The Tech fast track

[Nordic Diver]

Hi Guys

This is a great topic and a very difficult one to try and not irate someone somewhere.

It does seem that a lot of divers with  relative short diving careers are getting into Technical diving these days. While i personally like to see this because i myself have been a Great Lakes Tech diver for over 20 years at times i think some are going way to fast for there own good.

What a lot of new technical divers seem to forget is just because the C - Card says you can make the tri-mix dive to 250 ffw does not mean you should do so. Training is a stepping stone to knowledge about this sport. Making the dive when all goes as planned is one thing, completing the dive safely after everthing goes to hell is another and this takes many seasons of diving to master.

On the other side of the coin i have had divers on the Nordic Diver that were recently certified for the deeper dives that performed very well both in and out of the water. I agree with Dean, a lot of times you can tell when they are standing on the back deck of the boat if there capable divers.

While a big thing in this sport is getting the training, i would prefer a diver with both the training and experience and when i say experience i don't mean 200 dives with half of them in wazee. While Wazee is a good training ground its far from the reality of Great Lakes diving with the waves and the boat rolling and ever changing conditions. Someone once asked me what training we do to dive wrecks like the Bradley & Aurania, my answer was 25 years of Great Lakes diving.

I had a diver on my boat last season that has been technical diving for what some may say is a short period of time. This friend / customer has made a lot of dives off my boat in the past couple years and last season was one of four divers on the Aurania @ 440 ffw. He has accomplished much in a relatively short period of time but it takes hard work and dedication to the sport.

Of course instructors play a big part in all of this as well. There knowledge is what they are selling and they need to be good at passing it on too there students. I think there has been in recent years a severe shortage of qualified instructors at the Deco / tri-mix level. Its Great to see Guys like Mike Haynes from Underwater Connections & Keith from Wazee teaching deco / tri-mix classes for those who are looking to go deeper.

I hope everyone has a safe season !!

Capt Bill

Bill@nordicdiver.com
630-880-4606