Technical divers search for wrecks and reefs in depths below the recreational limit (40 m/130 ft). These divers have the ability to dive into underwater caves and other areas not accessible by regular recreational diving.
You will need your standard wetsuit, fins and mask as well as a computer, compass and DSMB.
New gear means new techniques. Diving sidemount, if it's easy, require some new skills (easy to learn).
Decompression divers may add Helium into their cylinders to make deep dives over 130ft. Sometimes they are less likely to visit wrecks or reefs than astronauts to reach the moon every year.
One of the most important changes in equipment cave divers have made since the start of the century was the switch from sidemount to backmounted doubles. Sidemount is a popular choice for cave divers. It's also possible that sidemount cave divers are more common than backmount cave divers.
Rebreathers offer an extension of diving abilities by forgoing large cylinders in favor of recycling the gas exhaled by the diver, scrubbing the CO2 exhaled, and injecting prescriptive amounts of gas from smaller cylinders. This can drastically increase the dive time compared to carrying double cylinders of the same generate size/weight, especially for deeper dives. Rebreathers can be back or sidemounted, and the profile they create is dependent on the configuration.
Our CDS Basics Orientation course is the best option if you don't plan to use sidemount while you cave diver training.
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The advantages of Sidemount diving are an additional independent air source as you are diving with two tanks each with a first stage, SPG, and regulator. This makes it a lot safer and gives little air-hogs like myself a whole lot more air. I also found diving with Sidemount to be incredibly comfortable because you can easily don tanks on the surface and there is no pressure on your back.
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‘Shadow Divers’ by Robert Kurson is about the identification of a German submarine that was tried to be identified by John Chatterton and his crew during almost a decade.
I was a bit numb after my initial pool sessions. I was strapped into the twin tanks, trying to conduct valve drills. But, the Tec 40-45 and 50 courses helped me to feel more comfortable and my skills began to improve. By the end of the course, I was enjoying myself. It's about taking your diving skills, buoyancy and awareness up to the next level. This is what Tec diving offers. This is a great feeling. Knowing you're capable in managing life-threatening emergency situations at depth without the need to ascend to the surface (dues decompression requirements), is an amazing feeling. It's very satisfying to execute your dive program with military precision.
If you are interested in the SDI course, we will teach it. By default, however we also offer the TDI. You can take this course as a standalone, however our students often combine it with our Apprentice Cave Diver program.
Sidemount diving stems from the cave diving world but has also found its way into the recreational, non-overhead diving world in recent years.Simply put: instead of wearing one or two tanks mounted on your back, you will wear your tanks on your side. The tanks are attached to a Sidemount BCD with clips and/or bungee cords allowing for great flexibility. Initially, it was this flexibility that allowed cave divers to take their tanks off underwater to fit through narrow spaces as well as making their overall profile smaller.
2-3 hours
Even with small cylinders, you can usually dive for 2-3 hours (rebreathers typically have two 2/3l cylinders or one 3/5l cylinder).
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.
According to experts, approximately 40% of technical divers enroll in additional education and training programs. This yields a reasonable estimate of approximately 160,000 active technical divers worldwide.