Ahhhh... a man who can appreciate our decision to dive the Oriskany site before she was sunk, 'cause we got tired of waiting
Rick
heh... I had almost forgotten about that trip.. What a day that was!
Question for you Tech Divers
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heh... I had almost forgotten about that trip.. What a day that was!
biz_nate
Contributor
I just stepped into the tech world- just finished adv. nitrox and deco classes. I've been diving for 6 years, ~150 dives. At the beginning of the summer, I heard that my dive shop was starting classes through a local instructor. I heard a bit about the instructor, did a little research, and determined that I trusted the guy and the certifying organization enough to give it a shot.
There are many reasons I decided to do it, but basically it came down to two things: I love learning, and I love being underwater. I celebrate anything that will expand my knowledge base and increase my bottom time/depth.
Additional training increases my flexibility as a diver, while mitigating the risks I'd incur by going it on my own (if you have a good instructor). The question for me wasn't why I would do it, but why wouldn't I?
That said, the gear is very expensive. Fortunately, our shop gives staff a discount on gear so I was able to use my discount to acquire the gear for much less than I would have otherwise paid.
That was a nice post, Mike. I agree with your sentiments.
There are many reasons I decided to do it, but basically it came down to two things: I love learning, and I love being underwater. I celebrate anything that will expand my knowledge base and increase my bottom time/depth.
Additional training increases my flexibility as a diver, while mitigating the risks I'd incur by going it on my own (if you have a good instructor). The question for me wasn't why I would do it, but why wouldn't I?
That said, the gear is very expensive. Fortunately, our shop gives staff a discount on gear so I was able to use my discount to acquire the gear for much less than I would have otherwise paid.
That was a nice post, Mike. I agree with your sentiments.
I had about 900 or more dives (some in my youth, and some as I got back into diving) I was perfectly content to remain a recreation diver for the rest of my life, with no aspirations to go tech. I had taken Fundies, but was not one of those people that thinks that if you have taken fundies you are automatically a technical diver. I was a recreational diver with a terrible backkick.
Then one day a tech instructor moved to town, found me on the internet, did a few recreational dives with me, and pronounced that I was his new tech buddy (he credited the fundies skills as the deciding factor). He was only to be in town for two years (turned out to be just over one year), and he spent about two days a week every week training me, diving with me, setting up my gear, mixing with me; and seven days a week of emails; and hours and hours on the phone. I paid for materials and gas (and coffee!) and he gave me the classes for free. Most of the head learning I got was in his truck driving to the dive site.
When he found out he would be transfered to TX, he trained two local recreational divers so I would have someone to dive with (thank goodness for these wonderful new buddies and friends!).
I love the stuff around technical diving as well as the diving. I like the planning and the mixing and the gear preparation and maintenance. I like the kind of people who enjoy technical diving, so I enjoy the drives and the pre-dive planning with them and the after-dive talks. I like the mentality that enjoys going specifically to see something, or going just for the sake of going, or doing a 20' skills dive to keep in shape.
We're do a 250' dive tomorrow, and someone asked me what's down there?
We are. And that's enough for me. We may dive tomorrow where no other divers have been, and see stuff no other human has seen. I like that, too.
I like the execution of the dive... following the plan, making the switches properly, having everything go right - or having it go wrong and still easily dealing with it.
I still enjoy a 40 minute dive to 30' with a new diver looking at the fishes. Technical diving hasn't changed that (yet?).
Tech diving is a huge commitment of time and training and training-maintenance and money for gear and money for gas, and it never seems to end. But then, I know people who waste more money and time than me playing golf.:11:
Then one day a tech instructor moved to town, found me on the internet, did a few recreational dives with me, and pronounced that I was his new tech buddy (he credited the fundies skills as the deciding factor). He was only to be in town for two years (turned out to be just over one year), and he spent about two days a week every week training me, diving with me, setting up my gear, mixing with me; and seven days a week of emails; and hours and hours on the phone. I paid for materials and gas (and coffee!) and he gave me the classes for free. Most of the head learning I got was in his truck driving to the dive site.
When he found out he would be transfered to TX, he trained two local recreational divers so I would have someone to dive with (thank goodness for these wonderful new buddies and friends!).
I love the stuff around technical diving as well as the diving. I like the planning and the mixing and the gear preparation and maintenance. I like the kind of people who enjoy technical diving, so I enjoy the drives and the pre-dive planning with them and the after-dive talks. I like the mentality that enjoys going specifically to see something, or going just for the sake of going, or doing a 20' skills dive to keep in shape.
We're do a 250' dive tomorrow, and someone asked me what's down there?
We are. And that's enough for me. We may dive tomorrow where no other divers have been, and see stuff no other human has seen. I like that, too.
I like the execution of the dive... following the plan, making the switches properly, having everything go right - or having it go wrong and still easily dealing with it.
I still enjoy a 40 minute dive to 30' with a new diver looking at the fishes. Technical diving hasn't changed that (yet?).
Tech diving is a huge commitment of time and training and training-maintenance and money for gear and money for gas, and it never seems to end. But then, I know people who waste more money and time than me playing golf.:11:
I'd had my fill of carriers long before she was sunk...
It's the fish and the critters and the evolving habitat that's the rush.
Seeing the pre-sinking site gave us a good baseline
There is no doubt in my military mind that I will never forget that one... Dave pulled up the last time I was out there and I hollered "How's yer steerin' gear today, Dave?"
He ignored me
Rick
adurso
Contributor
When I started there was no differentiation; it was all just diving.....
KMD
Contributor
Yes but I notice you didn't define the line your self.
The point people are trying to make is that the curve up to tech diving is a gradual slope for many and not a sharp delineation.
So in that respect it is just it is just diving in that one has to answer the question, "Do I have the skills, knowledge, equipment and experience to plan and execute this dive?"
This question all have to be answered for a 30' reef dive, a dive to 120' or a dive to 300'.
Diving Demon
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lamont
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Around dive #60 or so I had enough of a handle on my basic skills (35-dives post-DIRF at that point) that technical diving seemed like something that didn't take superhuman abilities. And we went on a dive to the Cape Breton + Saskatchewan up in Nanaimo, BC and we did 30-35 minutes of bottom time on singles with EAN32 narc'd out of our mind, while the two technical divers got an hour of bottom time on both dives using helium and penetrated all through the wreck... I left that trip deeply jealous... =)
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