New to tech

[LakerPride]

Great advice Devon thanks, I have read Deco for Divers, Intro to Tech, Essentials of Deeper Sport diving, also recently I have read cover to cover the Encyclopedia of Diving, Shadow Divers, and the Last Dive. I am very comfortable in the gear I had been using, but no one is going to be more cautious than me.

I had a near incident while I was diving one of my first dives post certification. I was diving with the same person who had gone through the course with me. We were at Shark Cove on the north shore of Oahu. We dove out to the wall and while diving he burned through his gas quickly, he never signaled to me or anything. We were only at about 40 feet on the edge of the wall but one minute I was watching some fish at the edge with him about 10 feet away and the next minute he was gone. Somehow we missed each other, he was down to his reserve and had gone to the surface but the current coming out of the cove was to strong to swim against on the surface. So as I was going up to check the surface for him he had started to dive back down. When I got to the surface I realized how bad the current was on the surface plus an offshore wind. So even though I had no clue where he was, I also dove back down, but I had plenty of air left. The current was so bad that I had to literally pull myself along the bottom. When I finally got to where the current broke it was shallow enough to stand up, so I took off my fins and walked in. I thought I had lost him, and was fully prepared to call out a search and rescue party. When I got on shore though he was laying there exhausted with almost no air left in his tank. That was the last time we dove together. We both made mistakes but I felt he had abandoned me, when I got on shore he was laughing and making light of it. I was pissed so I packed up and left. Later I went to another fundies class and got more instruction and took a guide with me on the next two dives. But that was a scary experience.

 

[boulderjohn]

I will first of all agree with those who have posted telling you to get a dry suit and so a lot of diving in it before looking for a tech instructor. I suggest you go to the exposure suit forum in ScubaBoard and read through old threads there for a while to get a sense of what you want to buy.

Then I would take a lot of time looking for the right tech instruction. While it is definitely true that the individual instructor is the key element in instruction, having been trained in tech by three different agencies I assure you there is a difference in agencies as well. Some of them have policies that deal with the long term that you really need to know in the short term. For example, if you think you ever want to have GUE training, you had better start with GUE training. Some agencies have unusual policies that may make it very difficult for you to progress through the system. Some allow helium early on in the training but then take forever to get to the deeper use of helium, while others take a long time getting to helium and then get you to the more advanced aspects of it quickly. If you are well into your tech training before you decide to switch instructors/agencies, you may find the cross over to be difficult. You won't be able to make a decision about that for a while, so I would take some time getting used to dry suit diving before starting to look.

 

[LakerPride]

Sorry Colliem I did not see your post, You described my intentions to the T. I am not looking into tech to start penetration dives or cave/caverns. I want to make myself a more proficient diver. When I have dove with tech divers in the past, I was very impressed with their buoyancy control, trim etc, so I want to add those skills along with the drysuit to my toolbox. I figured if I am comfortable and have progressed accordingly I will move into actual tech dives in a year or two, maybe three.

 

[Rhone Man]

EDIT. Deleted - relevant book was on the list.

and read....

There's a ton of great tech books out there. You've got a long wait before you're ready to start the practical training, but that shouldn't stop you increasing your knowledge of the issues.

Here's a selection, that gives a broad coverage of issues and viewpoints. Add to this list any agency training manuals (TDI, IANTD, ANDI, TecRec, UTD, GUE etc) for technical diving that you can find on Ebay etc..

Technical Diving From the Bottom Up by Kevin Gurr

Deco for Divers: Decompression Theory and Physiology by Mark Powell

Technical Diving Handbook by Gary Gentile

Introduction to Technical Diving by Rob Palmer

Essentials of Deeper Sport Diving by John Lippmann

Diving in Darkness: Beneath Rock, Under Ice, into Wrecks by Martyn Farr

UTD Student and Diver Procedure Manual by Andrew Georgitsis

Doing it Right: The Fundamentals of Better Diving by Jarrod Jablonski

Mixed Gas Diving: The Ultimate Challenge for Technical Diving by Tom Mount

Caverns Measureless to Man by Sheck Exley

The Essentials of Cave Diving: Jill Heinerth's Guide to Cave Diving by Jill Heinerth

The Last Dive: A Father and Son's Fatal Descent into the Ocean's Depths by Bernie Chowdhury

The Cave Divers by Robert F. Burgess

Diving Physics with Bubble Mechanics and Decompression Theory in Depth by Bruce R Wienke

