Sidemount Certifications Requirements

[Simon-]

How long have you been diving? I have not heard of a sidemount certification. Have you taken any course in technical diving at all?" PADI; OR,PUT ANOTHER DOLLAR IN", is a money hungry weak excuse fo an organization. They will try to issue a certification for wading if they could.....Tom ....padi instr.

Why would there be a requirement for a technical diving course? It is recreational diving in sidemount. Nothing more, nothing less. A shutdown drill is not the sole preserve of tec divers.

It isn't PADI requesting a certification, it is the resort. Do keep up

 

[Blue Sparkle]

I planned to do single tank rec stuff.

I'll do my best to explain myself. The local dive center I worked for has been in business for 55 years and have a booming business. They may have one of their staff instructors offer the [sidemount] specialty once it's official, but it will probably rarely, if ever, be on rotation at the shop or through any of their college programs. The reason being most of the dives in the area are well within recreational limits, so very few students progress into the technical world.

Going back to my tank boot example, it would be like me like saying sidemount divers aren't allowed in the pool, regardless of having a tank boot. Tank boots aren't perfect and two tanks doubles the likelihood of breaking a tile.

It sounds like the OP was planning to do recreational, single-tank sidemount dives though, and not doubles/technical dives.

I do hope the OP comes back to report on how his trip went. I'm curious if he had any problem diving his sidemount setup and/or how it went.

 

[CWSWine]

Just got back last night from the trip to Roaton and Fantasy Island dive resort. I took my UTD 20lbs lift sidemount but I did included extra hose so I could convert my regulator from a sidemount to back mount configuration just in case I wasn't allowed to dive sidemount. I contacting the boat captain and the DM and informed them I would be diving sidemount and either one of the had ever seen a sidemount diver. After showing them my equipment and answering the typical questions like - doesn't that make you lean to one side? - why would you want to wear a tank on your side? - they both said fine and the DM comment was as long as your comfortable in the water. Since our first dive was going to be a DM lead dive the DM want me to wait for him under the boat and we would do a quick check out dive. I went off the boat dropped down about to the bottom and while waiting for the DM I was doing a helicopter turn just checkout the area. When I finished the turn I saw the DM and did a couple of frog kicks toward him as he was giving me the OK sign and he swam off. All the hype about not being able to dive sidemount was generated by the trip leader, seems the resort could care less as long as you are comfortable in the water. I even ask if I could use two tanks and the boat captain said that they didn't do tech diving and I would have to stay within rec limits but it was fine with him, just let them know so they could put the extra tanks on the boat. The dive shop was very interested in sidemount diving and the shop instructor did a dive with us just to see it in the water.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

So what all this boiled down to was a trip leader trying to sell you a course you didn't need ... why am I not surprised ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[spatman]

Excuse me but what the hell is sidemount????

this might help.

 

[scubadiverbob]

Better not need to blow your nose; they might just require a c-card for that! Hope you don't need to pee in your wetsuit, they might not have a card for that! Wonder how they would check to see if you did it properly, to cert. you for it? They would probably charge a couple of hundred to allow you to pee in your wetsuit!

 

[Colliam7]

Just got back last night from the trip to Roaton and Fantasy Island dive resort. . . . After showing them my equipment and answering the typical questions like - doesn't that make you lean to one side? - why would you want to wear a tank on your side? - they both said fine and the DM comment was as long as your comfortable in the water. . . . All the hype about not being able to dive sidemount was generated by the trip leader, seems the resort could care less as long as you are comfortable in the water.

Thanks for the follow-up. Not at all surprised that it turned out to be a non-issue.

I even ask if I could use two tanks and the boat captain said that they didn't do tech diving and I would have to stay within rec limits but it was fine with him, just let them know so they could put the extra tanks on the boat.

Which is true for a number of resorts that cater to recreational divers. especially when boat diving is the primary activity.

It is nice to get this kind of 'closure' when issues are raised. It is also enlightening to see some of the discussion. Based on a few of the comments made, some might reasonably conclude that the most fundamentalist Iranian mullahs are far less reactionary and fanatical than some SB posters.

 

[stano]

Got an email back from Memo of Aldora divers today. He tells me no issue with sidemount diving. They have had some sidemount divers already and it seems to be catching. They typically provide hp steel 120's from what I recall. He told me they would give me two al 80's. He even mentioned that he would like to try it. Aldora is a top rate operation and it's good to know there is no issue there at least. My 2 cents FYI...

Stano

 

[KheSahn068]

I'm sorry, but I have been out of the diving industry since 1978 and just re-entered (boy, am I having a problem readjusting to all the gear they use now). Anyway, I am not familiar with the question about "sidemount." What is a sidemount?

 

[Skorpiov]

Sidemount diving is where you use a harness (backplate or not) but wear the tanks slung under each arm much like you would use a stage bottle.They each have a separate regulator and you breath from both tanks switching every so many minutes or PSI so that you use equally from both (if you are using 2 tanks). The wing is usually low profile which gives you a more "flat" profile itn he water. It was initially most used in cave diving to give easier access through restrictions, but is quickly catching on by many divers due to the benefits.

One benefit is you can carry the tanks to the water and get in to rig up so you are not toting double steel tanks and having to jump in. Another is you have a lower profile in the water which is sometime beneficial in an overhead environment. A third is you never have that rollover feeling from being top heavy.

I took my sidemount class in Open Water and we had exercises like wearing 2, dropping one, picking up and wearing stages in addition to the two, where to clip O2, hose routing, unclipping the back end and swiniging them around front to squeeze through restrictions. Its a very comfortable config once you get over the hump. It is very different in the beginning. It was the first time I ever carried 4 stages and two main gas bottles.