Some of you may remember that I've been looking to move into tech diving (deco, cave, etc) for a while now. Last year I signed up for and started down the PADI tec-rec path, but have stalled (did classroom portion of tec-40 after ~5 month wait trying to get the class going, then had one scheduled weekend for the dives that had to get pushed off due to work, nothing from the instructor since then and still working on maybe finishing that class with them... we'll see). I also was looking to move towards cave certification earlier this year, my short-notice for a trip to Mexico coupled with my cavern certification being through PADI meant that I couldn't find any reputable shop in the area wanting to progress my training with an actual class at that time (other than a different agency's Cavern course), so I instead did a day of mentoring with an instructor down there. I also corresponded with a highly respected instructor in Florida before Coronavirus showed up, but we still haven't worked anything out in particular (not his fault, he's reached out and explained his situation/the world situation and I agreed it wan'st probably the right time there).
So, it might sound like that's my frustration, and obviously some of that is frustrating (mostly the instructor that I had signed up for classes with and 18 months later hasn't managed to arrange with me to do the dive portion of the class), but none of that is actually what frustrates me.
Having now talked to a number of instructors (cave instructors, tech instructors not for cave, etc), the "path into" tech diving is even more muddled than ever honestly. The person I worked with in the Cenotes told me I should have taken a class on doubles before moving into tech diving with them, but outside of "intro to tech" (or equivalent) I can find NO CLASS that actually teaches doubles, and THEN instructors tell me that "intro to tech" isn't teaching doubles (you can do it in any configuration YOU are comfortable with, sidemount, doubles, single tank with pony bottle, etc apparently) and "doubles skills" is apparently taught... well, no where.
Wanna do your tech training in sidemount? Great, take a sidemount course. Wanna do it in doubles? Well, "go dive doubles for a while and figure it out on your own so you're comfortable and competent in them before showing up to class" seems to be the "answer". Now, having done the book portion of tec-40, I'm aware that diving doubles isn't just "having another tank" and "valve drills" etc are a thing... so why isn't there a class to teach this stuff to people like there is for sidemount?
Sure, I'll go take my doubles to the local dive site and watch youtube videos and read books and do my best to figure it out by myself, but it seems like something as basic as "changing your sources of air, how to manage them, and how to work with them in an emergency" would be worthy of someone experienced and knowledgeable with a curriculum to explain it to you and make sure you understand it before you take any errors you develop on your own and carry them into technical diving...
/sigh, okay, got that off my chest.... so now someone can point out what I'm missing here lol
So, it might sound like that's my frustration, and obviously some of that is frustrating (mostly the instructor that I had signed up for classes with and 18 months later hasn't managed to arrange with me to do the dive portion of the class), but none of that is actually what frustrates me.
Having now talked to a number of instructors (cave instructors, tech instructors not for cave, etc), the "path into" tech diving is even more muddled than ever honestly. The person I worked with in the Cenotes told me I should have taken a class on doubles before moving into tech diving with them, but outside of "intro to tech" (or equivalent) I can find NO CLASS that actually teaches doubles, and THEN instructors tell me that "intro to tech" isn't teaching doubles (you can do it in any configuration YOU are comfortable with, sidemount, doubles, single tank with pony bottle, etc apparently) and "doubles skills" is apparently taught... well, no where.
Wanna do your tech training in sidemount? Great, take a sidemount course. Wanna do it in doubles? Well, "go dive doubles for a while and figure it out on your own so you're comfortable and competent in them before showing up to class" seems to be the "answer". Now, having done the book portion of tec-40, I'm aware that diving doubles isn't just "having another tank" and "valve drills" etc are a thing... so why isn't there a class to teach this stuff to people like there is for sidemount?
Sure, I'll go take my doubles to the local dive site and watch youtube videos and read books and do my best to figure it out by myself, but it seems like something as basic as "changing your sources of air, how to manage them, and how to work with them in an emergency" would be worthy of someone experienced and knowledgeable with a curriculum to explain it to you and make sure you understand it before you take any errors you develop on your own and carry them into technical diving...
/sigh, okay, got that off my chest.... so now someone can point out what I'm missing here lol