Tech Diving

Southeastern Divers, Inc.

2720 Governors Drive SW, Huntsville Alabama 35805 - Phone: 256-536-8404

"Training the best divers in North Alabama since 1980."

Max Gilbert PADI IDC Staff Instructor

Technical diving? Me? No way!

Why in the world would anyone want to get into a dry suit, strap on a set of steel double tanks that weigh about 100 lbs, put a deco cylinder under each arm, trudge across the pitching deck of a dive boat and jump into cold murky water? Once in the water, why would a sane diver decide to go deeper than the dive tables allow and stay so long that they have to make decompression stops before surfacing? Perhaps it’s the lure of a shipwreck, the possibility of finding seldom-seen forms of aquatic life, or simply a journey to extend your knowledge and personal limits. Ultimately, the “why” has to be answered by each person who sets out to become a technical diver.

Technical divers extend the depth and time limits that you learned about in your Open Water Diver course. They have special training and use special equipment that allows them to do so. The training includes emergency procedures, motor skills for technical diving, gas planning & management, gas-switch procedures, gear configuration, and risk reduction. Even though technical divers dive in teams, a huge part of the training is about becoming self-sufficient. When I first read the DSAT Tec Deep Diver Manual, I was impressed by the fact that technical divers dive with two of just about everything... two regulators, two cutting devices, a backup mask, redundant buoyancy control, redundant computers, and even a table back-up in case both computers fail! Other members of the dive team are a diver’s “back-up brains,” just in case that most-critical item of dive gear goes haywire. Making a technical dive is a commitment. Once you go beyond the limits of recreational diving, direct ascent to the surface is no longer possible due to the required decompression stops that must be made. Omitting a required decompression stop incurs a huge risk of decompression illness.

So what’s the payoff? Is it worth the effort that it takes to become a technical deep diver? When you complete the DSAT technical training classes, you’ll be able to explore places that recreational divers only read about. You’ll be among the best of the best divers. You will have knowledge and skills beyond most other divers in the world. To get there, you will have pushed yourself academically and physically. I’d say that for those who choose technical diving, the gain is definitely worth the effort!

By now, a few of you are wondering if there are technical diving training opportunities available at Southeastern Divers. The short answer is soon. For most of March, I’ll be in Florida training with one of the best DSAT Technical Instructor Trainers around, Jeff Loflin. When Jeff is finished with me, I’ll be ready to begin teaching the DSAT Tec Apprentice and Tec Deep classes, probably in the early summer. If you’ve decided that technical diving is something you’re interested in, you can start now by pursuing the PADI Dry Suit Diver, PADI Enriched Air Nitrox Diver, and PADI Deep Diver specialty courses. Those three courses, and lots of diving experience, form a solid foundation for technical diving training.

“Sea” you soon ~ underwater!

Max

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