What is Technical Diving?
To put it simply, technical diving is going beyond what we commonly refer to as recreational scuba diving. Technical diving might involve going deeper than the 100-130 foot limit set for recreational diving or it might involve staying longer than the recreational diving, no decompression limits. It might be done in a cavern or cave, a coral reef wall or on a shipwreck. It could involve exploring caves or wrecks and it might be done on open circuit scuba or on a closed circuit rebreather. A lot of it depends on your goals and desires.
What is involved in becoming a technical diver?
To become a technical diver requires training and commitment. Because we are going beyond recreational scuba situations, we need to add some new knowledge and skills to our diving abilities and probably some new equipment as well. The training program depends on where you are starting and where you want to go.
If you want to train on a rebreather because of the advantages it offers, you will need to start with a CCR Rebreather Course coupled with a Principles of Technical Diving (a combination of Deep Diver and Advanced Recreational Trimix). To start on open circuit scuba, you will generally start with a Diving Elements course followed by a Principles if Technical Diving course.
Knowledge and training are only parts of the equation. You will also need to go diving. Keeping your skills sharp and gaining diving experience is important for technical divers. You can use local diving venues to practice skills but there is no substitute for real, technical dives to apply your skills and knowledge.
We offer a complete program to help you achieve your goals. From your first course to the last, we have a program to educate you and then take your diving by offering technical diving trips and experiences.
What equipment will I need to start technical diving?
Technical diving, like all scuba diving, is an equipment intensive activity. What new equipment you will need depends on where you are starting and where you want to go with you diving. If you search the internet you will find a plethora of suggestions, ideas and recommendations. Some of this information is even written by people who are involved in technical and/or rebreather scuba diving activities. The problem is, how do you know what is good advice?
Before you buy any new equipment, talk to your instructor and find out what you need and what you can use from your existing kit. This will save you a great deal of time and aggravation as well as money. You will not end up with equipment that is not appropriate for the type of diving you are planning to do or things that are not acceptable or safe for this type of diving.
The staff at Oceanic Ventures is composed of divers who are familiar with the needs of technical and rebreather divers. We can help you put a proper kit together. Oceanic Ventures is the only full service retail facility in the southwest that stocks technical diving equipment and has the knowledge on how to use it in real life situations.
Is selecting the right instructor important or can I learn from anyone teaching a technical course?
Finding the right fit is important. Experience plays an important part in diving instruction, especially at the technical level. You should look for an instructor with experience in the type of diving you are training to participate in. If you are planning on diving and penetrating wrecks, your Technical Instructor should have experience with this type of diving. If your diving goal is to become a cave diver, again, choose an instructor with cave and cavern diving in his or her background. The important thing is don’t simply choose someone who teaches the program, your instructor should walk-the-walk and dive-the-dives.
Our technical diving staff are technical divers with experience in various environments including wrecks, deep walls and caves. They have been diving all over the world and have experience in both open circuit and closed circuit systems. Most importantly, they participate in technical diving situations outside of classroom situations so they have real life experiences to share with their students.
Which Certifying Agency should I select for Technical Diving?
The most important part of any technical diving curriculum is the instructor and the instructional staff. Your Instructor and the staff have experience with various diving situations and they will help you learn from their familiarity with different diving environments. However, you will also need a solid knowledge base to work with when you are diving. This is where the educational materials come into play. You should expect a set of materials that will help you achieve your goals, developed by people familiar with various technical diving environments.
Our training program draws from all of the technical diving agencies but we primarily teach programs through the International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers, IANTD. We also augment these resources with our own teaching materials to give you a more, well rounded experience. However, we offer certifications from all of the major technical training organizations (Technical Diving International, TDI, & Professional Scuba Association International, PSAI) as well as newer technical agencies like Scuba Schools International’s, SSI, Tech XR program.
What if I do not live in Houston?
Our programs can be structured to be interactive through the use of internet learning systems. We teach students from all over the United States and have developed a successful method of instruction that allows remote students to study and dive with us.
How do I get started?
The best thing is to come in and discuss your diving goals and then develop a program to reach them. Of course if you do not live in the Houston area, call or email us and we will get you started on becoming a technical diver.
You can reach us by phone at 713.523.3483 or by email at divesafe@oceanicventures.net
