Tech 40 Trim and buoyancy

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I actually keep a sailboat in San Diego and use it often as a crash pad for diving in the area. Also have connections in Ventura county which I am originally from and learned most of my diving.

I believe Jeff Seckondorf of UTD is in San Diego if I'm not mistaken. I enjoyed speaking with him extensively at DEMA some years ago. I got the impression he had a realistic view of how people liked to dive and what was available to them when they travel (i.e. nitrox isnt universal and none of the GUE nonsense of "air is for tires")

 

[DiveTucson]

I sent you a DM. I am based in Arizona. I have worked with folks on here so you can search for reviews of some of my courses. I teach CCR, Cave, OC Trimix, etc. and am GUE trained.

Would be happy to help or at least point you in the right direction for some reputable local instructors as I am booked until December currently with just a few openings.

I do have space in 4 day long Intro to Tech course in San Carlos, Mexico in late June though. 6-9 dives are planned.

 

[Wibble]

We were only 5 minutes into the dive. Apparently he had depleted the air in one cylinder and was not aware of the closed valve. He was diving with twin 60’s. Therefore the SPG was only reflecting the full cylinder.

That’s just plain nonsense.

Opening the valve and dumping the cylinder contents with no regulator attached takes longer than that.

The twinset manifold was closed and the right-hand cylinder was empty prior to starting the dive.

 

[Wibble]

I am willing to forfeit $1200 and start over rather than get a card which should tell you something different about me. I am all about doing it right, which is why I used this board to validate my suspicions. No crying here, just doing what's safest for me so don't make any assumptions until you know the facts...

Excellent attitude.

From what I’ve read of your comments, I am concerned about the experience and competence of your instructor. An adult conversation with the instructor and dive shop is required with a serious threat to get your experience reviewed by PADI quality control with the objective being a refund.

Technical training is nothing like Open Water training. It requires far more skills and diving experience for a start. The utter nonsense over your weighting stories plus gas consumption and valve drills is setting off massive alarm bells.

Our standard comment here when embarking on your technical diving career is to choose your instructor carefully. A technical instructor is for life, not just one course like the novice Open Water instruction. You’ll progress through several levels of diving training and it’s vital to get the best, most experienced instructor for your journey.



…rant…

The difference between "recreational diving" and technical diving is competence and attitude. A technical diver is highly skilled and spends lots of time practicing skills such as basic core skills (buoyancy, trim, finning), procedures such as valve drills and gas switching skills, spends loads of time reading to understand the theory and planning. In the water a technical diver will have far superior skills than most other divers.

Most of all a technical diver will have a solo mentality, if something happens they will deal with the problem with calm competence without relying on other divers. Their equipment will be of high quality with a focus on redundancy — lighting, cutting devices, spare mask, redundant gas, prudent planning, etc. They will be prepared for the dive in hand with the correct skills, gas and equipment. They will thoroughly check their equipment before jumping in. They will be self-reliant even if diving in a team (aka 'buddy'). They will make good decisions and lead if necessary, e.g. treating limits like an adult; get to minimum gas and end the dive.

Incompetence is punishable by death.

Competent technical divers are properly planned and prepared to prevent piss-poor performance.

/rant

 

[crofrog]

I believe Jeff Seckondorf of UTD is in San Diego if I'm not mistaken. I enjoyed speaking with him extensively at DEMA some years ago. I got the impression he had a realistic view of how people liked to dive and what was available to them when they travel (i.e. nitrox isnt universal and none of the GUE nonsense of "air is for tires")

Have you taken any GUE recreational / fundamentals training? Use of air was covered in fundamentals.

Most of all a technical diver will have a solo mentality

I have a team mentality.

 

[Windmutt]

Excellent attitude.

From what I’ve read of your comments, I am concerned about the experience and competence of your instructor. An adult conversation with the instructor and dive shop is required with a serious threat to get your experience reviewed by PADI quality control with the objective being a refund.

