Trimix Deep Dive Prerequisite

[crofrog]

Practice diving wing setup (20-30 dives)
- Take GUE Fundies
- After rec pass, dive SM setup (20-30 dives)
- Take ANDP
- Dive/practice techniques taught in ANDP (20-30 dives)
- Take Trimix

I am NOT a card collector. I am merely trying to plan out my training for the coming year, I am not in a rush,

If that’s your plan for the year you’re in a rush.

 

[Tigerpaw]

If that’s your plan for the year you’re in a rush.

So what would be a proper plan and timeline? It's why I posted here in the first place.

 

[lermontov]

So what would be a proper plan and timeline? It's why I posted here in the first place.

stipulating a number is just a guess -some pick it up quicker than others- if you doing 100+ dives a year and you are a quick learner then certainly doing all those things are achievable in theory - you can be technically proficient without having been really tested, you cant really know how you will respond to stress or some drama with say a 40 min deco obligation until it happens, mental strength and experience is not obtained by just doing drills etc

my only recommendation is to leave trimix until the next year -once youve done An/Dp course there will be a whole new arena of dives sites open up to you without going any deeper

 

[Tigerpaw]

stipulating a number is just a guess -some pick it up quicker than others- if you doing 100+ dives a year and you are a quick learner then certainly doing all those things are achievable in theory - you can be technically proficient without having been really tested, you cant really know how you will respond to stress or some drama with say a 40 min deco obligation until it happens, mental strength and experience is not obtained by just doing drills etc

my only recommendation is to leave trimix until the next year -once youve done An/Dp course there will be a whole new arena of dives sites open up to you without going any deeper

Thank you!

 

[J-Vo]

If sidemount is your long term plan then fundies is almost not worth it. I'd put that effort into a GOOD tech sidemount course then plan on at least 50 dives in that configuration.

There are instructors that do fundies level classes for sidemount. Some of them even call it Sidemount Fundamentals.

 

[Wibble]

I am NOT a card collector. I am merely trying to plan out my training for the coming year, I am not in a rush, I just want to have a good solid plan in place. The original plan I had was all over the place but everyone on this thread has helped me come up with a good training plan.
As far as sidemount is concerned, I have already earned TDI Technical Sidemount and have actually picked it up well and have already done a few dives, however I have already mentioned that I wanted to get more dives in at sidemount before moving on to ANDP. I have also been told to wait and practice ANDP before going on to Trimex. There is no rush here, just planning, all I was asking was does the final plan I have look OK.

#1 = get your core skills completely sorted. Buoyancy (rock steady), trim (flat), finning (all styles). Must be really good during all the skills and drills, e.g. shutdowns, stage cylinder manipulation, etc. Use a drysuit.

There's no time limit on this, it takes whatever time needed to be excellent in the water.

Only after that bother with the other aims. ALL of the advanced courses are easy if you've really sorted out #1.

Regarding Fun-dies... It really is an excellent course, doing it in backmount doubles makes a great deal of sense as you're intending to progress to technical courses.

However, your problem/challenge is that you've said you've shoulder mobility issues which will make backmount difficult to impossible. Sidemount is, as you've said, the answer to this. Alas GUE won't teach Fundies in Sidemount.

Maybe your answer is to find a fundies instructor and get them to teach you fundies using sidemount. GUE won't give you a certification for this, but who cares about certifications!!! It's the skills and coaching in core skills that matters. Doing fundies with shutdowns makes it harder, which is a good thing. All the up-front effort in sorting your core skills makes the subsequent courses simple.

In any case you'll probably be looking at jumping from open circuit to a rebreather much sooner than later.

 

[MyBuddy]

In any case you'll probably be looking at jumping from open circuit to a rebreather much sooner than later.

Lots of truth in these words.

A thread on helium prices with a lot of food for thought when considering OC vs CC Trimix reappeared yesterday.

Helium prices ...

 

[Wibble]

Lots of truth in these words.

A thread on helium prices with a lot of food for thought when considering OC vs CC Trimix reappeared yesterday.

Helium prices ...

There's loads of benefits diving on a rebreather compared with open circuit. Helium costs are just one small thing, there's a ton of even better benefits...

• "Unlimited" time underwater with "no" gas limits (yes, of course there's limits, but not as abrupt as OC)
• Gas consumption is effectively fixed with little relationship to depth -- OC is completely proportional to the depth
• Safer if you've got problems as there's many options available, time isn't the enemy
• Flexibility -- you can dive at a wide range of depths as the box is a nitrox machine
• Easier on your lungs -- warm, moist gas to breathe
• No bubbles. Great for fauna where bubbles scare them. Overheads can be extremely sensitive to bubbles disturbing the roof (had a massive guillotine sheet of metal just miss my head in a battleship!)
• Rebreathers are more stable in tighter environments
• For moderate depths and decent durations (e.g. 45m/150ft for 2h), rebreathers are lighter than open circuit

Of course you don't get all of those benefits for nothing!

• Rebreathers are expensive to purchase compared with OC. Also have consumables (cells, sodalime)
• Rebreathers are hard to learn to dive properly
• Rebreathers are complex and need a lot of attention and maintenance
• Rebreathers need bailout -- this is the real limit for time and depth.
• Rebreathers will try to kill you and will never stop, so you must always be on your guard!

Oh, rebreathers are fun!

 

[broncobowsher]

Another big bonus to a rebreather is it will let you dive places that have limited supplies of Helium. Doesn't matter how much money you have, there are times there isn't enough available helium for an OC dive. But you can do a whole dive on just a couple cubic feet of Helium. And if only a couple of cubic feet is all you can get, it is all you need. Places like Truk and Bikini will only offer Helium to rebreather divers.

 

[Tigerpaw]

There's a ton of benefits diving on a rebreather compared with open circuit. Helium costs are just one small thing, there's a ton of even better benefits...

Of course you don't get all of those benefits for nothing!

• Rebreathers are expensive to purchase compared with OC. Also have consumables (cells, sodalime)
• Rebreathers will try to kill you and will never stop, so you must always be on your guard!

Oh, rebreathers are fun!

The last two is why I think I'll pass. LOL