Next step for longer bottom times on deep dives?

[100days-a-year]

Exploration Tools: Technical Diving: NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research
You can try to rename of redefine anything you want but these guys pretty much set the bar for widely accepted standards.
As well, the majority of divers outside of SB understand technical diving the same.
Many certification agencies also define it this way.
I got paid to dive for years and some of it was technical but a couple thousand dives met none of the criteria other than getting paid. Bathtub clear water, shallower than 130' and bottom time less than NDL.

 

[Gareth J]

The Technical Diving definition is a reasonably modern marketing ploy.

My first qualification was a PADI OW certification.
When I first joined my BSAC branch, it was regarded as a non diving qualification.

If I had started with the BSAC at the time, I would have done
Novice 1 - qualified in the pool
Novice 2 - completed 2 dives in OW with an instructor.

At Novice 2, I could only dive with an Instructor or Dive Leader (similar to PADI DM).
(This was how I was treated with my PADI OW qualification.)

The first 'proper' diving qualification was Sports Diver.
The definition was

Qualified to dive with divers of the same grade or higher, to a maximum depth of 50m, including dives requiring compulsory staged decompression.
(At some point it was changed to a maximum depth of 35m, with Dive Leader getting the extension to 50m)​

So with BSAC back in the day, the first valid diving qualification was Sports Diver. Which allowed staged decompression (to 50m).

Granted we have added Nitrox, Trimix, and CCR since.
But Nitrox is included within the current Ocean and Sports diver qualifications, it is not seen as special or difficult or 'technical'.

Trimix, CCR etc are all treated in exactly the same way as boat handling and diver coxswain are treated (as with other 'specialist' skills). They are a specialist supplementary skills that can be added to the core diving qualification by taking a separate parallel course.
None of the core diving qualifications allow you to drive the boat, completing the boat handler course, in parallel, allows you to drive the boat (diver coxswain is a more advanced level than BH).
Legally you don't need a qualification to drive a boat (in the UK), in the same way as you don't need a diving qualification to dive or a CCR qualification to use a CCR. The issue gets difficult with regard to insurance, legal liability, and purchase or using other associated services. (In some places they will not allow you to launch a boat unless you are 'qualified and insured'.)

What I am saying is my first acknowledged diving qualification was Sports Diver, which allowed staged decompression dives to 50m!

From my understanding, pre-dating the Sports Diver, Dive Leader, Advanced Diver, and First Class Diver where third class, second class and first class. This much more akin to Royal Navy Marine Diver training, requiring similar levels of commitment, fitness and skill.

 

[KenGordon]

3rd class was approximately sports diver, 2nd class somewhere between dive leader and advanced diver.

Back then people knew where they stood in the hierarchy...

 

[KenGordon]

The op should learn to dive a twinset and do backgas deco. He could do 45 minutes at 30m on 32% with a 15 minute TTS. That is more than twice the air NDL and 50% longer than Nitrox NDL.

That avoids the complications of gas switches, obtaining deco mixes and so forth. Do that for a while, see if deco is too freaky and then maybe do accelerated deco. Note that on a dive like that the deco gas might only save 5 minutes so may not be worth while.

 

[Bob DBF]

I did always find quite misleading the US approach which states that NDL is a safety limit, and going beyond the NDL is hazardous and requires tech equipment and training.

Since divers are trained for NDL, it's good that there is a bright line. At one time a diver was trIned to calculate emergency deco, but now they are just given a number instead.

This ‘tech’ thing is just a marketing ploy, people either dive for recreation or as a job. It that binary.

From my shrinking memory, diving was divided into:

Commercial
Military
Scientific
Recreational
And my memory tells me there is another, but I can't come up with a name.

Whether or not it it is deco is just a subset of the type.

Back when I started diving, the training was for NDL diving, however there were a number of folks that went on to deco diving and were self taught using the Navy diving manual. Other than thinking them crazy, no one cared whether they did deco or not, they were still rec divers. The light deco and extended range was similar to what @Angelo Farina describes, because divers had enough training to make an informed decision.

I don't know how the classes in the early '60's were like because I learned out of the premier training manual of the time, and the Navy diving manual, possibly poorly but I'm still here.

 

[Marie13]

3rd class was approximately sports diver, 2nd class somewhere between dive leader and advanced diver.

Back then people knew where they stood in the hierarchy...

British class system perpetuated even in diving...

 

[doctormike]

British class system perpetuated even in diving...

Hereditary peers get to use GF 90/90, and are allowed to deduct one minute from their overall deco obligation for every 1000 acres of land their family owns...

They can accept gas from commoners in an emergency, but the reverse does not apply.

 

[100days-a-year]

Hereditary peers get to use GF 90/90, and are allowed to deduct one minute from their overall deco obligation for every 1000 acres of land their family owns...

They can accept gas from commoners in an emergency, but the reverse does not apply.

OMG, that is hilarious.
GF 90/90 wouldn't affect me much as its not far off from what I use.
But to get credit for decompression based on wealth likely ill gained sounds like more of a universal situation rather than strictly British

 

[Gareth J]

Since divers are trained for NDL, it's good that there is a bright line. At one time a diver was trIned to calculate emergency deco, but now they are just given a number instead.

.

But that is absolutely NOT TRUE.
At Sports Diver, the BSAC teaches Decompression Stop diving. It teaches how to calculate gas requirements, redundancy, and bailout gas requirements. Fundamental to any dive plan is the plan, a just deeper, a just longer, and a deeper and longer. The plan includes the decompression requirements and the gas requirements.

CMAS have similar elements in their training programs, at the equivalent level.

It is a peculiarity of American training organisation that they don't cover staged decompression, or the requirements to appropriately plan this type of diving.

 

[Angelo Farina]

Hopefully she either doesn’t read English or has no urge to peek on SB and use a browser translator to read SB in Italian.

My wife can read English quite well. But she is not on SB or other social media where I am active...
The point is that in our family both we are old and fat. No offense in this, it is just a fact...
Of course no one is happy being called old and fat, and my wife always complains when I remember her that we are not anymore the same as 40 years ago, when we met and started diving together...