Need some advice about transitioning to tech.

[gbray]

I would suggest downloading GUE's wonderfull recreational diving manual which covers much if not all of the fundies cirrculum along with joining GUE in order to gain access to their training videos which can be a great aid.

I would also suggest pre-fundies mentoring either with a qualified GUE diver or an instructor such as Ed Gabe or Bob Sherman. Your class expereince will be much more enjoyable having sorted out your weighting and other basic tec skills. Good luck!

Sorry to hijack the thread but this is exactly what I would like to do. I can't afford the time or money for the class right now but would like to prepare as much as possible for when I can. How do I join GUE and download the videos?

Someone can PM me if they like. (I have most of the standard DIR gear already)

Sorry again and thank you

 

[Blackwood]

http://www.gue.com/?q=en/user/register

I'm not aware of any accessible GUE training videos.

 

[Scott L]

User account | Global Underwater Explorers

I'm not aware of any accessible GUE training videos.

They are accessible with the Silver Membership which costs $125.00 annually. Not cheap but what in the realm of tec diving is...

 

[Doc Harry]

I had a similar dilemma. Wanted to get into tech, few people around shared my goals, very little support for diving where I live (let alone tech diving). I resorted to solo diving personally.

#1. You have to dive a lot to be a proficient tech diver. Dive as much as you can, even if it's on the "cattle boats." No reason you can't wear doubles for practice, or work on your finning techniques, buddy & situational awareness, and other skills.

#2. Consider moving somewhere else if tech diving is really an important goal.

#3. You may have to invest in becoming self-sufficient in the gear category. You may need to inspect and maintain your own doubles. You may need to get a compressor to mix your own gas.

#4. You may have to fly somewhere for instructions.

#5. Be prepared to spend a lot of money.

 

[Blackwood]

They are accessible with the Silver Membership which costs $125.00 annually. Not cheap but what in the realm of tec diving is...

Ah. I have the lowly electronic membership.

 

[TSandM]

Go to YouTube and search on "5thD-X" and you'll come up with a bunch of training videos that AG and Joe Talavera made a few years ago. (Or purchase the DVDs from the UTD website, which will support the people who went to the work of making them )

UTD also has online classrooms that are available at modest cost. Not everything UTD teaches is identical to what GUE does, but the underlying themes are, and much of the gas planning and deco information at the recreational level is the same. It is a good way to get started on some information, if you realize that, when you actually take a class, you may be presented with some different information.

 

[boulderjohn]

St. Lucia will be new to you, and certainly there will be at least a year or two's worth of diving there that won't be boring, even at recreational depths. But there is nothing wrong with cultivating a technical mindset from today onward, and Fundies will help you do that.

I agree with this advice very much.

You can gain a lot of valuable dive experience in St. Lucia while you are there, assuming you keep your goal in mind. Dive with the right equipment in the right mindset. Strive for the very best buoyancy control you can get. Master the kicks. Learn the theory. When you return, you will find your long-sought transition much easier.

 

[Panga Man]

Thank you again for great advice, I have checked out the 5thD-X videos. Very impressive!

Im not hung up on GUE / TDI / PADI or any of the others so I will give UTD a look. I just want the experience.

 

[AndyNZ]

For some reason I have been hit with "tech bug" ! All I read about is tech diving, I watch countless videos on youtube about GUE, DIR, IANTD, TDI every diving acronym out there. I go down to High Springs whenever I get a chance just to do the caverns, mainly so I can strike up a conversation with some tech guys who have the same mindset as I do.

Sure. But why "tech dive"? What is your end goal?

Typical goals of people who want to "go tech" are:

1. Have longer dive times at a given depth
2. Do penetrations of wrecks/caves beyond the light zone
3. Go deeper
4. To try and look cool at the dive site


All of the first three have some risk associated with them. The question is whether your end goal justifies those risks.

To my mind, doing it for the sake of it is rather pointless. I've just refused to teach a deco class to someone who has only one goal - to always dive deeper and longer than anyone else. They have a history of doing that in such a way that they just don't have enough gas to cover any problems. It's just an accident waiting to happen - if they had a goal (to get to a deeper wreck or something) I'd be fine.

Another point to consider, tech diving gear is a PITA. You end up lugging twinsets, deco bottles on and off of boats. The dives that I really enjoy as a "tech diver" are the ones where I don't have to do that - the ones where I can turn up with a couple of single tanks for the day.... because that is all I need. I just can't be arsed with all that stuff unless I need it.

So, give me a goal, give me a reason - then I can give you some advice!

Which isn't to say that Fundies isn't a great course, it is - but it's also not really a "tech" course. It's a course that is designed to bring your fundamental skills up to the level where you ar ready to start tech training. If you take it, you'll learn heaps - but it's really thinking about the next step, why do anything past that if you have no goal? Tech diving isn't a goal, it's a means to achieve a goal.

 

[Panga Man]

Andy- Ive got to say, ive read your post probably 10 times. As to why I have desires to move to a more technical side of diving, all I can say is every time I get in the water I wish I could stay longer. I am truly at peace down there, I slow down, I think things through, I am methodical in my moves. It also puts me into exploration mode. When I dive on a ship wreck i want to study every rivet, hatch, port hole. I imagine myself cruising on that ship, what it was like when it was on top of the water I think about what those people during that era were going through. It is my way of stepping out of my crazy day to day and transforming myself to a place where only few get to see.

The thing I hate the most is if you get a wreck at 110 my no deco is 20 minutes on 32%. If I travel half way around the world to go to an unbelievable site i want to be able to enjoy it for longer than 20 minutes at a time.

If you want a goal for me it would have to be Truk Lagoon. Its a major goal for me. When I do book that trip I will be 100% ready for the task, nothing less. I wont go until I am. It really excites me to know that I am working towards something and then actually going through with it.

Goal #2. I really believe I would enjoy cave diving, this is not so much on my short list but more of a long term goal. When I get back in the US 6 or 7 years from now I will probably go down that road just knowing how much i enjoy the caverns now.

Andy- There are my goals, would love some advice on where to start and how to get to my end result.