Mark of the Tech Diver!

[RJP]

but hey if you want to bash your country in regards to rebreather training who am I to stop you, so go ahead and please accept my apology

You're just being silly now; no one is "bashing their country" but rather commenting that there are some RB divers who could be more skillful.

 

[David_57]

You're just being silly now; no one is "bashing their country" but rather commenting that there are some RB divers who could be more skillful.

I have no idea what's required to dive a rebreather in England, but I will agree that the requirements to do so in the US are absolutely minimal, and there are people diving them who have no business doing so.

Above is TSandM's quote not mine which you seemed to be in agreement with Like I have already said this is very rare up here in Canada I for one have never seen this.

 

[nadwidny]

I have no idea what's required to dive a rebreather in England, but I will agree that the requirements to do so in the US are absolutely minimal, and there are people diving them who have no business doing so.

Above is TSandM's quote not mine which you seemed to be in agreement with Like I have already said this is very rare up here in Canada I for one have never seen this.

You haven't been around much. I know of at least 3 RB divers and one RB instructor that don't belong in a bathtub, let alone in OW.

 

[wedivebc]

You haven't been around much. I know of at least 3 RB divers and one RB instructor that don't belong in a bathtub, let alone in OW.

Yes and all his OC technical experience didn't help him one little bit.

 

[Scott L]

I have no idea what's required to dive a rebreather in England, but I will agree that the requirements to do so in the US are absolutely minimal, and there are people diving them who have no business doing so.

Above is TSandM's quote not mine which you seemed to be in agreement with Like I have already said this is very rare up here in Canada I for one have never seen this.

I have never read any posts in any forums in the past making distinctions regarding the skill level of USA and Canadians divers. In addition, why the rabid defense of RB divers when it appears by viewing your profile picture you are an OC diver? Not an attack, just curious...

 

[Sas]

To be quite honest I find it hard to believe as TsandM stated that there could be people using rebreathers that should not due to inadequate training or diving abilities, and as she is not a rebreather diver wonder how she can even determine this?

Are you a rebreather diver yourself? It doesn't appear so from your posts and also your profile, but maybe it is not updated. If not, using your logic, how are you able to determine if rebreather divers are adequately trained given you do not dive one yourself?

I don't think people need to be diving a piece of equipment to determine if others are skilled or not...

Again I find it offensive when someone makes a blanket statement like the OP did in post #54 insinuating the training in the UK is superior and the diving conditions are tougher than North America.

Try not to take this so personally. I definitely think that there are more difficult places around the world to learn to dive and what is the big deal if there are and that you didn't learn there? Locally I deal with coldish water, strong currents, swell and seas, sometimes awful viz and in comparison to some of the northern states I think conditions are tougher to dive in most of the time. But that doesn't mean that I think divers from up north are inferior divers or what not, just that it is easier to dive up there. I am quite sure there are plenty of more challenging places in the world to dive than were I'm from too, but I don't take it personally when someone points that out *shrugs*

 

[Slamfire]

Back to the OP's topic... My father will turn 60 in a few months. He's been diving since he was 14. He is one of the few people in today's world that is not internet literate. I do not believe he would understand the term technical diver. He might be able to suspect what it refers to because he understands terms like mixed gas diver, saturation divers, cave and wreck divers. He understands the reasons and theory behind adding He to your breathing mix and enriching your gas with higher percentages of O₂. Yes, you can still get useful information from places other than the internet.

An article like the one referred to by the OP would greatly help someone like my dad to understand what people mean when referring to technical divers. No, it would not make him go out to buy a CCR so that he can be at the apex of diving prowess. No, he would not interpret that you can use this equipment correctly without any mentoring or training just because the author failed to mention it in the article.

When I talk to my dad about the dives I make, again, I'm mission oriented: We went down to a wreck that sits in almost 170'. My max depth was 166'. The average depth at bottom was 155'. I had 3 tanks with me. The two on the back had 21% O₂, 35% He and the rest was N₂. The 3rd tank was 50% O₂. Telling him I did a technical dive would be meaningless. Every dive requires technique.

 

[David_57]

Are you a rebreather diver yourself? It doesn't appear so from your posts and also your profile, but maybe it is not updated. If not, using your logic, how are you able to determine if rebreather divers are adequately trained given you do not dive one yourself?

I don't think people need to be diving a piece of equipment to determine if others are skilled or not...



Try not to take this so personally. I definitely think that there are more difficult places around the world to learn to dive and what is the big deal if there are and that you didn't learn there? Locally I deal with coldish water, strong currents, swell and seas, sometimes awful viz and in comparison to some of the northern states I think conditions are tougher to dive in most of the time. But that doesn't mean that I think divers from up north are inferior divers or what not, just that it is easier to dive up there. I am quite sure there are plenty of more challenging places in the world to dive than were I'm from too, but I don't take it personally when someone points that out *shrugs*

You are completely missing the point of my posts so it seems are a few others, guess there is no use wasting anymore time here so will unsubscribe from this thread and leave you and the others to it. Its your right to rise to the defence of some dude from the UK that figures the training and diving there is much more difficult than anywhere else in the world including Australia, but for me I do not and will never accept this kind of dive superiority complex.

Added to this you obviously have no idea of the dive conditions around Canada especially lake Ontario, and the St Lawrence River area.

 

[Scott L]

I think all you frozen tundra guys should pack up and move to Florida to play with our turtles, sharks, reefs, ledges, wrecks, all the while surrounded by bikini clad beauties.

 

[Sas]

You are completely missing the point of my posts so it seems are a few others, guess there is no use wasting anymore time here so will unsubscribe from this thread and leave you and the others to it. Its your right to rise to the defence of some dude from the UK that figures the training and diving there is much more difficult than anywhere else in the world including Australia, but for me I do not and will never accept this kind of dive superiority complex.

Me thinks thou dost protest too much... I could care less whether people think they've got it tougher than me in diving and dive training. You might feel better if you just got over it as well.

I noticed you avoided responding to my point about rebreather diving and how given what you said to TSandM you're really in no position to comment on rebreather training...

Added to this you obviously have no idea of the dive conditions around Canada especially lake Ontario, and the St Lawrence River area.

Wrong actually. And why would you assume this given I never commented on diving in Canada?