Starting out in Tech Diving

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In your opinion, Would it make sense to travel to Florida and pay the extra to do John Chatterton's Advanced Wreck and Deco Class? i think the cost is $1800 for a full week of training. Plus room and board... I want to do this and i want to do it right... but i also dont want to buy the brightest shinnyist thing just cause it is bright and shinny...

I did AN/DP with JC in Florida and it was great. I had already done advanced wreck with him in NJ. What's fascinating about his class is all of the local diving history you get and perspective, stuff that he is uniquely qualified to deliver. He's also very funny, gives a good talk.

However, you should be squared away with doubles before doing it. In our class, there was one guy who didn't finish, mainly because he wasn't comfortable in doubles, the class was the first time he had used them.
 
As others have said you will be going the Shearwater route. Also you state that you have plenty of air. Are you doing these dives on Nitrox or 21%?

Most of the dives are on nitrox. % depends on depth i plan to go to...
 
Looking for high standards in an instructor has been mentioned. I think it's important to keep in mind that there are two sides to the coin of "having high standards". One, is of course, to assess students against these standards, but the other side is the ability to teach to those standards. That is, having the competency as a teacher to help a student meet those standards. It's easy to yell at a student for being out of trim, or not back kicking effectively. It's much harder to come up with good suggestions and teaching points to remedy this, especially in the short time frame a course typically permits.
 
How do you know if the bar is high or not? That is the one thing that always makes me go "hmmmmmmm" when people talk about finding a "good" instructor. How do you know what a "good" instructor is? It is so often quoted that it is the instructor that matters and it is. But, new divers have no clue at all about a good instructor or what a good instructor would ask you to do in comparison to a "bad" instructor. If my instructor teaches me in a streamlined OW reg configuration and teaches primary donate, is he good or bad? If my instructor teaches me all my skills on my knees, is he good or bad? There is a LOT of interpretation as to what a "good" instructor is and that interpretation will vary with the audience. An instructor that may be horrible to you, may be the very instructor that is able to get another diver over a hurdle that may have bothered that diver.


Thank you!!!! i am reading all this and it is making my head hurt!!! how the hell am i supposed to know a good instructor from a bad... i dont even know the questions to ask!!!
 
Thank you!!!! i am reading all this and it is making my head hurt!!! how the hell am i supposed to know a good instructor from a bad... i dont even know the questions to ask!!!

Ask people in your area for personal recommendations. I have done a lot of training with Wayne Fisch at Diveseekers - the shop is in Hillsborough NJ (about 2 hours from you), and some of the training is at Dutch Springs (closer to you). He's great, I can recommend him...
 
Thank you!!!! i am reading all this and it is making my head hurt!!! how the hell am i supposed to know a good instructor from a bad... i dont even know the questions to ask!!!
James Lapenta covers this in his books. It is easy to modify the questions for tech instructors.
 
Simple question. Is there a consensus on PADI v. STI for there tech courses? Or is there another organization that i should look at?

Answers to your 2 questions:

1) Buy a Shearwater. Dont even think twice about it. Its a no brainer. End of story.

2) In your ( or I should say our) area - if you want to be a great diver with the best technical instruction around - Call Trace Malinowski.

IF....Trace isnt available - let me know and Ill give you another name of a top notch local instructor.


If you do these things and end up a competent wreck diver that wants to do more deep/technical diving in NJ.....Call me. Im always looking for guys to fill spots on our deeper trips and well trained, trustworthy divers are not as easy to come by as most people think!


Oh yeah......forget the agency. It doesnt matter and means nothing. The training is what is most important and that is 100% about the instructor ( at least in my mind it is)

All kidding aside, this area is loaded with good instructors but I know first hand that Trace is as good as it gets.
 
Thank you!!!! i am reading all this and it is making my head hurt!!! how the hell am i supposed to know a good instructor from a bad... i dont even know the questions to ask!!!

Fair point. You find them from a variety of ways.
Thank you!!!! i am reading all this and it is making my head hurt!!! how the hell am i supposed to know a good instructor from a bad... i dont even know the questions to ask!!!

Good question. I understand it can be a difficult process, both in terms of not understanding WHAT to look for and also having the ability to cut through the "marketing" that is inherent with parts of scuba.

There are certain questions to ask about how they run courses, their diving philosophy, and how they grade their students. These questions might weed out a few instructors, but most of the experienced ones will have have good stump speeches and be able to pass those questions with ease--especially if you have done some prior research to get a short list.

The best way to find a good instructor is look at the one thing an instructor can't ******** because they have no control over it; their students post certification. Go diving, find divers that you want to emulate--don't look blindly at divers and be, oh, I want to do the dives they are doing, but find divers you want to look like, talk like, think like when in the water. This day and age every Tom, Dick, and Harry with a credit card has a Advanced Nitrox cert.

It can be hard for inexperienced eyes to see the gold through the pyrite, so for you, I would recommend focusing on divers who aren't just good, but ****^ng Gods in the water. Talk with those divers and ask them who their instructors were. They have probably had a couple who improved their diving, but there is always that one who was better, who made them into the divers they are today. See if there are any similarities that start to pop up. If the same names keeps popping up, add it to the short list and investigate. Also, remember to ask them what they liked and disliked about the class, it might provide you with more information and give you more incite into something you hadn't thought about.

For beginner tech classes, I l generally like to recommend staying local especially if you are starting from a non-tech background. Beginner tech classes from the type of instructors I am talking about are rarely passed on the first go around. There is learning the skill and then a crap ton of practice that is required before it can be preformed at a quality level during class. Often I see classes that people travel for develop into "he/she did the skill "good" enough to not die, therefore they pass.

I am a huge fan of GUE fundies and recommend it all divers who are just starting out. It's great class to learn the techniques needed for better diving. Fact of the matter is, if you can't get at least a REC pass in this class, you aren't ready for to start diving tech.

Another option that I like to employ is taking "interview" courses with instructors. Take a 1 or 2 day class like solo diving, intro to tech, or even just 2 days of coaching. See first hand how they teach and how you improve. It's better to commit the $200-$300, maybe learn something new, but realize they aren't what you are looking for before you commit the $800-$1000+ for a tech course and realize they aren't what you were expecting.

Feel free to send me a PM if you have any specific questions.
 
A Tech pass means the instructor is confident that you would be ready to take Cave 1 or Tech 1 the next day and he or she won't get an angry phone call from the next instructor that you were not fully prepared.

I have been told be multiple instructors that it is typical for a student who gets a Rec pass in Fundamentals to take about a year to gain enough skill and experience to get a tech pass. People also get a tech pass directly out of fundamentals, or get a tech pass it in a few months, too, or take multiple years, it all depends on your experience going in and how much you dive and who you dive with.
 
I have been diving a few years now and am really enjoying diving the wrecks off the New Jersey Shore. Up to this point i have been diving single hp steel 100. This makes loading un unloading the boat REALLY nice but i am starting to find i want more bottom time and the ability to go deeper. Even a steel 100 at 100-130 feet i have plenty of air left when i hit my NDL.

So my question. What computer should i get. I was looking at the ScubaPro G2 that just came out but that does not work with MacDive software. Currently i use a Sunnto Viper Air that i MIGHT keep for use as backup in gage mode.

I really dont want to start a which is better chevy or ford conversation but some computers with the reason while you like them would be Very Very Helpful.

I do plan on working my way to advanced Trimix... or what ever PADIs equivalent is... So a computer that will grow with me would be awesome!

I am a shearwater fan. the menu is intuitive display easy to read and can be used in both rec or tec modes.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/
http://cavediveflorida.com/Rum_House.htm

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