Seeking Fastest Path to Normoxic Trimix Certification (70m) – Experienced Diver, Traveling to Florida

[Germie]

TDI has a TMX-75 course that you could take instead of normoxic trimix in case that you need a card that says 75m (standard normoxic trimix is 60m). So ANDP -> TMX-75, two courses.

Trimix_75m -

Depending on what diving you have been doing so far, you might want to talk to the instructor about any gaps - e.g. not sure if FFESSM/CMAS teach doubles or handling stages, so you might be able to get through certain parts very quickly and but get stuck in others.

That is the same as iantd has, called normoxic plus (and since a week the depth is 75m).
The normoxic plus was 70m.
But with TDI you have advanced nitrox and decoprocedures, sold as 2 courses, most times in conjunction of each other, but you get 2 cards. This means 3 courses. I don't know if the price and the amount of dives is the same (4) for these 2 courses together as with iantd advanced nitrox where decompression diving is included.
Normally in a cmas 3* there is no stage handling teached, also no doubles. Yes, it is really a single tank 60m deep air cert, mines is. And I am cmas instructor as well. :O Between countries some things differ (here you don't dive deeper than 30m for cmas 3* for example, but the international standards always overrule the local standards of course. Cmas is different from other agencies where every divecenter has to use the same standards for the same cert. Here standards can differ, but you get the same cert.

 

[clem_bonna]

what is your need for oc normoxic? with the cost of helium, OC normoxic is also falling out of favor these days and a switch to CCR if you are planning to do a lot of diving involving trimix should be considered.

Thank you for all your guidance and suggestions, it helps me a lot.

I am well aware of the pros a CCR would bring compared to OC regarding mixed gas diving and the costs of helium. Do you think I should get CCR certified first?

I do not think I need to be OC certified for what I ultimately want.

Here some more details I can provide to better understand my situation :

I work as a research diver in a French territory where French law applies. Here in France, you need to pass a certain national certification to be able to work "under pressure" (underwater). That is why I got the "Certificat d'Aptitude à l'Hyperbarie classe 2 mention B (CAH 2B)". This gibberish means that I can work up to 50 meters with air to do some "light" work such as scientific tasks, media creation, archeology, fisheries and so on. It is different from regular commercial diving (CAH 2 or 3A) with more dangerous tasks like welding, cutting, construction work, etc.

I want to get my CAH 3B to be able to work deeper than 50 meters with mixed gases, but the prerequisite is to have a "Trimix Normoxic Certification". To my knowledge, for France, it doesn't matter if I have OC trimix or CCR trimix certification to pass the CAH 3B.

In my line of work, naturally most people with a "CAH 3B" certificate dive on CCR for all the advantages it offers.

In summary, do you think I should get CCR certified first? Do you think I need an OC trimix certification before doing the CCR trimix?

Thank you again for your time and expertise

 

[sheeper]

You would need TDI Advanced Nitrox, Decompression Procedures, and Trimix.. Based on how we teach, that would require a minimum of 10-12 dives and probably work out to $3,000 not including helium fills. The op i work for is a one stop shop. We have and do it all. Plus our tech staff (myself included) has decades of technical diving experience.

 

[tursiops]

You would need TDI Advanced Nitrox, Decompression Procedures, and Trimix.. Based on how we teach, that would require a minimum of 10-12 dives and probably work out to $3,000 not including helium fills. The op i work for is a one stop shop. We have and do it all. Plus our tech staff (myself included) has decades of technical diving experience.

He already appears to have the equivalent of AN/DP. He should be able to just do Trimix.

 

[runsongas]

it depends if OP has FFESSM nitrox confirme which is roughly equivalent to IANTD advanced nitrox. if OP has FFESSM nitrox confirme, they can directly go into IANTD normoxic or FFESSM plongeur trimix elementaire. if not, they need to do some flavor of advanced nitrox first.

 

[Germie]

it depends if OP has FFESSM nitrox confirme which is roughly equivalent to IANTD advanced nitrox. if OP has FFESSM nitrox confirme, they can directly go into IANTD normoxic or FFESSM plongeur trimix elementaire. if not, they need to do some flavor of advanced nitrox first.

If that is equivalent to an adv. nitrox, then only a normoxic trimix plus to 75m is needed.

If you don't want to use the helium often, then oc is the best way to go. Cheapest, easiest, fastest.

If he wants to go to ccr, then it starts with the costs of a ccr, second hand around 4000 euro, new 8000-10.000.
Then the userlevel, mod1 course, around 1000 euro. Then the normoxic trimix course after 50 hours on the unit for again around 1000 euro. If he dives a lot, then in a month this can all be done, but 50 hours is quite a lot. But it is for sure not the cheapest and fastest way.
Also the limit of ccr normoxic plus is 70m instead of 75, this has to do with RESA-standards. And as the instructor must be instructor on the unit the student dives, you have a small pool of instructors to choose from. For oc there are a lot more.
A ccr reduces helium costst after a lot of years. Not directly.

 

[runsongas]

if OP was only looking to do a one off dive to look at a wreck or a ceolocanth sure, but it looks like they are looking for employment by getting some type of work authorization. and if the work that deep is on CCR, then OP won't get hired with just oc trimix either.

 

[tursiops]

Since one bails out to OC, my personal preference is OC training and experience prior to CCR training.

 

[clem_bonna]

He already appears to have the equivalent of AN/DP. He should be able to just do Trimix.

"Officially", I only have the basic Nitrox certification from PADI.

However, during my training for the CAH 2B, we were trained to do deco with 100% O2 on multiple occasions. The instructors were considering giving us the cert @runsongas was referring to earlier (FFESSM "Nitrox confirmé"). But it was finally not the case.

We also trained to use FFM during the CAH 2B, and now I use it regularly even though I do not have the specific cert. It is what @Germie said earlier about using some gear if you have the proper training but not necessarily the cert. But at what point a specific cert is absolutely required?

I always thought that the most logical route was to train first on OC and get the OC trimix cert before the CCR. What do you all think?

Also, would you recommend to invest in a CCR before getting the CCR cert?

 

[tursiops]

I always thought that the most logical route was to train first on OC and get the OC trimix cert before the CCR. What do you all think?

Yes.

Also, would you recommend to invest in a CCR before getting the CCR cert?

No.