You are interested in becoming Sidemount Diver? This article will provide all the information you need about what it takes to become a Sidemount diver.
Three parts are required to become certified: knowledge development, skill practise and open water diving. You can choose to do each part locally, on holiday or alternate between them.
Overhead diving professionals are allowed to use cave passages that were formed by millions of years worth of water erosion. They can be found thousands of feet away from the entrance. These sites are a treasure trove of beauty and tranquility, which was only possible because of the time it took to form them.
Sidemount regulators will be taught. Asidemount regulators can be used on both long and short hoses. Sidemount regs are marked differently to normal regs. This allows you to easily identify the tank that you are currently breathing from. In my training, I was given a swivel elbow to use as a regulator for my short tube. There will be 2 SPGs available - one each for each stage.
As your goal in taking this course is to learn the basic set up and operation of the equipment you will use as part of your cave and/or tech diver training, you will need that same equipment for this course. This includes:
You can rent items like primary lights and cylinders, which may be difficult to carry. Please let us know if you need these.
Although the gear selection is important, entry level tech divers will learn how to streamline their equipment and prevent drag. This maximizes propulsion efficiency and awareness.
For dives past 130ft decompression divers blend some Helium into their cylinders and dip into the realm of the rarely seen. The reefs and wrecks they experience are sometimes visited less frequently in a year than astronauts to the moon.
Sidemount divers tend to use two tanks. You can, however, use just one tank (I believe it's called the'monkey'), or use more than two tanks when doing deco dives.
Sidemount diving is a great option, especially for those who are already tec divers. You will need to learn how to adjust your rig, how you can enter the water with it (yes, it is different, but it is more relaxed).
Do you want to become a Sidemount diver. You've come to the right spot, as this article will cover all the details!
Each PADI Specialty you take will help you get closer to becoming a Master Scuba Diver(tm).
Sidemount Diver was, I must admit, one of the most difficult courses I have ever taken. My instructor Fiona and Big Blue Tech in Koh Tao were able to include a lot more skills as well as dives into my course. We practiced many skills, including mask removal, tank deployment underwater, out-of-air drills and SMB deployment. All the while keeping my trim.
While I still haven’t mastered this art quite yet, I am proud to say that after 20 Sidemount dives I am excited to call myself a Sidemount diver and think it is the most comfortable way to dive!
5-6 days
Rebreather training classes are typically 5-6 days long, but can be longer depending on a variety of factors such as the training agency, your local conditions, your instructor, and your ability to meet the class standards.
- Increased Bottom Time A Closed Circuit diver is not concerned with running out of gas because they are only limited by decompression. This can also be reduced by selecting an oxygen partial pressure that provides the diver with virtually limitless bottom times in 60 feet or less of water.
The depth range of oxygen rebreathers (simple closed circuit) is limited to approximately 6 m, beyond which the risk of acute oxygen toxicity rises to unacceptable levels very quickly.