like a PADI cavern course to get a feel of whether or not you would be interested in that sort of thing, but realize the PADI cert will be mostly a throw away course.

As to the number of dives, it doesn't matter much. I've seen people with 500+ dives that could not handle a deep/cave course, and I've seen people with 50 dives that are pretty much there. I would say its never too early for an Intro course. You will learn the right way to do things, and learn what you need to improve upon before progressing.

Tom
 
Thanks, know a good instructor I should consider? Traveling isnt a problem, I want to make sure I go with someone that is very good. My open water instructor was a joke. I noticed that my tank inspection was out before my first open water dive.
 
Its not how many dives you have its how much you learned from the dives you did. Your basic skills should be concrete before you do any Tech classes. They will teach you what to learn from there. Im guessing you didnt do any follow up classes with that instructor LOL...
 
One more thing.. I am not a fan of jumping from one class to another without actually getting out there and doing the dives. In a cave environment thats a good way to become a statistic. And until you have an emergency in one you dont really understand just how serious the situation is. I have been fortunate that I have some great cave diving buddies that are honest and they let me know what needed working on. Thats invaluable information.
 
JPac, I'll 2nd Kevin's comment. It's not the number of dives, it's how you look and feel in the water. I've trained divers in cavern diving with only a couple dozen dives. I've also trained divers in cavern with several hundred dives. If you feel comfortable in the water and have a good handle on your buoyancy and trim, especially while task loaded, then you'll do fine. Kevin also makes another good point - get out there and do the dives and practice the skills in between courses. You only get an introduction to the skills in the courses. My students don't come out of my courses having perfected the skills. That's impossible to do in a weekend. What I do know is they have done the skills enough that the muscle memory is starting to build. They have the foundation to get out there and practice those skills over the next few months and work on getting them as close to perfect as possible. What determines whether you get a card from me in most situations is your attitude, not how well you do the skills. Yes, you do have to perform the skills to a satisfactory level, but even if you were to perform them perfectly, if your attitude sucks, you don't get a card. Fortunately, the agency I teach through allows me to do that.

Finally, are you diving doubles yet? If so, great, then you're probably ready now. If not, then I suggest doing a intro to tech or intro to doubles course. I've taken a diver who never had a dive in doubles to intro cave level in 2 weekends and he did great. You can play around with doubles and work at getting your trim and buoyancy right over the next 30-40 dives or you can speed up the process a little with a good instructor/mentor who will help you address the common problems most divers experience when first transitioning to doubles.

Let me know if you have any more questions. If you ever head over to the Florida panhandle, let me know.
 
I wouldn't consider the PADI course a "throw away" course. It would build a good base knowledge about the risks associated with diving in a cavern or cave. It won't go in depth to the tech side but it would allow you to learn some basics and get a feel for some easy cave and cavern diving.


Why do you state this?

I think what he is getting at is taking the course when you know you want to get in to the more advanced tech diving would be pointless. Don't take Class "A" if you know you're going to take Class "B" which is everything that is in "A" plus more.
 
JPac, I'll 2nd Kevin's comment. It's not the number of dives, it's how you look and feel in the water. I've trained divers in cavern diving with only a couple dozen dives. I've also trained divers in cavern with several hundred dives. If you feel comfortable in the water and have a good handle on your buoyancy and trim, especially while task loaded, then you'll do fine. Kevin also makes another good point - get out there and do the dives and practice the skills in between courses. You only get an introduction to the skills in the courses. My students don't come out of my courses having perfected the skills. That's impossible to do in a weekend. What I do know is they have done the skills enough that the muscle memory is starting to build. They have the foundation to get out there and practice those skills over the next few months and work on getting them as close to perfect as possible. What determines whether you get a card from me in most situations is your attitude, not how well you do the skills. Yes, you do have to perform the skills to a satisfactory level, but even if you were to perform them perfectly, if your attitude sucks, you don't get a card. Fortunately, the agency I teach through allows me to do that.

Finally, are you diving doubles yet? If so, great, then you're probably ready now. If not, then I suggest doing a intro to tech or intro to doubles course. I've taken a diver who never had a dive in doubles to intro cave level in 2 weekends and he did great. You can play around with doubles and work at getting your trim and buoyancy right over the next 30-40 dives or you can speed up the process a little with a good instructor/mentor who will help you address the common problems most divers experience when first transitioning to doubles.

Let me know if you have any more questions. If you ever head over to the Florida panhandle, let me know.

I have used twin 80's, however not really a need for them now. I thought I'd get that training with a Tech class.
 
Thanks, know a good instructor I should consider? Traveling isnt a problem, I want to make sure I go with someone that is very good. My open water instructor was a joke. I noticed that my tank inspection was out before my first open water dive.

There's a lot of good instructors out there. I would suggest you find one that does the sort of diving you plan on doing. There are a lot of caves near Arkansas/Missouri. If you are interested in those, I would get in contact with SLIM, and see what he has to say.

If you see yourself in Florida, there are a bunch of guys down there for sure. I took a GUE fundamentals class, and I really would recommend it to anyone, even if you aren't too keen on the DIR mindset. The gear will get you close to wherever you will wind up being in the end, and for many, it's the first time they really see what a good diver looks like in the water. GUE standards are very high, so any GUE instructor will teach a quality class. You can find equally good classes through other agencies, you just need to pick a good instructor.

Why do you state this?

From my understanding, someone who wants to take Cavern/Intro through another agency would still need to retake the Cavern class even if they have a PADI cavern card. The skills might be beneficial, but the card will not fulfill any prerequisites. Please chime in if I'm wrong, you probably know a lot more about the c-card game than I do.
 

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