When to go tech...

[absolute_mess]

Hi all,

This is my first post, so please don't flay me if I inadvertently ask something that's been asked before or make some awkward faux pas.

I'm just trying to get some peoples' thoughts on the right time to get into tech diving. I've done somewhere in the region of 80 dives, but having been going as much as I can for the last couple of months. I'm rapidly nearing Master Scuba Diver status (for the little that it's worth - just one more cert to go) with PADI and have done deep and nitrox certs. The more I dive, the more I'm bitten by the bug and the more I'm interested in both the science of diving and in developing my own knowledge and capabilities.

I've recently started to consider doing TDI deco procedures/advanced nitrox. I was hoping to do it towards the end of this year or start of next year, once I've bumped up the number of dives I've done to somewhere around 100-120. Does that sound like a reasonable goal? I'm very comfortable in the water and am used to diving in temperate conditions and in surge/currents (such is the diving in Victoria, Australia). My goal is really just to get the knowledge I feel I lack of decompression procedures, to learn to dive with a twinset and to extend my bottom time on deep(ish - about 40m) dives. I'd then hope to refine those skills for another hundred or more dives before moving onto the next stage (trimix?).

Am I rushing things? If so, how should I continue to expand my knowledge in the meantime?

Many thanks for your thoughts.

 

[lv2dive]

LOL... can we start by assuming your screen name is referencing something other than your dive skills?

 

[absolute_mess]

Ha ha, yep - very old nickname which stuck!

 

[lv2dive]

Ha ha, yep - very old nickname which stuck!

LOL - thanks for the clarification - that one just struck me a bit odd given your initial post!

Not sure how much browsing you have done - you can find quite a few opinions on the subject on this board, although I am sure more than a few people will weigh in on this thread.

My question for you would be "why?" - you are saying to get more knowledge and extend bottom time... and to a certain extent I understand that - but what is behind that, really? Do you want to sharpen your skills/feel like they are lacking? More specifically - do you know what goals you are looking for a course to help you achieve?

If you can clearly articulate what you are looking to get out of a class/course, and you find one that will help you achieve those goals - then it would make sense to move forward with it. But if you aren't clear yourself about what you want... probably not the best idea unless you just like to take training for the sake of taking training. And then - you need to be careful with what you do with it!

---------- Post added March 7th, 2013 at 10:17 PM ----------

PS - how to expand knowledge in the interim... some very good books that I found invaluable:

The Six Skills by Steve Lewis
Fundamentals of Better Diving by Jarrod Jablonski
Deco for Divers by Mark Powell

 

[absolute_mess]

Sage advice, thanks for that.

I guess there are three reasona why I want to get into some tech stuff. Firstly, there are loads of wrecks near where I live which lie in the 25-60m range. I've dived a few of the shallower ones, but some of the best are a little deeper and I'd like to be able to dive them and get a reasonable amount of bottom time (though I guess I'll have to save the deepest for a couple of years at least!).

The second reason, is that I really enjoy the technical challenge of diving, i.e. planning the dive, refining my technique and buoyancy etc. To be honest, I feel that PADI qualifications give you little more than an overview of what to do and so I'd like some more in-depth training to help me improve my skills. It's not that I feel they're lacking necessarily, and I actually think they're ok for someone with my experience, but I enjoy moving honing my skills as much as I enjoy the diving itself.

The final reason is really just to make me a more confident diver generally. Whether I'm diving at 15m or at 45m, I'm hoping to feel completely in control of what I'm doing and sufficiently confident to know what to do if the proverbial hits the fan. I'm hoping more training would give me more of an understanding of what to do when things go wrong.

Does that make sense? I'm doing a good job of convincing myself that it's the right time to move forward, but I'm grateful for the opinions of some more experienced divers!

Just saw those books you mentioned - I'll have a look at them - thanks!

 

[Jared0425]

Many people are going to say to you that you need way more dives and experience. Many people will say that new divers like yourself who advance through paper ranks think they have the skills to pull off a venture like this. Many people are going to say that the money and equipment are totally different than what regular divers are used to.

Believe it or not, when you get much experience under your belt, you will see that tech (above 210') is not as alien as you think. You can almost teach yourself how to do it by gaining about 150 or so dives in more than what you currently have. I'm not going to tear you apart for trying to jump the gun so quickly. Just slow down and enjoy your reefs and shallow wrecks. Remember that usually they do not go anywhere and will be there when you get more expierance.

