Precision Diving

I was chatting with some friends on the west coast recently and we got into a discussion about technical diving education and whether it is in a state of decline, quality wise, like recreational diving (arguably). This got me reminiscing about my experiences in the past as well as some of the things I’ve seen other people experience.

I think back to my experiences as a tech student. Even though I learned the skills and was able to not kill myself or my buddy, I quickly learned that there had to be something more than my current performance. After a hard look at my skills, I quickly realized that I should not be diving on helium to 200+ feet, regardless of certification. This started my journey, my search for mastery. (more…)

By reading the title of this post, you’re probably saying “What is this about?” Simply, it’s about how to carry a timing device. I’m not talking about a dive computer, depth gauge or bottom timer. I’m talking about a simple watch. We carry watches as a backup timing device in case our dive computers or depth gauge/bottom timer dies while on a dive. Technical divers will use watches to time their decompression stops if their bottom times do not show time in seconds or have a stopwatch function (like the UWATEC hockey puck bottom timer/depth gauge). Now I know your next statement, “I wear my watch on my wrist.” Certainly that is a logical place to wear a watch, but many times we don’t have that luxury. (more…)

Just got this notification from Diver’s Alert Network (DAN). Looks like a cool study.

DURHAM, NC – Divers Alert Network (DAN) is looking for divers and/or expeditions to get involved with in 2010 and to invite participants to take part in this observational, non-interventional field study. DAN will enroll adult volunteers, certified divers or students in the process of dive training and follow them during their regular field activities. (more…)

I get asked many times about what kind of doubles people should get when they want to move into technical diving. Should they get 130s, 100s, 120s, or aluminum 80s? There is no one right answer for selecting which size tanks. However, special consideration must be made in regards to selecting the manifold, valves, and bands to build that set of doubles. (more…)