Looking for Advice for training progression.

[tursiops]

You really need an instructor who goes beyond the syllabus on this one. Someone who adds to it so that it is a mirror of fundamentals/essentials/basics of exploration. If there is a GUE, UTD, or ISE instructor nearby, then the return is likely to be much higher.

My PPB course was a joke. My fundies course was most definitely not.

PPB need not be a joke. Sorry it was for you.

 

[hroark2112]

Don't worry about formal courses. Find some really good divers to dive with. Divers who know how to plan a dive really well, have great trim & buoyancy, and are fun to dive with. Get in the water a lot and get your trim dialed in and your weighting right, and you'll stop flailing and start looking like a good diver.

As you get more comfortable in the water, the flailing will disappear and your air consumption will get better. When you have that all perfected, find a great cavern/cave instructor and learn cavern diving.

Above all, have fun!!

 

[KevinNM]

Thanks that is a really helpful comment. How proficient should i be before starting intro to tech? Are there any common specialty classes i should take? Will i just learn those specialty skills when learning tech anyway?

As an example, look at the requirements for a technical pass for GUE fundamentals. All the tasks mentioned, including air sharing and SMB, need to be done without messing up trim and while not moving more than a foot in the water column. This includes being able to stop during ascent or descent at a planned point and hold that depth until directed to move. If you can do all of these you are in probably in a pretty good place for anyone's tech training, but at 60 dives you'll probably need to work pretty hard on your skills.

And dive with a tech instructor. From any agency. Watch them in the water. If you are like me the first time you dive with them you'll be astonished at how totally in control a diver can be. That's what you need to be.

a. Must be able to swim at least 300 yds/275 m in less than 14 minutes without stopping.
This test should be conducted in a swimsuit and, where necessary, appropriate thermal
protection.
b. Must be able to swim a distance of at least 50 ft/15 m on a breath hold while submerged.
c. Demonstrate proficiency in safe diving practices, including pre-dive preparation, inwater
activity, and post-dive assessment.
d. Demonstrate awareness of team member location and a concern for safety, responding
quickly to visual indications and dive partner requirements.
e. Demonstrate good buoyancy and trim, i.e., approximate reference is a maximum of 20
degrees off horizontal while remaining within 3 ft/1 m of a target depth.
f. Demonstrate proficiency in the ability to deploy a surface marker buoy while using a
spool.
g. Efficiently and comfortably demonstrate how to donate gas to an out-of-gas diver in
multiple gas sharing scenarios.
h. Efficiently and comfortably demonstrate how to donate gas to an out-of-gas diver
followed by an ascent to the surface utilizing minimum decompression.
i. Demonstrate a safe and responsible demeanor throughout all training.
j. Demonstrate proficiency in underwater communication.
k. Demonstrate a comfortable demeanor while swimming without a mask in touch contact.
l. Demonstrate aptitude in the following open water skills: mask clearing, mask removal
and replacement, regulator removal and exchange, long hose deployment.
m. Demonstrate safe ascent and descent procedures.
n. Demonstrate an efficient valve drill with double tanks.
o. Demonstrate basic equipment proficiency and an understanding of the GUE equipment
configuration.
p. Demonstrate proficiency in four propulsion techniques that would be appropriate in
delicate and/or silty environments, including competence in the backward kick and
helicopter turns.
q. Demonstrate proficiency with a primary light by using it during all skills except SMB
deployment.
r. Demonstrate diver rescue techniques, including effective management of an
unconscious diver underwater.

 

[tbone1004]

remember that practice makes permanent so to all the suggestions of saying dive more before an intro to tech type course, I firmly disagree. Go take that now so you know what to practice. If you've been in the water since 10, there is a lot of primacy that has to be broken and the sooner you do that, the better. We struggle every year when we have what we call "dive shop kids" come into our rescue/advanced class and didn't take basic with us. It's a LOT of work, like months of work to get them to where we need them to be before open water and many don't get to go. The sooner you can learn the skills to practice properly the better off you'll be

 

[kensuf]

+1. You can do this in a single tank too if you're not able to immediately get into doubles. The base skills remain almost exactly the same.

There are options for this depending on your location, travel flexibility and instructor availability - GUE Fundies/TDI ITT/ UTD Essentials. Many also use the Cavern class to learn these skills but, personally, I feel like there was enough additional stuff being added in Cavern that having buoyancy, trim, propulsion, etc already squared away was super useful.

Do not do intro to tech in a single tank. Do it in either doubles or take a sidemount course from a reputable sidemount instructor.

 

[kensuf]

remember that practice makes permanent so to all the suggestions of saying dive more before an intro to tech type course, I firmly disagree. Go take that now so you know what to practice. If you've been in the water since 10, there is a lot of primacy that has to be broken and the sooner you do that, the better. We struggle every year when we have what we call "dive shop kids" come into our rescue/advanced class and didn't take basic with us. It's a LOT of work, like months of work to get them to where we need them to be before open water and many don't get to go. The sooner you can learn the skills to practice properly the better off you'll be

^^ THIS

Practicing a skill incorrectly leads to a lot of bad habits that must be overcome.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Do not do intro to tech in a single tank. Do it in either doubles or take a sidemount course from a reputable sidemount instructor.

I'm not familiar with ITT, but if we were instead talking Fundies, I would recommend the OP do it in a single tank and wetsuit first. There's already so much to absorb in that configuration.

 

[kensuf]

Intro to Tech is an introduction to technical gear and techniques. Not quite as comprehensive as fundies, but it's designed to get them familiar with concepts, equipment, and basic skills.

He's stated his goal is to be a cave diver. He will definitely need redundant gear (doubles or sidemount). Taking intro to tech in a single tank provides no value to any of the next steps he intends to take.

 

[Lorenzoid]

So you're saying IF he were to take ITT instead of Fundies, then he ought to do it in a tech gear configuration. Got it.

 

[kensuf]

No, that's not what I said. I said since he intends to go into cave diving, he should start learning the basics in some of the gear so he'll be comfortable and familiar with it.

Woudln't you agree that he'll need a Fundies Tech Pass if he were to go the GUE route? Can he get one in a single tank?