My journey into tech

[rhwestfall]

The first time I executed a dive w/o concern for the dreaded NDL, enjoyed swimming stern to bow, and back to stern, entering cargo holds, seeing hidden gems in the wreck...... all safely planned and executed.

But, "only at 130' to the mud".....

Yet Liberating!!!!!

 

[sunnyboy]

I'm going to go in a slightly different direction. I'd say you need a) comfort in the water, which means dive and dive and dive, and b) situational awareness. That's the ability to see what's going on around you while you are diving, and especially while you are doing something (i.e. shooting a lift bag).

A good technical instructor will "mess with you" while you are doing a skill to show you what happens when you start getting task loaded and get tunnel vision. This will be done in a very controlled and safe environment, but it's eye opening (literally).

So get lots of different types of diving in if you can. Shallow, deep, short, long, critter dives, navigation dives, shore, boat, whatever. There are some aspects of diving that only really come with experience, so the more you dive the more you get.

 

[Marie13]

@sunnyboy I'm diving nearly every weekend, early April to the end of October. I'm "limited" to a couple of local quarries (within 90 minutes), several more within a 6 hours drive, and then the Great Lakes themselves. Planning on getting the "unlimited" pass for the dive boat next season, so I can dive as much as I want on Lake Michigan. For deeper dives (past 50ft or so), I have to hit the Lakes, or the regional quarries. "Shore" diving is done at the quarry. I *might* hit salt water for the first time over the winter (Florida). Planning on as much pool time this winter as I can manage, plus quarry trips, hopefully one a month.

 

[MelasLithos]

I'm going to go in a slightly different direction. I'd say you need a) comfort in the water, which means dive and dive and dive, and b) situational awareness. That's the ability to see what's going on around you while you are diving, and especially while you are doing something (i.e. shooting a lift bag).

I would go with that too. I just started some tech training earlier this year. Of course, there was a huge insistance on trim, buoyancy, etc... But what impressed me the most was the awareness my instructor and his friends had of everything that was happening around. Of course, we have been working on it for me, but it's not that easy to keep track of things, especially when you're busy elsewhere, and that's now something I really try to work on every dive I'm doing.

 

[JohnnyC]

Buoyancy, trim, and propulsion. Be able to hover +/- 1 foot only. Make sure you can do it in 10 feet of water. Make sure you can do it while doing a valve drill, a gas sharing drill, shoot a bag, do it with your mask off.

Each of those things is practically mindless by itself, but when you compound all of them together, that's when you find out where your deficiencies lie. Let me tell you from first hand training experience, it's a kick in the nuts when you think you're doing great holding position shooting a bag without your mask, then your buddy goes out of air when you've got a limp sausage in front of your face. That's the kind of drill you'll be doing. It's a stress circuit and it will kick your ass if you're not on point, so train hard, and it will be easy.

 

[rivers]

In addition to buoyancy, trim, fin kicks, etc., being able to work through issues underwater without the instinct to bolt to the surface is something else to work on.

 

[rgdiver1]

The first thing that always comes to my mind is buoyancy skills. They need to be perfect to do any diving beyond the typical recreational level. Also proper thermal protection is essential to do any serious diving in the Great Lakes. You can't just go to the surface if you got cold with a half hour decompression obligation, so a drysuit with proper undergarments are essential. It takes a while to master diving dry and maintaining perfect buoyancy and trim, so take your time and don't rush this. And don't just pick an instructor that you like. Find an instructor who demands nothing less than excellence from students. If the instructor doesn't do this, look elsewhere. Frankly there are a lot of people teaching tech diving these days who have no business doing so. Finally be completely honest with yourself about your skills and abilities. Don't let your ego get you into trouble. Even a relatively shallow dive in the Great Lakes can be a very serious undertaking. Be safe.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

When I took my tech class, I wished:

1) I had logged a few dives diving doubles before entering tech. Not that it was a huge issue but certain things such as valve drills etc could have been sorted out before the class.

2) Realized that the drysuit I was diving in would prevent me from reaching behind to shut my valves. It was not a good experience to realize that in the middle of the class.

Other than that, I think my Intro to Tech prepared me quite well for the tech dives. My tech class was not a typical one. It was spread over many months with a number of mock tech dives in the quarry. If everything was squeezed into one week session then I may have had to bring more skill into the class.

 

[Marie13]

Spending 40-55 minutes exploring that wreck stem to stern sure does put you in the tech realm.....

being able to dive and not "fear" the "evil" NDL engrained in a recreational divers brain sure is arriving in the technical realm....

That is doing it safe! Same reasons I expanded my horizons into tech diving. I may never see 200' or hours of deco, or tens of hundreds of feet of caves, but being in control of my dives rather than a "puppet" is certainly a noble goal.

@Marie13 : I get it! GO!

I'm brutally honest with myself, and I know I need a lot more work. That's why I'm planning on ITT for 2019. I had an idea of what I needed to work on (trim, buoyancy, frog kick), but I wanted to see what else.

I'm also getting into better shape. Rescue class is in a month.

 

[Lorenzoid]

. . .

I'm also getting into better shape. Rescue class is in a month.

Fitness is a good point, not to be underestimated. I was 20 lbs. overweight the first time I tried Fundies (the first part, which was then known as GUE Primer), but when I went back to tackle the full Fundies course I had lost that weight and felt I did much better because of it. If I'm breathing hard, for example, it affects my buoyancy. When aiming for precision buoyancy, every breath matters. Fitness helps keep me calm, relaxed, and breathing properly.