Tech diving courses

[Divenutt315]

hi I am 15 years old turn 16 in march and have about 48 logged dives and Advanced open water and Nitrox certfication I am wanting to take a cavern diver, an intro to cave, ADV nitrox, Deco procedures, and prolbly not going to happen at 15... trimix does anyone know what training agencies offer these courses at 15 I live in Florida and am willing to drive up to north FL to dive the caves and caverns my dad told me that he would sign any "parental consent" forms and waivers to allow me to do these courses

 

[JeffG]

IIRC all Tech courses require that the diver is 18 or older

 

[PerroneFord]

IIRC all Tech courses require that the diver is 18 or older

If they don't they should. Not that I am hating on younger folks, but I'd rather see someone of age to give their own legal consent before taking these kinds of courses. Not to mention someone with a bit more diving under their belt. I did my overhead courses too early in my diving career, and wouldn't want to see others follow that path.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I agree with Perrone. OW is fine for those under 18. Even though a family will perhaps sue if an adult gets hurt doing a tech course it's guaranteed a parent will. Better that consent be given by the diver him/herself and be of age to do it. You have alot of time to get alot of experience in open water. Does your dad do any tech diving? I'm guessing not since he's willing to sign any consent forms. I would never sign a consent form for my son to undertake any tech courses. I don't have to since he's over 18 now but knowing what I know about the risks, no way. Plus it'd be good for a person taking tech classes to have a job to pay for them and the gear involved. Can you rent? Yes but why would you want to. Get some experience, start getting your equipment together. Forget a jacket bc and buy a BPW and set it up for a longhose. You'll gain valuable knowledge over the next couple years and you'll look cool doing it! The chicks will love it :cool2:and you can just say at some point I'm going tech and want to get a good start.

 

[Meng_Tze]

If they don't they should. Not that I am hating on younger folks, but I'd rather see someone of age to give their own legal consent before taking these kinds of courses. Not to mention someone with a bit more diving under their belt. I did my overhead courses too early in my diving career, and wouldn't want to see others follow that path.

Fully agree with this. It would be frustrating to have to take much longer (say 1 1/2 years) to get a basic tech course done. Not only for yourself, but also for the people who work with you on that. At the same time you should also keep an open mind on what is around you. There is a lot you can learn from many people. There are many ways to skin a cat, take your time and learn at least a few.

 

[Divenutt315]

I get the point but I am not planning on doing any trimix dives to 300' any time soon just baiscally looking for an adv nitrox course and a cavern diver course....

 

[PerroneFord]

I get the point but I am not planning on doing any trimix dives to 300' any time soon just baiscally looking for an adv nitrox course and a cavern diver course....

You say that as if it's no big deal. On the contrary, they are very big deals. Since my return to diving 3 years ago, 2 college kids from my area (one who my kids went to school with) died in caverns. Advanced Nitrox can put you at 140ft on what is essentially air. And that is no place to be.

You are in a forum with a lot of people who've done the dives you're talking about. We're the advanced nitrox/cave/trimix divers and we know the scoop. And I would be willing to lay down a week's pay that NONE of us would rewind the clock and do this stuff at your age.

There's no safety net down there. And at this level, mistakes kill.

 

[HowardE]

I'd also throw into these comments that if the OP really has less than 50 dives... Think about diving a little more. Buoyancy is a skill that is seldom mastered by divers without a lot of experience. Buoyancy is VERY important for safely executing decompression stops at varying depths... especially holding a stop with a 10' ceiling.

 

[ucfdiver]

NACD will allow you to do cavern at 12 years old under a "provisional". I know that because I took cavern at 12. I believe the age is 15 for intro with parent and instructor consent.

 

[Divenutt315]

I looked up TDI and they offer cavern and adv nitrox classes for age 15 as long as a parent signs a waiver and the nitrox adv course I saw they said to depths of 130' same as my advanced open water limit i know it probley means stay down beyond deco limits and useing like for ex 100% O2 at 15' to decompress not to mention O2 tox from long bottom times but if they offer it why should I not take it I mean its not like I want to at 15 put on 2 120 cu ft trimix tanks and go to a cave thats 200' down I just want to enrich my knowlage and mabey go into a cavern and dive that within the light zone yes my dream when I do come of age is to become a extended range cave and adv trimix instructor but i dont expect to do full cave or trimix diving at 15 I know its too dangerous at my age