Intro to Technical Diving

[Jeepman3sk]

I was thinking of taking the Intro to Technical Diving at my LDS. It is a NAUI cert place which I'm cert in Basic with. He is my question. I want to get into technical diving are there any course I should take first before I start this class?

 

[krcollins]

I want to get into technical diving are there any course I should take first before I start this class?

I would recommend taking a GUE DIR Fundamentals class. It is a great class that focuses on spot on bouancy control, proper trim, buddy team skills, situational awareness and strong fundamental skills as the building blocks to further advanced training.

Not sure where you live but classes are offered in multiple places around the country. Check out http://www.gue.com

 

[SDAnderson]

I was thinking of taking the Intro to Technical Diving at my LDS. It is a NAUI cert place which I'm cert in Basic with. He is my question. I want to get into technical diving are there any course I should take first before I start this class?

Two questions pop to mind: (1) what kind of technical diving are you interested in, and; (2) did you ask the instructor what the prerequisites are?

NAUI will have it's own requirements but, IMNSHO, before starting technical diving you should, at the very least, have:

• Rescue
• Deep
• EAN
• Night
• Search & Recovery
• Wreck

You also should be spot-on with all of the basic skills - no kidding. If you can't hold position at a safety stop without grabbing something or swimming around, or if you cringe at removing and replacing your mask, you aren't ready. Lotsa dives are the only way to master these skills.

You also want to make sure your bank account can take the hit. The gear, training and supplies are (are, not can be) expensive.

The GUE Fundies course is very good (and very intense) but not the only way to get started in technical diving. Especially if all you're looking to do at this point is to get a taste of what it might be like, the NAUI Taste of Tech course may be just what you want. Check out your instructor carefully and if (s)he isn't active as a technical diver, find someone else.

 

[Jeepman3sk]

It looks like I may take a few classes before I get involved in it. This is the LDS http://www.deepsixspecialists.com/ the guy who does all of the cert is great. Very old but has been diving for a long time. I am in Cleveland Ohio area. I have my drys uit cert also. Is there a order to to the class in which you guys would suggest.

 

[rjack321]

nitrox and rescue (in that order) then go straight to the intro to tech.

Skip the rest of those recreational specialties. You can come back to them with the basics of technical diving (bouyancy and trim mostly) and use those classes to practice more after intro to tech. (or skip them entirely, they may or may not be any good in your area)

Every recreational specialty under the sun is not required to be a good technical diver.

 

[Jeepman3sk]

Thank you very much everyone my next class is nitrox.

 

[terrasmak]

Take Naui master diver with the tech instructer

 

[Rick Murchison]

Don't know about NAUI prerequisites per se; for the SSI TechXR Foundations course you'll need:
Minimum age 18
Deep
Nitrox
Stress/Rescue
Nav or Wreck or Cavern
AOW cert
50 logged dives
Plus (this isn't in the standards - it's just true) Reefraff's comment about being spot-on with your basic skills is... spot-on.
Rick

 

[SDAnderson]

nitrox and rescue (in that order) then go straight to the intro to tech.

Skip the rest of those recreational specialties. You can come back to them with the basics of technical diving (bouyancy and trim mostly) and use those classes to practice more after intro to tech. (or skip them entirely, they may or may not be any good in your area)

Every recreational specialty under the sun is not required to be a good technical diver.

Here's my thinking: successful technical diving requires a meticulous, process-conscious approach to planning and executing dives. That process starts with making certain that you get the training and experience that you need before taking the next step and that you avoid shortcuts that save a little time but leave you unprepared. You should never allow yourself to be in the position where you have to "come back" and learn skills that you skipped over and needed on the last dive. I'll be surprised and dismayed if you disagree.

There are a number of critical skills that every technical diver must have. If you wait until you start technical training to get exposure to overhead environment skills, line handling skills, light handling skills, goal-oriented team diving, specialty gases (and more), you'll be behind before you even start - and behind is a cold, dark, deep place where you never want to be. Though you will learn more about many of these skills during technical training, the place to start learning about them is when you're still a recreational diver. Digital Underwater Photographer and Fish ID teach no skills that are critical for technical divers and can wait forever. Wreck, Night, Deep, Nitrox, S&R and Rescue teach critical skills that are used routinely in tech diving and should be learned before taking the technical plunge.

 

[Rick Murchison]

Here's my thinking: successful technical diving requires a meticulous, process-conscious approach to planning and executing dives. That process starts with making certain that you get the training and experience that you need before taking the next step and that you avoid shortcuts that save a little time but leave you unprepared. You should never allow yourself to be in the position where you have to "come back" and learn skills that you skipped over and needed on the last dive. I'll be surprised and dismayed if you disagree.

There are a number of critical skills that every technical diver must have. If you wait until you start technical training to get exposure to overhead environment skills, line handling skills, light handling skills, goal-oriented team diving, specialty gases (and more), you'll be behind before you even start - and behind is a cold, dark, deep place where you never want to be. Though you will learn more about many of these skills during technical training, the place to start learning about them is when you're still a recreational diver. Digital Underwater Photographer and Fish ID teach no skills that are critical for technical divers and can wait forever. Wreck, Night, Deep, Nitrox, S&R and Rescue teach critical skills that are used routinely in tech diving and should be learned before taking the technical plunge.

Gee, Reefraff, here I was reading the best post ever on the subject when I run across a nit I just have to pick Fish ID and Photography (and any other course that gets a diver in the water) have value applicable to technical diving even if just "more diving." Both those are even more directly applicable, however, as both require fine-tuning buoyancy and maneuvering-with-your-hands-full, as well as improved paying-attention-to-details skills.
The others mentioned have more direct application, but I encourage divers to pursue any type diving with passion; "Tech" is a means to expand the envelope along the way, not an end in itself.
Which brings up another point... What reason should one have to pursue "technical" diving? If it's to "wear the badge" then I submit that's a "foundation of sand" that has dangerous long-term implications. Tech should be pursued when it is needed to accomplish your other diving goals, like seeing what's inside a wreck or cave, or photographing that fish that's deep.
Rick