He informs me he is a TDI Nitrox and Tech instructor and that he can't even sell Nitrox to diver's and because of the math and all the equipment needed people really can't be bothered to get into technical diving.
Probably some truth to that. Dare I suggest that most people who become divers are excited by warm water, good visibility, colorful reefs, and the ease of diving a single tank with a BC and bathing suit? Technical diving does require additional equipment and training, and logistical support (gas fills, etc) from charter operators. The market begins with the limited number of people who have some level of initial interest in 'deep,dark and cold', is then further limited to the subset of those divers who have the financial resources (and time) to invest, may be constrained by their access to technical training, and ultimately is affected by the number of operators who are willing to invest in setting up to accommodate divers with that interest. That last part develops well after a core of divers creates reasonable demand.
I said that maybe a trend is growing and that people like me will continue in the tech diving direction. He said something like, "Aren't they cute when they are like this?"
Yours may be a more accurate assessment. I certainly see a trend, and several others from TX, FL and WA who have responded apparently see the same. For example, when I did OW through a particular shop in 2001, there were no divers affiliated with the shop who had technical training. The shop owner and one staff member pursued tec and trimix training in SC and FL, then went on the qualify as tec instructors (through trimix), while several other shop staff are now tec deep or trimix certified. The first tec class the owner taught was 3 divers, the second and third were 2 each, and there was attrition - only one diver from each of those first 3 classes still does technical diving. But, those 3 recently finished the first trimix course the owner taught. The current tec class is four. So, I see a gradual progression, toward more divers pursuing technical training, and doing technical diving, some of whom will probably continue on to tec instructor. Slow, yes, but a gradual expansion of the market. A larger number of trained tec divers means more opportunity for charters operators to begin including trips to deeper wrecks, and justifying the investment necessary to support tec divers.
And continued to tell me that he has been planning a trip to Carolina to see a submarine at 200' fsw and logistically it's just too difficult and is still waiting to get it worked out.
Certainly, it isn’t the easiest process, and I don’t know what operators he has been working with to try and set such a trip up (or what submarine off the NC coast at
200ft he wants to dive). However, several Carolina coastal charter operations work in the technical diving landscape. They may not 'specialize’, per se but definitely offer tec charters. Mixing recreational and technical divers on a charter is possible, but they may prefer to fill a (smaller) boat with only technical divers. So, the logistics also include getting the requisite number of people to agree on a place and time. We have a tec charter set for Labor Day weekend out of Beaufort (including a dive on a submarine at
140ft) and have filled the 8 slots already. But, filling a boat with divers from 1000 miles away probably isn’t that easy. Possibly, part of the challenge, beyond the expense and gear, etc., is having relatively easy access to instruction, and to deeper waters. I live 40 minutes from a shop where equipment and training are available. I live two hours from the coast. Doing a tec trip is easy. But, I have driven 10 hours to 40 Fathom Grotto multiple times for training dives and proficiency dives, and have made the long 13 hour drive to the Gulf to dive the O, and that wasn’t as easy. If I lived in a place where there was no tec instruction available and I had to drive 8 hours to an instructor, or had to drive 8 – 12 hours to find a site to dive deeper than 130 ft. once I was trained, I might not have made the investment. And, you are probably going to drive, because even if a charter can be scheduled and gas fills are available, you will take you own tanks since rental doubles may not be available. Plus, I don't know a lot of people who want to jump off a boat 2 hours offshore, and drop to 160ft using a set of tanks they have never dove before, and therefore don't have a feel for trim characteristics, etc.
He responded that similar to customers having to check their mixes before dives, again because of all the math and equipment issues, no such service exists - liability reasons.
There is also, real or perceived, a higher element of risk associated with technical dives, and some charter operators may not generally see the possible loss of revenue if an accident occurs - bad publicity whether deserved or not, possibly interruption of operations during an investigation - as worth it. As the number of trained divers expands, and the demands for tec trips increases, that may well change. I am certainly not a technical diving expert by any stretch - I readily confess that I am a relative noob compared to some SB members - so my view may be skewed and quite limited. But, that is what I am seeing.