Basic Decompression Theory and Application 3rd Edition by Bruce R. Wienke

Advanced Wreck Diving Guide by Gary Gentile

Shipwreck Hunter: Deep, Dark & Deadly in the Great Lakes by Gerry Volgenau

Diving into Darkness: A True Story of Death and Survival by Phillip Finch

Deep Descent: Adventure and Death Diving the Andrea Doria by Kevin F. McMurray

Recreational Trimix Diving [Kindle Edition] by Kevin Evans

Technical Diving in Depth by Bruce R. Wienke

Fatally Flawed - The Quest to be Deepest by Verna van Schaik

DIR Rebreather: Nitrox Rebreather Diving by Cedric Verdier

Once you've done a little reading and gotten comfortable in the water, then you can start preparing the foundations for technical training. That means applying precision dive planning, situational awareness, gas management and fine-tuned buoyancy, trim and propulsion to all your dives. Whilst you're waiting, you might consider a GUE Fundamentals course, or maybe an 'Intro To Tech' (available from most agencies).

I can't being to state how important experience and competence are in respect of technical diving training. Equipment needs to be like a second-skin. Core skills need to be ingrained to the point of thoughtless instinct. Mindset has to be serious, conservative and open-minded.

The time to realise your deficiencies isn't on day #1 of tech course (having spent $000's on the training and equipment).

 

[DevonDiver]

Great list. I'd add Gary Gentile's Technical Diving Handbook.

Third from the top

 

[Doppler]

I'd also add that going to a couple of local dive shows and listening to presentations and seminars will help you regardless of how you progress.

There are a couple of shows that side of the lakes in the next few weeks.

Also, you might find some interesting reading materials out on the web. There are some good informational blogs and websites. All said and done though, there are a handful of truly great instructors and technical divers in your area. You'll find them.

 

[LakerPride]

Just wanted to say Devondiver, I love the town of your namesake! I worked for the US Govt in Yeovil, Somerset, and took frequent trips to Devon, Bath, and the surrounding towns. I absolutely loved the SW of england. My wife and kids and I spent most of our time touring the castles, and other historic sights. I was not diving at the time but wish I was, from what I have heard there are a ton of great wrecks from both wars right off the coast.

 

[LakerPride]

I'd also add that going to a couple of local dive shows and listening to presentations and seminars will help you regardless of how you progress.

There are a couple of shows that side of the lakes in the next few weeks.

Also, you might find some interesting reading materials out on the web. There are some good informational blogs and websites. All said and done though, there are a handful of truly great instructors and technical divers in your area. You'll find them.

Could you give me more info on where to find these seminars? I would love to attend them.

 

[BluewaterSail]

Hi Laker,

I recommend that you look into the GUE Fundamentals course. This course is a prerequisite to all GUE technical courses, but it is not a technical course on its own. It will help you to guage where you are in your skills which need to be top notch before considering actual technical education. And then to help you set your personal skill development goals (unless you are already there!). Its the basics with precision: trim, bouyancy, efficient propulsion, basic minimum deco ascents. You can take it in single or double tanks, depending upon whether your would be going for a recreational or technical level pass. (techncial level pass is needed to continue to GUE technical courses). I personally feel that it is worth travelling for, if there are no courses taught in your area. There are lots of posts on the forum with "Fundies" class reports that you could search for, and/or check out the GUE website www.gue.com for the course details and where there are courses scheduled, and where the instructors are located.


Even if you choose to do your technical courses with another agency, the material from GUE Fundies will serve you well then, and now in your recreational diving too.

I am also a fairly new diver, with a PADI OW background. I took Fundies once, and didn't pass, and am taking it again soon. To me it represents basic competence. It was invented to make sure that students in their tech courses had adequate basic skills to start tech education.

Linda

 

[TSandM]

You have a lot of good instruction in your region, but none of it is truly close to you. I know of excellent people in Chicago, Toronto and in the Montreal area, but all of that is a bit of a drive.

To DevonDiver's list, I would add a must-read book, which is Steve Lewis's The Six Skills and Other Discussions.

I would strongly, strongly second getting into a Fundamentals or Intro to Tech class early on, while you are still in a single tank. Get a look at the skills you are going to need, and get a chance to work on them early, before you develop bad habits which are subsequently very difficult to break.

If you are interested in some recommendations for instruction, please feel free to PM me.