What Defines a "Tech" Diver

[Blackcrusader]

Any depth that's reasonable on air? I'd say yes. If I drop down to the deck of the Oriskany at 150fsw, then work my way up the outside of the island, that seems rec to me.

Pretty much what I did to retrieve a dropped camera rig. Plenty of air, still had 3 mins to deco and 180 bar when I started ascending, finished the dive after 70 mins with more than 70 bar. Not a bounce dive. If you want to say it exceeded recreational limits I would then ask which agency are you referring to.

 

[Kay Dee]

Diving is diving. The ‘technical’ term came about to increase the income streams for commercial agencies SSI PADI as examples.

Not! Coined long, long before SSI or PADI got into the game.

 

[Kay Dee]

I would consider that to be the opposite of technical diving.

Solo diving? Why?

 

[Celt]

@mac64, I've reread your answer and thought more. Here is one take on your answer.


So beforehand, the dive for them on an average day is not technical. Ok. I might argue approaching or a little, but ok.

For risk mitigation we usually do need to classify dives before we know how they turn out.


If we change it to be bad conditions, sick diver, more likely and almost foreshadowed errors (the diving itself on that day really), the risk of the deco not being able to be handled increases.

In terms of "technical" being the term to use:
How would you feel about those events leading up to vomiting at 130' short of NDL? Is that technical? They need to breath for several more minutes before they can surface or they will drown.

What about vomiting at 40'?

Are you saying any dive can go bad

I'm saying I don't believe you can say a dive is rec or tech and should train for whatever it may be. I would use neither word to describe a dive it's to misleading

 

[Celt]

Bullsh**. Not even close. Your scenario just becomes a more complicated dive, not a tech dive. Who are you trying to kid? Wannebe tech divers?

I'm just a diver, if you wish to use the label be my guest. The label suits some divers.

 

[Kay Dee]

Those who argue that depth is irrelevant are living in a fantasy past,

Wrong. Why do you say that? A diver on a single tank with no redundancy, for all intents an purposes a 'rec diver', going to 'depth' (say beyond 40m) is not then anointed as / nor can he anoint himself a tech diver, nor claim to be making a 'tech' dive. I repeat, depth on its own is no crieria for a tech dive.

Seems many of you here, and I am not pointing the finger at you specifically, @tursiops want to reinvent the term 'tech diver / tech diving' to suit your own view of what it is.

 

[Kay Dee]

I'm just a diver, if you wish to use the label be my guest. The label suits some divers.

Re my underlined. That's because some divers are tech divers. Then there are other divers that have been diving since Adam ate the apple and think the dives they are doing a 'tech' dives. Like I said there are a lot of 'wannabe tech divers' and 'wished they were tech divers' in abundance today (and for may years now.)

 

[tursiops]

A diver on a single tank with no redundancy, for all intents an purposes a 'rec diver', going to 'depth' (say beyond 40m) is not then anointed as / nor can he anoint himself a tech diver, nor claim to be making a 'tech' dive. I repeat, depth on its own is no crieria for a tech dive.

The point is, and I think we agree, that depth is one criterion for a dive that ought to be done as a tech dive. A rec diver going beyond 40m is not doing a tech dive, he is doing a dangerous dive. The point of treating it as a tech dive -- with the proper training and planning and equipment and execution -- is to remove that danger.
Depth does not make it a tech dive; depth can make it necessary to do it as a tech dive.

 

[Celt]

Re my underlined. That's because some divers are tech divers. Then there are other divers that have been diving since Adam ate the apple and think the dives they are doing a 'tech' dives. Like I said there are a lot of 'wannabe tech divers' and 'wished they were tech divers' in abundance today (and for may years now.)

I have no wish to be labeled, I make the dives I want to and enjoy. Others are free to do the same. A label suits some people they only have to read it.

 

[lermontov]

Ill add my 10 cents worth

If we use AOW as a base line and lets assume it has a safety factor being relative to the skill and equipment levels required for an AOW dive.

If by increasing complexity and the consequences of a mistake/error then the safety factor gets lower (more risk) then planning, training, skills, redundancy, contingencies etc. need to increase to bring that that safety factor back to an acceptable level.

Once you start needing specific skills or equipment or knowledge over and above the base line its technical.