Introduction to Technical Diving
Posted By John Bennett on 26 March 2002
"Myths and Legends"
On the night of September 9th 1983 a couple approached Fontaine de Vaucluse, a submerged cave system in France. Not just any cave system but one of the deepest caves known to man. They went there at night because the powers to be did not want the man to dive.
That night, the man Jochen Hasenmeyer entered the water alone leaving his wife by the waters edge waiting. Nine hours latter he surfaced, they packed his gear and silently left that great cave system as though they had never been there. The only evidence of their passing was at a depth of 205m\667ft in the form of a dated name tag manually tied to the existing decent line.
Jochen Hasenmyer had just shattered the world record for surface-to-surface untethered open circuit diving, at the same time he had just become a legend among his peers and would be admired by fellow adventures for generations to come.
What drove him to attempt such a dive many will never understand, but that same drive would lead generations of divers into what is now called technical diving?
What is Technical Diving?
The term itself was coined by Michael Menduna when he founded Aqua corps, the first magazine which covered those who choose to dive outside the boundaries set by the recreational agencies.
To give an actual description to the term is more difficult, because it has changed and will continue to change as diving evolves. For example Nitrox (Oxygen enriched air) use to be classed as technical, but is now widely accepted and used by the recreational community for the benefits it gives.
A good description of "Technical' diving is. Dives which are carried out below 42m\132ft or require advanced techniques such as gas switches, decompression or are in a overhead environment's such as wrecks or caves.
Some models of rebreather can also be classified as technical if used in the above environments.
Training: What to Look For
Go for one of the established agencies. The two most established are both here in the Philippines. They are IANTD (International Association of Nitrox and Technical Diving) the first formed in 1985 & TDI (Technical Diving International) formed in 1993. Both offer quality training in advanced diving techniques. What should you look for in the Instructor? Well of course, he should have the necessary qualifications, but more importantly, he should be experienced at the level he is training you. He can't teach you from a book, you are going to rely heavily on his experience in the field.
Don't be afraid to ask questions such as: 'What is your experience level?' & 'What equipment will we use?', 'How many dives will I get?' (Many courses are worked out in bottom time with a minimum number of dives).
Your Instructor will not mind the questions, he will expect them.
Cost wise, don't expect discounted courses, expect to pay a fair price for the experience and certification level of your Instructor.
If you are getting big discounts then you are properly losing out somewhere, either with the equipment being used or in the time he spends with you, or, more importantly with the time you spend in the actual environment.
You should be looking for quality training that is both challenging and informative.
- Bookmark with :
- what are these?
