Technical Training Report/Review (AN/DP)

[MT_Shadow]

Just did my sidemount course and it was awesome. OC trimix diving is going extinct. If you can find somewhere to get OC trimix fills you’ll need a loan from the bank to get it.

Yeah i heard its tough. My sidemount instructor does a lot of the tech courses and he says he has a hookup to get us 1 bottle of helium to do the training.... sounds like lean times. Is the better bet just to move to CCR moving forward then?

 

[PEDiver]

I am new to SSI TDI as I am just stepping away from PADI which I did all my early training with. I have sidemount coming up. Is this the type of training that would come next? Seems like doing mix gas before this training would reduce the deep air concerns. Or is that just the way the order currently works out?

Looking at your certification history, I would complete SM and then move to AN/DP which is the precursor to trimix. But I would focus on really getting comfortable doing deco diving, handling multiple bottles, and general comfortability in the water and in your SM configuration before looking into CCR and trimix.

 

[Robert H. Diver]

Yeah i heard its tough. My sidemount instructor does a lot of the tech courses and he says he has a hookup to get us 1 bottle of helium to do the training.... sounds like lean times. Is the better bet just to move to CCR moving forward then?

I personally think there’s no poin in doing deep OC trimix dives with the current helium shortage. So yea after sidemount, AN/DP, and tons of experience with that..yea go CCR.

 

[BlueTrin]

Bear in mind that when you’ll go CCR, it feels like you are literally doing a step back at first: since you’ll have only one stage and that’s your bailout, so your bottom has, you will actually plan more conservative dives than when you had a deco bottle …

At least that’s how it feels to me

 

[MT_Shadow]

Looking at your certification history, I would complete SM and then move to AN/DP which is the precursor to trimix. But I would focus on really getting comfortable doing deco diving, handling multiple bottles, and general comfortability in the water and in your SM configuration before looking into CCR and trimix.

ok cool. so the OP course described is a precursor to trimix. And I will be honest my dives and certs are probably not up to date on here haha. looks like a cool course and I would love to learn more about decompression diving. There are a lot of wrecks that are out of reach for my current knowledge/certification.

 

[inquis]

A deco bottle is one type of stage tank.

I'm getting flashbacks from the "all dives are deco dives" thread...

Yes, this is true in some circles -- that bottle is used during a certain "stage" (i.e., phase) of the dive. That further dovetails nicely with the use of the term "travel stage". However, it's also contrary to what I believe is the overwhelmingly prevailing usage where a generic/unqualified "stage" is equivalent to a "bottom stage" and nothing else. Good luck convincing the majority otherwise -- I found it easier to tailor terms to the larger audience.

 

[PfcAJ]

Stage. Deco. Safety.

Proper terminology reduces confusion.

 

[boriss]

Hey OP, thanks for the great write up. I enjoyed it. Unfortunately the thread got a bit out of hand Have any plans for the “next step” in your training? Done any cool dives after your certification you’d like to share?

Thanks, that's nice to hear!

Yup, I've done about 30-OC-deco dives; all of them wrecks and most of them in the 75-85-minute range. We plan for a runtime of no more than 90-minutes due to the boat schedules. Bottom time is anywhere from 30-60 minutes depending on avg. depth, the rest is deco. I also just got CCR Trimix certified to 150ft, need to build experience to do my MOD2 in a few months. Slow and steady making progress.

When I started this journey my "pinnacle dive" goal was the RBJ wreck in Pompano. Why? I don't know... it's local and deep and I wanted to see it. So that's been the driver towards hypoxic trimix. That slowly shifted to CCR trimix. I've since discovered other interesting dives, including springs/caves - which I thought I'd never do. Hoping to do private multi-hour dives on the Oriskany this year. That's a big one on the todo list. Was invited to do a trip to the Great Lakes, which should be amazing. Have plans to go full cave when I have more time, to look at the underwater cathedrals (or what I used to call "wet rocks" ). Bottom line: I'd like to experience all kinds of diving without restriction. There are still many sites my buddies go to (locally) where I'm not able to go. So I'll continue to train until there are no restrictions and besides that.... just dive, dive, dive

Constantly meeting new people and discovering new things. That's what this is all about for me. Just enjoying the journey and seeing where it takes me. AN/DP was a stepping stone, but a major one. I appreciate reading comments like yours; so happy that the information helps (or entertains) others.

 

[Robert H. Diver]

Thanks, that's nice to hear!

Yup, I've done about 30-OC-deco dives; all of them wrecks and most of them in the 75-85-minute range. We plan for a runtime of no more than 90-minutes due to the boat schedules. Bottom time is anywhere from 30-60 minutes depending on avg. depth, the rest is deco. I also just got CCR Trimix certified to 150ft, need to build experience to do my MOD2 in a few months. Slow and steady making progress.

When I started this journey my "pinnacle dive" goal was the RBJ wreck in Pompano. Why? I don't know... it's local and deep and I wanted to see it. So that's been the driver towards hypoxic trimix. That slowly shifted to CCR trimix. I've since discovered other interesting dives, including springs/caves - which I thought I'd never do. Hoping to do private multi-hour dives on the Oriskany this year. That's a big one on the todo list. Was invited to do a trip to the Great Lakes, which should be amazing. Have plans to go full cave when I have more time, to look at the underwater cathedrals (or what I used to call "wet rocks" ). Bottom line: I'd like to experience all kinds of diving without restriction. There are still many sites my buddies go to (locally) where I'm not able to go. So I'll continue to train until there are no restrictions and besides that.... just dive, dive, dive

Constantly meeting new people and discovering new things. That's what this is all about for me. Just enjoying the journey and seeing where it takes me. AN/DP was a stepping stone, but a major one. I appreciate reading comments like yours; so happy that the information helps (or entertains) others.

That’s great!! I just did sidemount in December, going to try and dive a ton this year and possibly schedule cavern/intro to cave this coming December. Maybe AN/DP in 2024. Learning, growing, meeting new people, and taking new (beneficial) courses are half the fun of diving for me. Luckily my wife loves it too so I always have a dive buddy. Thanks for sharing!

 

[lostsheep]

it's pretty clear who defined the term "Doing It Right", and that gives them the moral right to speak for it.

The moral right?

Shirley you can’t be serious?