My journey into tech

[Marie13]

I may be doing SM on the Lakes sooner than I had planned! My shop (DRIS) has a new boat on Lake Huron. I was talking with the captain today at Our World Underwater and he doesn't mind rec SM at all (and I got the unlimited season pass that covers all the DRIS boats!).

Actually, should have clarified. Capt said he doesn't mind *newbie* SM divers.

 

[Marie13]

Today was 3 hour pool session with SM instructor that was scheduled several months ago. It was fab. He helped me to tweak frog kick, and I somehow got my ankles turning in more correctly than I was before. I have about 10 things to tweak on my gear. I'll have several days of diving at the quarry before SM class the last weekend of April.

We did long hose donate drill several times. That was an eye opener on how your buoyancy goes to pot! He gave me a spool and had me practice clipping and unclipping it all over my rig while swimming around. I got decent with doing it with my right hand, especially from D rings in my lower back.

We had to move worm clamps up by 2" (they were just above tank boot on my HP80s) and move door handles up, too. Otherwise my arms were too short to have an easy time unclipping tanks while swimming!

Instructor dives the same SM rig I do (SMS75) and dives SM about 98% of the time, as he really prefers it to a twinset.

I picked up another pair of HP80s this week. I had proper modular right and left valves installed on original set when they were VIP'd a few weeks ago. Also had those valves put on new pair. My third pair will have right and left valves installed when they go in for hydro next week. Short hose 1st stage will have 5th port installed very soon.

 

[Marie13]

It's amazing how many people have gotten their knickers in a twist about me SMing HP80s. Dive and let dive is not part of their vocabulary! They work for me, and that's all that matters. And it seems more people are upset about me diving HP cylinders rather than LP. But those folks are almost all cave divers. I'm not one, and probably never will be. Cave fills are pretty much non-existent here. I can get proper fills to service pressure even at the quarries on my HPs.

 

[Marie13]

Update: got frog kick down a few weeks ago from help with a gal dive buddy. She accomplished what instructors were unable to! I'm able to do 45-50 minute dives nearly all frog. That is huge!

SM class got rescheduled due to shingles attack in March and is next weekend. 3 days diving wrecks inThunder Bay in Lake Huron weekend after. Booked my Straits of Mackinac trip for next June (wrecks to 130'). I'll get some practice on the deep (to 130') feet side of a quarry and do deeper wreck dives before the Straits.

Stumbled upon a tech instructor who might be a good fit. We're going to be in the same place this weekend and will chat. Someone's put the bug in my brain about doing AN/Helitrox rather than AN/DP followed by Helitrox. Interesting idea, but no one local teaches it. The instructor I stumbled upon is in my region and does teach AN/Helitrox. We'll see what comes out of this weekend's talk.

EDIT: I wouldn’t be doing AN/Helitrox in the near future. Hoping for 2020. I’ll start with tech SM stuff next year.

 

[Jack Hammer]

Mike Ridgeway teaches AN/ helitrox (much better choice than an/dp). He's an excellent instructor. Basically an/helitrox is an/dp with helium, gives you better options for your money.

 

[kensuf]

Any TDI normoxic trimix instructor should be able to teach AN/Helitrox. IANTD calls the same basic curriculum "Advanced Recreational Trimix". Starting with helium is a better route.

 

[Marie13]

Any TDI normoxic trimix instructor should be able to teach AN/Helitrox. IANTD calls the same basic curriculum "Advanced Recreational Trimix". Starting with helium is a better route.

The Great Lakes aren’t Florida and so we don’t have instructors growing on trees here. The TDI instructor search is a bit wonky at times, and so I didn’t know there was anyone closer than the instructor I’ll be talking to this weekend. But I’m set on doing my training regionally rather than the popular FL option. I’m a Great Lakes wreck diver, and so I’ll do my training with in cold(er) water with someone who dives wrecks up here. The quarry’s shallow side has really warmed up and I was just miserable even in my 3mm last weekend. Mid-high 70s. Had to keep flushing my suit.

 

[kensuf]

I wasn't implying to come down to Florida for the training.

IANTD - you have two instructors in Michigan that can teach ART. Kim Parker and Mark Pasik. Full disclosure, I don't know either one. IANTD INSTRUCTOR SEARCH

TDI - four options in Michigan. Michael Poggione, Charles Larsen, Waldemar Standowics and Robert Thorpe. Find A Dive Center - SDI | TDI | ERDI

Best of luck!

 

[Marie13]

@kensuf

I wasn’t implying you were. But many others are. First words out of their mouths are “There’s a great instructor in Florida.” But they are all going down the cave route, which is fine, but doesn’t float my boat.

 

[Marie13]

Oh, and I’ve ditched the splits for diving. They’re only used for pool laps now. The reason I switched to my Deep6 fins was that my feet were getting a wee bit cold. My splits fit so closely with even a 1 mm neoprene sock, I couldn’t get my foot all be way into split foot pocket. Deep6 fins are small/medium. The extra bit means I can wear neoprene socks now and my feet are warmer.

I didn’t flutter much with Deep6 before I got frog down the last few weeks. I did a modified flutter instead. Kept my feet up, which is necessary with our silty quarry bottom.