Essentials of Technical Diving class is the first step to move you from 'Recreational' diver to 'Technical' Diver. Essentials of Tech gives you all the personal skills you need to move to a training program that increases both depth and time in the water.
Essentials of Tech acts as a bridge between conventional training and more demanding technical curriculum and focuses on training you to become a "Thinking Diver," regardless of whether you are going to move forward with technical training, or are just looking to become a more highly skilled recreational diver.
Who this class is designed for? Many divers find all the adventure they need in recreational dives to 100′ or less. But some feel that maybe they are missing some skills that technical divers have such as "horizontal decompression stops". Or maybe you linger at the top of the wall, looking down into the inky abyss? Does the idea of penetrating a wreck, with only your lights and a guideline to lead you give you good goose bumps? Do you think you'll never be happy unless you're flying past a pinnacle at 200′ on a scooter? Technical diving is about having fun, just like any other pastime. But, like anything worth doing, it requires perseverance and hard work. This class is designed for the diver eager to learn some basic technical diving skills which can help improve their recreational diving ability or want to begin building a strong foundation to start pursuing the challenge of technical diving.
Maybe you want to learn something new or you want to improve your safety by learning to do horizontal air sharing drills. Regardless of your motivation, in this class you will be introduced to the technical diver's toolbox. You will learn to hover motionless, move forward and backward, turn around without disturbing the bottom. You will learn to air share gas with your teammate in a reasonable and efficient manner. You will learn to ascend, making appropriate stops while deploying a surface marker to alert the boat and support team of our predicament to basic use of a deco bottle. In the classroom, technical divers need to know which gas to choose and why, how to plan a dive (including Decompression techniques), from the back of the truck to a bench on the boat, and how to ensure that everyone has a great time and gets home safely. Essentials of Tech isn't about showcasing the latest equipment, or rushing you into the next class. It's about working to develop skills that will improve your dive, and thus propel into a world of exploration.
The Essentials of Tech class is designed to be taught over a three full day period, with eight hours of class and four open water dives.
Day 2. Begins with students conducting two dives, putting the skills and concepts discussed the previous day into practical use while the instructor demonstrates and the videographer captures the in-water session for review and evaluation after lunch. We conclude the day with a 1-2 hour video review where the performance is analyzed, with long discussions on how to improve. Finally, 2-3 hours of lecture brings the day to a close.
All participants must be able to swim at least 300 yards in 14 min or swim at least 600 yards in 18 minutes with mask & fins.
Average depth during class of 20ft (6m) – 30ft (9m).
Deco or Stage bottle needed Air or Nitrox may be used for dives, depends on diver certification level.
equipment configuration is designed to be simple, efficient, and consistent. To get the most from your class it is required that you take the course in a complete style system. To better assist you in preparing for class, we have listed below the "required" equipment lists for the class.
A stage or decompression bottle is necessary for this class.
BC mounted canister dive light w/ Goodman handle or long hose catch such as a knife pouch.