Technical training is nothing like Open Water training. It requires far more skills and diving experience for a start. The utter nonsense over your weighting stories plus gas consumption and valve drills is setting off massive alarm bells.

Our standard comment here when embarking on your technical diving career is to choose your instructor carefully. A technical instructor is for life, not just one course like the novice Open Water instruction. You’ll progress through several levels of diving training and it’s vital to get the best, most experienced instructor for your journey.



…rant…

The difference between "recreational diving" and technical diving is competence and attitude. A technical diver is highly skilled and spends lots of time practicing skills such as basic core skills (buoyancy, trim, finning), procedures such as valve drills and gas switching skills, spends loads of time readin to understand the theory and planning. In the water a technical diver will have far superior skills than most other divers.

Most of all a technical diver will have a solo mentality, if something happens they will deal with the problem with calm competence without relying on other divers. Their equipment will be of high quality with a focus on redundancy — lighting, cutting devices, spare mask, redundant gas, prudent planning, etc. They will be prepared for the dive in hand with the correct skills, gas and equipment. They will thoroughly check their equipment before jumping in. They will be self-reliant even if diving in a team (aka 'buddy'). They will make good decisions and lead if necessary, e.g. treating limits like an adult; get to minimum gas and end the dive.

Incompetence is punishable by death.

Competent technical divers are properly planned and prepared to prevent piss-poor performance.

/rant

Thanks for the feedback. I do think this instructor should learn from his mistakes and unfortunately a lot of my friends were trained by him. I thought the attached picture I took was normal for one of his Tech 40 grads. I found out through my reading that it is far from normal. Furthremote, the pettiness within the local dive community needs to stop. This same instructor‘s negative review of another dive business on FB (quote: Didn’t have a good experience. Would not recommend) being the only negative review with no constructive feedback has me questioning his professional maturity. His feedback is actually a good example of the feedback I received from him during my Tech 40 training. I am sure he is reading this and I have given most of the feedback verbally. Hopefully, the community will help him come to his senses. Anyway, its great to see the support from the global community. Feel free to follow my progress on FB at “Desert Scuba Chronicles.” Looking forward to eventually joining the Tech community the right way.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Have you taken any GUE recreational / fundamentals training? Use of air was covered in fundamentals.

Yes I have but the issue I have is that nitrox is not available everywhere. Logistically air is a lot more convenient in my area as shops insist on having cylinders overnight. I just want to fill and go. Seattle traffic isn't the best.

 

[Doby45]

Thanks for the feedback. I do think this instructor should learn from his mistakes and unfortunately a lot of my friends were trained by him. I thought the attached picture I took was normal for one of his Tech 40 grads. I found out through my reading that it is far from normal. Furthremote, the pettiness within the local dive community needs to stop. This same instructor‘s negative review of another dive business on FB (quote: Didn’t have a good experience. Would not recommend) being the only negative review with no constructive feedback has me questioning his professional maturity. His feedback is actually a good example of the feedback I received from him during my Tech 40 training. I am sure he is reading this and I have given most of the feedback verbally. Hopefully, the community will help him come to his senses. Anyway, its great to see the support from the global community. Feel free to follow my progress on FB at “Desert Scuba Chronicles.” Looking forward to eventually joining the Tech community the right way.

Beyoncé's song Halo comes to mind. Looks like a little upright dive angel!!

 

[Wibble]

I have a team mentality.

Do you practice with your team for valve drills, etc.? Do you practice such that you will resolve your problem without resorting to your team, e.g. signal them but be shutting down first? Sometimes your team isn’t there.

Maybe I should have used the term Self Reliant.

 

[crofrog]

Yes I have but the issue I have is that nitrox is not available everywhere. Logistically air is a lot more convenient in my area as shops insist on having cylinders overnight. I just want to fill and go. Seattle traffic isn't the best.

The GUE training I received basically said if air is all that's available and the END isn't too deep (so less than 100ft) then dive air. There is no GUE air MDL table, but the reality of the training is more pragmatic than you're making it out to be.