Starting out in Tech Diving
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You'll get there in a jimmy!
How do you know if the bar is high or not? That is the one thing that always makes me go "hmmmmmmm" when people talk about finding a "good" instructor. How do you know what a "good" instructor is? It is so often quoted that it is the instructor that matters and it is. But, new divers have no clue at all about a good instructor or what a good instructor would ask you to do in comparison to a "bad" instructor. If my instructor teaches me in a streamlined OW reg configuration and teaches primary donate, is he good or bad? If my instructor teaches me all my skills on my knees, is he good or bad? There is a LOT of interpretation as to what a "good" instructor is and that interpretation will vary with the audience. An instructor that may be horrible to you, may be the very instructor that is able to get another diver over a hurdle that may have bothered that diver.
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Good questions, Doby. I don't have answers. The closest thing I have seen is a list of questions in his book The Six Skills that Steve Lewis suggests asking prospective instructors. I would guess that an instructor who has never failed a student has not set the bar "high."
If your instructor teaches you on your knees, he or she is worse than bad.
A good instructor will require that you perform all skills well before you pass. Example, valve drills. Are you flopping around like a speared fish while you do them and you get a pass? Because if that is how you can perform that task, it isn't going to be pretty if you need to close a valve while you are in an overhead environment
A good instructor will require that you perform all skills well before you pass. Example, valve drills. Are you flopping around like a speared fish while you do them and you get a pass? Because if that is how you can perform that task, it isn't going to be pretty if you need to close a valve while you are in an overhead environment
Boaty McBoatface
Contributor
Second this - er, looks like I'm third, so far.
Clearly, nothing could be more true than saying it comes down to the instructor. Unfortunately, nothing said could be less helpful, either. (I do appreciate the intention to be helpful, though, and thanks for that.) I guess it's just hard to answer this question without naming names, and people here (sometimes competitors) avoid doing that, understandably.
A specific question that may be easier to answer:
My interests in technical diving probably end at "techreational." To me, that means it's mostly about making me a better/safer recreational diver without having a black box in my knowledge when the NDL timer ticks to zero. I can see me using deco to nudge against NDL margins more safely on multi dive days (and maybe one enriched bail out/deco bottle). I reserve the right to change my mind, but I don't see trimix, deep wreck/cave penetration, or complex multiple stages in my future. Maybe doubles someday, for added loiter time (photography) rather than added depth - that's someday but maybe never. As an aside, I'd also like self-sufficiency training (for the added safety, I won't be diving solo).
From what I've read, it sounds like I aspire to something akin to Tec40/Tec45. I got my OW from PADI decades ago, but in my current incarnation I started over with SSI (AOW + basic nitrox) because what seemed like the best school in my area was SSI. But, neither my current school nor SSI in general appears to be a wise choice for anything technical. Fortunately, I can travel.
Q: Is the course structure of one of the certification agencies better suited to techreational aspirants like me?
[Note: the answer I'm looking for isn't that it all comes down to the instructor! Oh, and it's not "Shearwater" or "BP/W" either... For once; just once...
]Thx
Second this - er, looks like I'm third, so far.
Clearly, nothing could be more true than saying it comes down to the instructor. Unfortunately, nothing said could be less helpful, either. (I do appreciate the intention to be helpful, though, and thanks for that.) I guess it's just hard to answer this question without naming names, and people here (sometimes competitors) avoid doing that, understandably.
A specific question that may be easier to answer:
My interests in technical diving probably end at "techreational." To me, that means it's mostly about making me a better/safer recreational diver without having a black box in my knowledge when the NDL timer ticks to zero. I can see me using deco to nudge against NDL margins more safely on multi dive days (and maybe one enriched bail out/deco bottle). I reserve the right to change my mind, but I don't see trimix, deep wreck/cave penetration, or complex multiple stages in my future. Maybe doubles someday, for added loiter time (photography) rather than added depth - that's someday but maybe never. As an aside, I'd also like self-sufficiency training (for the added safety, I won't be diving solo).
From what I've read, it sounds like I aspire to something akin to Tec40/Tec45. I got my OW from PADI decades ago, but in my current incarnation I started over with SSI (AOW + basic nitrox) because what seemed like the best school in my area was SSI. But, neither my current school nor SSI in general appears to be a wise choice for anything technical. Fortunately, I can travel.
Q: Is the course structure of one of the certification agencies better suited to techreational aspirants like me?
[Note: the answer I'm looking for isn't that it all comes down to the instructor! Oh, and it's not "Shearwater" or "BP/W" either... For once; just once...
Thx
Let me preface this by saying, it is MY OPINION.
I would say your middle of the road technical agency as of now is TDI. I think PADI while having technical classes still caters largely to the "recreational" crowd. TDI hits the middle ground with gearing their classes more to the technical minded people and finally you come to GUE. GUE is more like the upper crust of technical folks. That is just the general breakdown and once again all MY OPINION. This also takes out the whole "instructor" is everything argument, because that technically is true. You could have a PADI instructor that teaches just as good if not better than a TDI instructor and you also have instructors that teach for multiple agencies. So if a PADI instructor is also a TDI or GUE instructor does that mean the class could be better, absolutely. This once again is not to denigrate PADI instructors, we have a few on this board that are also as hardcore as any GUE instructor and most also have some GUE training themselves.
EDIT: And for the record, I do not look down on any PADI instructor simply based off of their affiliation with PADI. I also do not look doe-eyed at GUE instructors. If we are matched as far as training level and dive, my opinion will be formed off of the dive with you.
I think the best way to get your answer is find local instructors that can teach tech, and talk to them. Tell them your goals and ask them what they would recommend. It's just a guess, but you probably don't have a big pile of options to choose from, so talking to all the shops in your area that offer tech instruction probably isn't TOO big of a task.
If you can't find tech instruction in your area, maybe better to come here and ask for recommendations on tech instructors to travel to.
After you have talked to your various options, if you still aren't of a clear mind on who to go with, then maybe come back here and ask for input based on what you have learned from the people you talked to?
@Boaty McBoatface
I'm all for training beyond the typical diving you plan to do, as then you should be able to handle anything that comes your way. Now I've been through GUE fundies. Awesome skills class. But it is a recreational course. Tech 1 is a course I really want to take in the not too distant future. It is expensive. It is a huge time commitment. But my understanding is that they do a heck of a job covering emergency situations, not surprising given the organizations roots.
If you are looking at "entry level" technical diving where you are in open water, then I feel that PADI's program will be sufficient for you. Or NAUI's. Or TDI's.
KevinNM
Contributor
My feeling is that if you have no context for judging an instructor and nobody to recommend a trusted instructor then going with GUE will pretty much assure you get an instructor who has a lot of experience diving, teaches to a standard that you can obtain and has been revised by an instructor examiner in the last few years to show they are teaching the course as intended.
But it is not a fast, cheap or easy route.
But it is not a fast, cheap or easy route.
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