If you choose to go on and put aside the advice thar many divers will give on this thread, rest assure they will be close to the same opinion as mine above, then remember to do valve drills, gas management techniques, gas mixes for deco, MODs for gasses and mixes. Also remember that you can pretty much count yourself a solo diver because buddies usually cannot help you, so self reliance and competence is essential. I started tech diving not long ago, but almost 3 years after I swore to myself that I would get it in 4 weeks after I said that. Complacency taught me a lesson along with experience taught me that I was not as ready as I thought.

 

[PfcAJ]

Also remember that you can pretty much count yourself a solo diver because buddies usually cannot help you

What?

 

[absolute_mess]

Thanks for your comments Jared. I guess the point I was trying to make is not that I think I have the skills to pull this off, but that I'm hoping to hone/develop my skills further by doing an entry level tech qualification. I don't want to rush past that point, but I had thought that the understanding I would gain from it might make me a better overall diver, whether at 10m or 40m. What I'm hearing though, is that tech is a whole other ballgame which is best begun after another couple of hundred dives ... maybe that's a fair point. Certainly food for thought and I appreciate your comments.

 

[hellhole]

Imo... the fact that u bother to check out in detail what it is and asking question here. Tell me that u are ready. B/c I belive u will approach it with lots of care.
Only advise is to find a good instructor/school... as with all diving ...

Have fun...

 

[Griffo]

Hi AM,

You thoughts sound somewhat similar to mine not too long ago - a strong desire to get out and see some of those awesome wrecks around melbourne that are just a bit deeper than recreational certs teach you. You say you did PADI, I did SSI and what I found very strongly was that I wasn't learning how to actually be a good diver (despite a fist full of cert cards). I too had thought about going and doing some TDI adv Nitrox / deco classes (for which I was qualified) but ended up going down a different path. Which i'm glad I did - because what I learnt was that true buoyancy and trim control which are absolutely critical for wreck diving (as well as a whole heap of other skills), was something I would never have learnt just by doing a bunch more dives or doing more courses with my LDS. I'm very glad I didn't do the TDI course, because I have realised how far away the bar should have been before doing those types of courses.

Now if we were sitting on a Dive Vic boat and having a chat, here's what i'd probably say:

You talk about wanting to increase your knowledge and science of diving. I'd strongly suggest getting your hands on a copy of several books including
a) Deco for Divers by Mark Powell - the normal persons bible on deco science
b) Beginning With the End in Mind - the Fundamentals of Recreational Diving - while it's a GUE book, I believe it's great reading for anyone wanting to get into tech
c) Diver Down: Real-World SCUBA Accidents and How to Avoid Them - just to start thinking about the realities of deep diving and to become a "thinking diver"

I'd then suggest that you forget about deep wreck diving until you have mastered doubles, diving dry, and had someone teach you proper trim and buoyancy control, proper non silting kicks etc. Now as a GUE diver i'd suggest that you look at doing a Fundamentals course - there are a couple of awesome instructors in Melbourne, but you could equally do a CDAA course or go speak to someone like Warrick at Ocean Divers, or Rubens at IDC and get some one-on-one instruction. I'm also told the TDI Wreck course is pretty awesome, but have no first hand experience.

While it would be simple in some ways to dive deeper into the Victorian ships graveyard, (and there are a hell of a lot of wrecks to choose from) I firmly believe that there are a number of skills that you just won't learn from a rec agency, that are essential to keep you safe. But you can learn these skills while still doing rec dives, and hone them over another 50 or 100 dives before jumping into the real technical dives - that way a lot of the skills required will be automatic and ingrained into your very diving DNA, rather than having to learn basic core skills or un-learning bad habits during your tech course. For this I think Fundies is a great way to start any tech diving life.


Now if i've got you at all curios on what GUE Fundaments is, here's my class report -> http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/basic-scuba-discussions/420844-new-divers-view-gue-fundamentals.html

So, I may be a bit all over the place in this response, but really my response is
a) If you are diving wet, start diving dry. The water is too cold here for extended diving wet
b) Learn doubles - learn them properly, learn valve shutdown procedures etc
c) Get someone to teach you proper buoyancy, trim, light procedures, S-drills and get setup for tech diving gear wise
d) do a shed load more dives to cement all those skills
e) then think about some deco / trimix / other tech courses