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).
The very general definition of technical diving is to be exposed to a ceiling that does not allow a diver to ascend to the surface at any moment of the dive. This might be due to a real ceiling, in terms of a cave or a wreck, or a virtual ceiling created by a decompression obligation. In this case, by exceeding the NDL’s, mandatory decompression stops have to be performed on ascent in order to avoid any case of decompression sickness. In most cases this requires the use of special equipment, e.g. Twinsets or Sidemount, special gas mixes and of course additional training to be able to perform those stops accurately on ascent to optimize off-gassing of Nitrogen.
If you will not be using sidemount during your cave diver training, what you should be looking at is our CDS Basics Orientation course.
SDI/TDIIncludes Two Open Water DivingsMinimum Age 18 Years, Minimum 15 Years with Parental Consent.
It takes passion, experience, and training to become a technical dive instructor. Technical diving comes with additional risks, so it's not worth taking on if you don't have the right combination.
We offer the TDI course as an option, although we can also teach the SDI course if asked. This course can be taken on its own, or with the Apprentice Cave Diver course.
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.
Sidemount diving is a great way to get additional air. There are two tanks that you use, one tank with an SPG and the other with regulators. This makes it safer and gives air-hogs like me a lot more air. Sidemount also makes diving extremely easy, since you can simply put tanks on top and there isn't any pressure on your spine.
New gear means new techniques. Scuba diving sidemount is easy if you have the right skills.
Continue on to the Tec Sidemount Diver program. Here you'll learn additional skills, such switching deco cylinders, and stage and switch deco cylinders.
Decompression divers can use all sorts of oxygen mixtures to extend their time looking at reefs and wrecks on the sea floor. While the sport diver may only have two 15-minute bottom time dives at 100ft, the decompression diver is able to cruise for up 60 minutes. This allows them to get the most bang possible.
Specific skills - The tech programs teach specific dive skills that are required for each category of diving. Navigation and line skills for overhead diving are practiced until they become automatic. Without blinking an eye, decompression divers are able to plan and execute gas management stops and stops. To ensure the equipment's perfect functionality, rebreather divers carefully build, test, and disassemble their equipment. Each course is covered in the initial level of certification. From there, you can move up to the next level. Each level of certification takes these skills deeper and makes them more challenging. This helps divers become well-rounded, knowledgeable and well-prepared.
Technical divers can explore wrecks and reefs down to depths of 40 meters/130 feet. They can dive in underwater caves or other areas that are not accessible to recreational divers.
My first courses were technical sidemount, and sidemount. Sidemount diving, which is the name of the course, involves placing your tank into your hands. My hands and knuckles were covered with cuts by the end. It is possible to remove the tanks from the clips and lay them out front of you Superman-style. The afternoon dive went much better after I made some adjustments to our harness. I was now comfortable with my harness, and was 'Superman'-ing with the tanks. Sidemount allows for an extraordinary level of freedom. Matt had set up obstacles courses. Soon we were flying around them, with tanks out front, barrel rolling and even swimming upside-down.
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.