Why did you go Tech, or not?

[RonFrank]

This is a question that comes to mind now and again. I thought about going the tech route, the dark side, more than once. In the long run I made the right choice staying recreational. There are only a few places where I have any desire to go past 130'. I really like diving, but diving doubles is IMO a big PITA, and yes I have done so a number of times. I have done a lot of diving and generally find plenty to see in the first 130'. I guess I've reached the point where I can draw a line in the sand, and not feel the need to cross it. Rebreathers could sway me but not living in CO as there is not enough diving here.

So have you gone Tech - deco, caves, wreck, and deep? Or is there plenty keeping you occupied in the first 130' of water?

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

OK, here goes;

When I chose to "go all in" scuba, I was considering Hall's, because I was invested in a scuba sub project and Hall's had(has?) a scuba sub, but I was also interested in rebreathers and the CD I talked to at Ocean Divers said he could even teach Rebreather Specialty Instructor. At least I got 2 months unlimited diving in writing. Come to find out, he was planning to borrowing a couple Dolphins from the downstairs neighbor, which kind of violates the funky PADI Standards, but they said no for reasons other than Standards.

Not that I was for sure the other reasons, but I got IANTD rebreather trained by the downstairs neighbor; Hyperbarics International. Then I was allowed to rent the rebreather for 4 days, @ $200 per day (+sodasorb), and take it on the OD boats that I had unlimited diving from. I had proven myself to those captains over the previous 7+ weeks, so I was pretty much told to get that tech-y rig off the boat asap, and please sweep the site at the end. I made 16 dives, all but 1 solo; a night dive at Winch/Hole in the Wall, a navigation error at the Benwood perhaps due to metal debris; ended up "practicing" multiple valve drills on the next dive due to the excessive gas usage at the Benwood. Aborted one dive due to quick head ache; mouthpiece got knocked out of mouth before clearing ladder on previous dive.

All dives thoroughly debriefed by Instructor Larry while I sanitized the rig at the end of each day. It doesn't seem real looking back from today; after cleaning up from the last dive Larry whipped out his phone and I'm pretty sure he called Tom. He pretty much interrogated Tom with regards to the Standards for Instructor, especially with regards to competence vs piloting hours, whether either of them should be IT's for rigs they don't dive the minimum annual hours, and I walked a little farther away. After the call ended Larry told me he'd be in touch with me when I returned "home" to Oahu.

My scheduled Oahu landing was 9/12/01.

I took the airline up on delaying my flight, probably twice, and when I finally got back into a few Oahu dive shops, seems Joe Dituri had "just started" a Dolphin Instructor course with the "new" 25 hours min (and the Big Dogs dropped some IT certs?). Deep Ecology had two Dolphins in moth-eaten storage, including the one Wyland used for his certification (and signed!); I could have got 'em for $2G's, sans bottles. Even if I had just not made that second plane change, I could be fully engulfed in rebreathers.

It now seems like I probably have wild imaginations.

I have only been below 130' three times. Out of 2 camera tries I have one good photo below 130'.

 

[Centrals]

1. It was available and I had already done couple hundred of dives. so I wanted to see what was the fuss.
2. SCR, Techncial wreck, Normoxic trimix and Full trimix followed. A logical learning curve for scuba diving.
3. I give myself an extra option rathen than sticking on "recreational".
4. I do not believe that tec diver is any better or more knowledgeable than recreational diver. They are probably slightly more adventurous or stupid.

 

[TSandM]

Well, the siren song was the Mexican caves . . . from the first time I saw a video from there, I knew that was something I wanted to do. And going the route through Fundies, it's really EASY to slide along toward tech diving. The gear is all there, the procedures are all there, and all you really have to do is get the doubled tanks and you're good to go to the next level of training.

The open water tech training I took, I took to go look at the cloud sponges in BC. I also figured it would be generally good for me as a diver. I've done fairly few staged decompression dives, and there are few I want to do that I haven't yet. I like having the tools and the options, but around home, I'm mostly happy on shallower, single tank critter dives.

 

[waterpirate]

I probably have wild imaginations.

I have only been below 130' three times. Out of 2 camera tries I have one good photo below 130'.
[/QUOTE]

If this is true I do not understand the basis for your other posts at all??????????????

 

[waterpirate]

For me diving to 130fsw or less and staying within ndl's got tiresome. As I continued to get out of the water with 50% or more volume left in my steel 120 the desire to stay longer grew. Now I dive twins exclusively regardless of the planned dive, just change twin sizes. I grew to love the amount of gas and the redundancy.

My local diving area also has seen a great increase in fishing pressure at rec depths, from scuba and freedivers. i.e. it became harder to bring home dinner. There is no thrill greater than hunting 150fsw plus.
Eric

 

[Dirty-Dog]

Well, the siren song was the Mexican caves . . . from the first time I saw a video from there, I knew that was something I wanted to do. And going the route through Fundies, it's really EASY to slide along toward tech diving. The gear is all there, the procedures are all there, and all you really have to do is get the doubled tanks and you're good to go to the next level of training.

The open water tech training I took, I took to go look at the cloud sponges in BC. I also figured it would be generally good for me as a diver. I've done fairly few staged decompression dives, and there are few I want to do that I haven't yet. I like having the tools and the options, but around home, I'm mostly happy on shallower, single tank critter dives.

I don't have any tech training, and with a whopping 75 dives, I think signing up for any would be premature.

But the cenotes certainly tempt me. My wife and I do the guided tours every time we go to Mexico, and I do find myself contemplating doubles and a cave cert. But realistically... we live in Colorado. We're not rich, so we get a couple trips a year, 10-14 days at a time. Yes, while we're there, we dive a lot (3-4 tanks day) but it's still 6 months between trips, with nothing but the pool at our LDS to get us wet.

If we lived someplace where regular diving was a viable option, then I think I'd go the tech route, just for the caves. But I'm still happy to be underwater, and there's certainly plenty to see in less than 130'.

 

[knotical]

Fascinated by tech. Read a lot about it. Know a fair amount, but have zero sanctioned experience. My interest is mainly critters, and I’ve never approached being bored by the myriad of life forms and interactions that are easily accessible by rec. Were I ever to go tech, it would probably be as much about the equipment and techniques as for an expanded diving window. Whenever I’ve been tempted, cost tipped the balance.

 

[Cave Diver]

I took technical training because there were places I wanted to explore and I recognized I needed more skills and training to do so safely.

 

[g2]

I have diving goals. Those goals are usually to see a particular critter, visit a wreck at a certain depth, etc. Doing tech for tech's sake doesn't interest me; what's important is being able to achieve my adventures safely.

So I do as much tech training as is necessary, but no more. The same could be said for my choice of equipment and finding dive training that isn't necessarily tech (O2, WFR, hyperbarics, EDAM, etc).

I get what I need. No more, no less.