What a FULL course schedule this year has had.  Congratulations to the new technical divers at 40/ 45/ 50 levels and to those going forward to trimix- you will have a blast!

One thing that REALLY separates instructors is their experience. 

Most instructors will teach a pretty good course, given the material is quality in the first place (there are a couple of agencies whose course content is a bit on the light side, and not quite the XTREME side- xtreme, good grief!)  But nevertheless most agencies are pretty similar, and an instructor who lacks breadth of experience will not give you the sort of training you want.  Of course, you wont know any different until years later when you realise that, so start off the right way, choose an experienced guide for your path.

Train Right!
 
 

This one is easy!  Get your gear out, try it on, tweak it, move that hip ring just a fraction this way or that, tweak that regulator, check the drysuit seals- I know, that's a complete load of rubbish.

Actually when I am not diving- I am to be found on the bike, in a kayak, on a rock face or on a run.  Physical fitness is not, it seems, the domain of divers and whilst I am not about to zealously crusade for diving fitness tests, some students I receive are just so out of shape that the course is a bear for them because they are incapable of toting around a pair of doubles.  Come on!  There is only so much responsibility I am able to assume for the students and getting themselves in shape is not one of them.

If you are thinking of pursuing this sort of diving, a little modest fitness wouldn't be out of order, you don't have to run a marathon, or even 3 miles, but think about what will be expected of you and act accordingly.

Here ends the l

 
Post Title. 02/01/2010
 
Its been a long time since.....

Tec 40/ 45/ 50 is proving to be an outstanding course, very well designed, progressive, demanding and gives students what they want.  Explore the course descriptions to see what the buzz is about.
 
Oriskany on Mix 09/21/2009
 
Planning some mixed gas dives on the Mighty O for alumni of Tec Diving Instructor- this will be an outstanding dive.  The wreck is great, the divers excellent (of course) and teh company fabolous- it is hard to beat this.  Want to join me on teh next trip?  Become trained, Train Right!
 
 

Being from an island nation I am used to the salt water, being in TX I am very far from it.  Rectifying that I will be leading a tech trip to the Oriskany in a couple of weeks.  It will be good to be bad in the salt spray!

 
 

What a difference a rig makes!  One of the core, most common, and most frustrating challenges students on technical classes face is buoyancy control. 

With a good sidemount instructor, this hurdle can be beaten quickly- check www.sidemountinstructor.com for details



 
The Tao of Tec 04/06/2009
 

Breathe in, breathe out- repeat.  Breath control is a powerful tool in the tec diver's arsenal to increase focus and manage emotions.   Emotional management can make the diffence bewteen an exciting dive and a disastrous one should something go not quite according to plan. 

Part of this management is making reactions second nature; creating muscle memories, creating subconscious responses act before the conscious has time to draw attention to it.  This is partly ahieved by running scenarios through the mind and physically acting to them- two examples I have are skydive related (my other diving sport).  In the aircraft on the way up- look around.  The aircraft is full of skydivers making subtle, yet distinctive hand, body and head movements going through the sequence of the skydive from start to finish.  Then they go through emergency drills and contingency scenarios and again making those subtle movements.  Note the common thread here is that they are practising in their minds AND WITH THEIR BODIES.  How would it be if tec divers divers did the same?

Take some time, pre dive, to visualise the dive (anyone remember that visualisation training used to be included in tec classes?); close your eyes and mentally run through the dive plan and contingency scenarios physically touching items required- go through the drills, gas shut down (touch the valves), regulator switch (touch the regulator), entanglement (touch the knives) etc.  This builds muscle memory, subcoscious reactions and emotional management.

Or call me a complete quack!

Paul
Train Right!

Check out SIDEMOUNT- www.sidemountinstructor.com


 
 

Wow, technical dive training is expensive, isn't it?. 

If the training isn't a bit above what you expect to pay for recreational classes, then ask yourself what you are NOT getting. 

 

But, hey, a c-card is a card, right?  Wrong, wrong, wrong- very wrong.  There is a world of difference between a Mercedes, BMX or Lexus and cheaper cars, but a car is a car isn't it?  If you can't see the value- then quality instruction is not for you.

SAVE, SAVE, SAVE, SAVE $1200- $1600

I am just about to save you an enormous sum on your technical dive training BUT if you are the sort of diver who does not value quality but want a cheap c-card, then don't train with me- but more on that in a later blog. 

So you want to reduce the cost of your transition to technical diving?  I will save you $1200- $1600 in one fell swoop- train in SIDEMOUNT! 

Save the cost of the twin tanks, manifold and bands- just use regular rental, or your own, tanks for your primary gas.  Dispense with the backplate, wing and harness and slip into something more comfortable such as a Nomad from Diverite and save anything from $1200- $1500 by not buying the double tanks.

The cost of the Nomad is comparable to your backplate, harness and wing- indeed at the Nomad's core is the transpac harness so you can always add a wing and backplate later if you feel the urge.  But gone is the cost (and the weight!) of the twinset cylinders- a massive saving, more than the cost of the training and then some.  Plus in sidemount you dont even need to own your own primary tanks, use rental ones if need be- another saving there.


And the cream on the cake?  I can provide the Nomad rigs, too! 

Wow that training just got inexpensive!

Isn't that excellent?

Well, sort of- it depends who you train with. 

Only a small, handful of instructors are certified to teach technical diving in sidemount (and I am one of those very few instructore-  you lucky people) so think on that when you are adding up the cost of training- look at it as a total package consisting of both the class and equipment, for that is surely what it is. 


Save BIG Money on technical dive training.

Contact Paul for technical dive training and start to saving today!







 

 
 

I am regularly asked about an argon (Ar) inflation system for trimix classes, here are some thoughts.  Assuming that the class is not held in cold water, but rather somewhat more temperate, then with the early mixes on the DSAT Trimix class (about 20% He) then you can get away without an Ar inflation system, as the He% increases however (and on the deep dives of the class, students will be diving 16%O2, 50%He down to a max of 245') then a separate system for drysuit inflation becomes all the more useful.  That said, Ar is not necessary, air will certainly suffice in a separate system.  If the waters are colder however, then a separate system might be advisable right from the first dive- He certainly chills you down.

Remember, this information is NO SUBSTITUTE for proper training- attempting to perform technical diving without proper training or equipment may result in serious injury or death.

Train Right!