How expensive is tech?

[Kevrumbo]

Typical tech/wreck charter that someone like myself interested in historical WWII Indo-Pacific wrecks:
http://www.asiadivers.com/tech/images/techasia_diving/expeditions/Hermes_MoreInfo.pdf

Gas costs for a week or more tech diving the wrecks of Truk Lagoon:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=152727&d=1366162580

Truk Stop dive-ops 2012, Standard Gas Bottom Mix estimates for one set of double 11L (twinset AL 80's):
21/35 $205
18/45 $260
15/55 $310

Last month's Bikini Atoll Liveaboard (M/V Windward) open circuit gas costs for 17 dives over eight days including crew gratuity: $3.8k. (Helium $5.66/cuft, Oxygen $1.70/cuft). Excess baggage total fees charged by United Airlines (each way -each flight leg!): $1.2k. My X-scooter itself cost $400 as check-in luggage

I work in SoCal Aerospace Industry, 9 to 12 hours a day, sometimes all seven days of the week for nearly a month straight. If all goes well and units delivered on time, I take the rest of the Quarter off and blow all my earnings in Overtime on tropical Scuba Expeditions like those above.

Here's last month's Gas Bill from Truk Lagoon (and I'm working continuously seven days a week this entire Quarter to pay off the credit card for all these tech trips above from last year AND to return back in June again). . .

 

[SCUBA_Phil]

Here's last month's Gas Bill from Truk Lagoon (and I'm working continuously seven days a week this entire Quarter to pay off the credit card for all these tech trips above from last year AND to return back in June again). . .

I will keep my RB (upfront cost are steep). My gas bill from this past weekend trip to San Clemente Island for both dives. Dive 1 was USS Hopewell (370'), dive 2 was USS Burns (270').
Dill: 10/68. Used 13 cuft, cost: $0.60 cuft = $7.60
O2: Used 13 cuft, cost $0.15 cuft = 1.95
Sorb: $30
Total: $39.50

 

[Peter69_56]

Okay...okay! Duct tape!

You shouldn't tape ducks to yourself when tech diving, they are not rated for deco and paddle their little feet like mad!

---------- Post added January 23rd, 2014 at 01:25 PM ----------

46 meters deep, diving at the Bridge of the HIJMS Nagato . . .where Admiral Yamamoto transmitted the most infamous code phrase in 20th Century History: Niitakayama Nobore ("Climb Mount Niitake"), the "Go Code" to Admiral Nagumo's flagship of the Kido Butai -at the time the most powerful armada in the world. The Admiral then opened a set of top secret documents which confirmed that Japan would be going to war with the United States, Britain, and Holland. It also gave a date for the opening of hostilities…December 8th (the 7th on the Pearl Harbor side of the International Date Line).

46 meters deep, diving at the Bridge of the HIJMS Nagato . . .where on June 7 1942, six months later, a stunned Admiral Yamamoto received news that all four carriers of Kido Butai were burning or sunk at Midway -and the worst defeat in 350 years of Japanese military history.

46 meters deep, the once powerful battleship HIJMS Nagato, the first capital ship ever mounted with 16" guns, now capsized & bleeding fuel oil, the tall pagoda mast and Bridge superstructure smashed & bent lying on the sea floor: Symbolic Flagship of the Empire of Japan's destruction by the industrial might of the U.S. -and physically destroyed by the most powerful weapons ever developed & produced.

46 meters deep . . . worth every penny spent to see and re-live the monumental history of it all.

HIJMS Nagato - Wrecks in Bikini Atoll - Lust4Rust Wreck Diving Trips

You evil evil person, posting something like that here, making me so so jeleous. Damn I hate you, I hate you, now I am soooooooo wanting to go to Bikini Atoll. Sooooooo want to go there, got conned into a NON dive trip to Canada this June rather than a dive trip and Bikini was on my short list. Now look what you have done, I am lusting again to get wet and NOW! Grrrrrrrrrrrr.

 

[RalphRocky]

How much should I expect to spend on getting tec certified to ~170 or 180 feet? I'm starting from AOW. I know each agency is different, but a ballpark estimate will help me plan my finances.

 

[danvolker]

How much should I expect to spend on getting tec certified to ~170 or 180 feet? I'm starting from AOW. I know each agency is different, but a ballpark estimate will help me plan my finances.

If you just got to AOW...figure a few hundred more dives before this question should even be asked.

This is like buying a book on how to Box....and then trying to get a real fight with the heavyweight champ.....you need a lot of time to learn the moves...to make them instinctive...and to see if you even have the potential for the moves.

 

[RalphRocky]

My post was unclear---my mistake. I meant to say that my current level of certification is AOW. I have a little more than 150 dives under my belt.

This is like buying a book on how to Box....and then trying to get a real fight with the heavyweight champ.....you need a lot of time to learn the moves...to make them instinctive...and to see if you even have the potential for the moves.

Even if you're analogy is accurate, I'm just looking for the cost of the book. Don't need training for that, do I?

 

[Instructor_Tom]

My post was unclear---my mistake. I meant to say that my current level of certification is AOW. I have a little more than 150 dives under my belt.



Even if you're analogy is accurate, I'm just looking for the cost of the book. Don't need training for that, do I?

Depending on the route you take expect to spend about $10,000 US on training and gear as a conservative estimate.

I personally am not one who subscribes to the BS that you need thousands of dives to become a technical diver, but you do need to train and dive with technical divers and make even the simplest dive about perfecting your technique.

Going deep is easy, getting back safe takes lots of training. Always dive within your training and your comfort level, never push just to hit a glory mark.

Hope this is helpful

T.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[RalphRocky]

Hi DM Tom,

Thanks for your response. Any estimate for just the training?

 

[Instructor_Tom]

Hi DM Tom,

Thanks for your response. Any estimate for just the training?

Its really hard to say because it really depends on where you get the training and what the local market will bear for pricing. In my neck of the woods technical dive training is very competitive and we get divers from all over the country and the world for that matter who come to FL to train and to dive. The pricing on classes is probably going to be significantly less than say LA ( land of Milk and Honey; hollywood and Money).

The 10k is what i have invested to get to where i am today. This year will see that number go up dramatically as i get my rebreather certification and go after my PADI Instructor cert.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Taliena]

It is expensive. 2 Twinsets, stages, regs, 2 drysuits, a big car, fuel, courses, helium, computers, it never stops. But it is nice

courseprices:
advanced recreational trimix: 700 dollar
normoxic trimix: 700 dollar
full trimix 900 dollar
All excluding gases.
cavern, intro, full cave 2500 dollar.