No Technical Training for Me.

[MXGratefulDiver]

get a clue before you type anything on this site.

Nice second post ... suggest you take your own advice ...

.... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Willie]

Its been 3 hours since the last post on this thread. Does that mean it has completed its deco obligation and gone to the bar?

Willie

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Unfortunately, I've been exposed to tech training as an observer and seen other things that turn me off:

Hal Watts taking an extremely obese student on a training dive to 300 ft on air in the ocean (that actually turned out ok, to my pleasant surprise);

Another time I watched as a tech student with doubles had a very significant freeflow (apparently losing half his air on descent) and the instructor continued the deep air dive at 175 ft (for most or all of the planned dive time). This one also turned out OK, but this same tech instructor exhibited poor judgement on several other (recreational training) occasions I personally witnessed and he later went on to perish a few years later in a dive accident along with his student and "an observer" in 275-300 ft of water using trimix.

Another time, I was diving on a 190 ft deep wreck, solo at the same time a tech training class was ongoing from the boat, and when I finished my deco and safey stop and got on the boat, I found the student near death being administered oxygen from my O2 bottle (since the tech instructor had brought none). According to his computer, this student diver never made it below 20 feet and his dive time was less than one minute, however his instructor descended ahead of the student on the descent line and made it to 135 ft before he "felt lonely" and came up a few minutes later. The student had heart problems and almost died from drowning.

I've seen lots of "bad/stupid stuff" happen during strictly recreational dive training, but after last weekend I'm really beginning to get a "bad taste in my mouth" about how some tech training is still being done.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Unfortunately, I've been exposed to tech training as an observer and seen other things that turn me off:

Hal Watts taking an extremely obese student on a training dive to 300 ft on air in the ocean (that actually turned out ok, to my pleasant surprise);

I don't know how long ago this was but PSA, only had deep air courses listed to 240 ft the last time I seen their stuff. Probably because the grotto is 240 ft deep. I know that Hal works with divers deeper than that...like guys working up to records, but I don't think that's a regular thing. What I'm getting at is that if they were going to 300 ft, I think that Hal had already done lots of dives with him. Personally, I don't understand doing the deep air thing at all but that's what Hal Watts does.

Another time I watched as a tech student with doubles had a very significant freeflow (apparently losing half his air on descent) and the instructor continued the deep air dive at 175 ft (for most or all of the planned dive time). This one also turned out OK, but this same tech instructor exhibited poor judgement on several other (recreational training) occasions I personally witnessed and he later went on to perish a few years later in a dive accident along with his student and "an observer" in 275-300 ft of water using trimix.

Another time, I was diving on a 190 ft deep wreck, solo at the same time a tech training class was ongoing from the boat, and when I finished my deco and safey stop and got on the boat, I found the student near death being administered oxygen from my O2 bottle (since the tech instructor had brought none). According to his computer, this student diver never made it below 20 feet and his dive time was less than one minute, however his instructor descended ahead of the student on the descent line and made it to 135 ft before he "felt lonely" and came up a few minutes later. The student had heart problems and almost died from drowning.

I've seen lots of "bad/stupid stuff" happen during strictly recreational dive training, but after last weekend I'm really beginning to get a "bad taste in my mouth" about how some tech training is still being done.

Unfortunately, I think that "technical" training is going the same way as all other dive training. If you have the money to buy the card, you're going to get certified. Some of these instructors are getting through the courses pretty quick too.

all I can say is, let the buyer beware because things are going to get a LOT worse long before they get better.

 

[daniel f aleman]

Personally, I don't understand doing the deep air thing at all but that's what Hal Watts does.
- MikeFerrara

Including taking his daughter Scarlett down to 425 fsw on air in Cozumel, Mexico...

 

[MikeFerrara]

Personally, I don't understand doing the deep air thing at all but that's what Hal Watts does.
- MikeFerrara

Including taking his daughter Scarlett down to 425 fsw on air in Cozumel, Mexico...

I don't know if it's correct to say that he "took her". She was an adult who decided to set a record.

 

[mdb]

deleted

 

[H2Andy]

Depends on their motivation ... some folks are into learning for learning's sake ... it's more an intellectual exercise or physical challenge than anything else ...

that's fine, i would consider that skill-based growth

that's why i took cavern class. i wanted to get better at bouyancy and work on task loading, and basically challenge myself to a new level of diving .... but then, of course, i got hooked by the cave

also why i took DIR-F ... i had no intention of adopting DIR after i read the book, but it seemed like a good class to consolidate basic skills and challange my diving to a new level

i think the motivation is exactly the key

 

[H2Andy]

Including taking his daughter Scarlett down to 425 fsw on air in Cozumel, Mexico...

dude, Scarlett got certified at 12 and became an instructor before she was 20. she'd been diving for like 20 years when she set the woman's record for deep air diving

she is a diver, and a damn good one. she wasn't "taken" by anybody anywhere

 

[daniel f aleman]

Andy,

I know Scarlett. She's a great diver. I know why she made the dive.