Conservative progression to TEC?

[WhiteSands]

Hi,
I have been reading a lot of accounts of diving accidents lately in order to educate myself. One of the recent accidents probably happened because the diver wasn't ready for the kind of diving she did.

I would like to get experienced member's input on what is a conservative progression into technical diving in order to do it safely/wisely.

I and my wife were contemplating doing an intro to Cave and OHP next year. I feel very comfortable in water (swam competitively during my youth) but my wife-buddy probably needs more time. We have > 50 dives currently. Her comfort and confidence in water greatly improved after doing the UTD Essentials of Rec program.

I was actually thinking of doing Essentials of TEC, but changed my mind and decided to progress through the entire Rec courses to give my buddy more water-time and training to feel very comfortable in water.

How many dives do you feel a person needs to have before progressing to Cave / Tec?

Thanks.

 

[waterpirate]

Everyone is different, even you and your buddy. Do your homework in finding a good instructor that will evaluate you and your buddy prior to starting class. some people are ready allmost out of OW, some people never are....
Hope this helps
Eric

 

[Kevrumbo]

As many dives and bottom time at Open Water recreational depths until you master and feel confidant as a team in basic non-silting trim, neutral buoyancy, frog-kick propulsion skills & ascent formation technique utilizing Minimum Deco Principles; fundamental open water long-hose gas sharing drills; deploying an open water SMB; and having a good estimate of your nominal gas consumption at depth -actually figuring out on-the-fly & knowing what value your SPG is going to read before you even unclip it to look (a most important skill that's easier to master if you commit to using the Metric system).

 

[rivers]

Don't rush through courses. Just go diving, slowly extend your recreational limits. Don't set a time limit on when you have to do your next course, taking the next step, going deeper etc.
There is no set number. You can have 500 dives in a quarry to 70+m, but that won't prepare you for a 50m sea dive. I'm at about 250 dives at the moment, all in the recreational range. I'm at a point now where, if I have the right buddy (not a same ocean buddy but one who dives in a team), then we'll plan to do 10 minutes or so of back gas deco if the dive is worth it and the conditions are right.
Just dive. You'll know when you're ready for the next step.

 

[TSandM]

One of the best instructors I've ever been fortunate enough to work with, Joe Talavera, summed it up beautifully: "Do all the dives you can do with the certification you have, and when you get bored, go get more training."

I think one of the saddest things I see in diving, over and over again, is people who march through courses without taking the time to smell the roses. There is a lot of wonderful diving at the recreational level -- instead of rushing into tech training, why not spend the money you would spend on a tech class, traveling to somewhere where the diving is very different from what you do at home? If you're a warm water diver, go try some cold; if you dive in a place where you don't deal with current, go to Cozumel or Indonesia and challenge yourself on some big walls.

It is not the number of dives. It is the variety of experience and learning you get from diving different places under different conditions, and handling problems that come up, that gives you the poise and equanimity you will need for dives with virtual or real overheads.

Of course, I get cave fever . . . I had it. I asked a similar question to yours, and I remember a cave instructor telling me he thought 500 dives was a good place to start cave training. My reaction was, "FIVE HUNDRED DIVES? That's crazy!" But I laid out a program to prepare, which included doing GUE Fundamentals, transitioning into doubles, taking a wreck workshop locally to learn line-running, and then finally going down to MX for a cave class. And you know what? By the time I got all that done, I HAD five hundred dives . . . and I had enjoyed them.

 

[tplyons]

One of the best instructors I've ever been fortunate enough to work with, Joe Talavera, summed it up beautifully: "Do all the dives you can do with the certification you have, and when you get bored, go get more training."

I got the same advice! And its worked wonders for me.

As far as moving forward through courses, I know where I want to be. I started Tec 40 training not for the additional depth, but for the redundancy and limited decompression. I dive wrecks off the Jersey shore and have been close to deco before. I'd like to spend 30 minutes on a wreck rather than the 17-18 that I do now due to NDL's.

Yes, I'll be moving on eventually to Tec 45 and Tec 50, but my goal was set as Tec 40 purely for the additional redundancy and limited decompression.

If you're no longer challenged, or are limited by your training despite comfort in circumstances, it could be time to move on. For me, most of what I dive is 100+ feet in the cold, dark waters of NJ. I'd rather have a little extra time, a little extra air, and comfort knowing I'm capable of planning for and executing decompression.

 

[Ste Wart]

I know people with a thousand dives who aren't ready for Tech. I know people with 50 that are.

It all depends on the individual.

 

[PfcAJ]

Putting numbers on things is difficult.

Go see all the stuff that you want to see at your current level. Then take the next step, see all that stuff, then take another class, repeat as needed. If at any time things seem hard, difficult, overwhelming, create pre-dive jitters, etc, slow it down.

Highly subjective, progression is.

 

[WhiteSands]

Thank you all for the great insights and wisdom. Good stuff!

 

[waterpirate]

Steve's post from his blog about self assesment may help guide your thoughts as well. Have you read his book?
Eric