Why do I do technical diving? Isn’t that dangerous? Why on earth are you willing to take those risks? Isn’t it expensive? These are questions I get asked a lot, when I talk about my passion for scuba diving. For me, there are various answers to that question. In this blog post I will try to give you a better understanding when it comes to my motivations to practice technical diving.
The answers can be summarized into different categories: adventure, exploration, dedication, bonding and of course the training required to do such serious dives. But before I can answer the questions above, I have to go back a couple of years, to when and how my interest started.
I was around 15 years old, on a summer holiday in Croatia with my family. My dad and I brought our diving equipment and were planning to do a couple of wreck dives. History has always intrigued me, and (almost) every shipwreck on the bottom of the seas and oceans has a story. So obviously, since I was a young and reckless kiddo, I wanted to dive as many wrecks as possible. During that holiday we made around 7 wreck dives and I loved it. The wrecks were ranging from 30m to 80m in length at depths between 20m and 40m. After those two weeks I was hooked to wreck diving, but I also hated the fact that at those depths I was either limited by gas supply or no decompression limits. And so, I started looking at possibilities to conquer those obstacles. My interest into technical diving started right there.
I started researching different things, like how to carry more gas, how to stay down longer etc. That’s when I decided to slowly start investing in more and better diving equipment and training. I started buying cold-water regulators, a twinset, a wing with Hogarthian harness, a drysuit, you name it. This all happened over the course of 4-6 years. Once I had my equipment sorted out, I started my first technical diving course: Advanced Recreational Trimix with IANTD Instructor Ferry van Dorst. I had completed the CMAS decompression procedures course as part of my CMAS instructor course, however I felt that doing decompression dives without the ability to speed up my decompression times with the use of high percentages of O2 was useless. Adv Rec Trimix would be a good solution to that issue as it would be a combination course with Advanced Nitrox and it would give me an idea whether I would like to get into deep Trimix diving. Before this course I was interested, after this course I was hooked.
After Adv Rec Trimix with IANTD I also completed my Normoxic Plus and Trimix Diver with IANTD. These courses were completed while diving the Amoco Milford Haven and that is a wreck, I can recommend to everyone! It is stunning. However, that trip also ignited the fire in me to start looking into rebreather diving as that would simplify the logistics for those dives even more. Now here I am, rebreather certified and a technical diving instructor.
Now you have a little bit of context as to how I started off technical diving, I can start giving answers. Let’s start off with exploration.
Personally, I think technical diving is a lot about exploration. Both the world underneath the surfaces of our oceans and seas, but also exploring ourselves. Exploring the waters of our world and visiting places which none or few have ever visited is very appealing to me. When it comes to exploring ourselves, I’m talking about pushing boundaries, finding character and knowing your limits. In technical diving it is very important to know your own limits, feel when you’re comfortable and maybe even more important, when you’re uncomfortable and being able to express that to the people in your team. This also works vice versa, being able to accept that you have to call the dive if people in your team don’t want to continue because of discomfort.
Dedication is a trait that’s required if you want to become a serious and active technical diver/ explorer. You will have to work on yourself on many levels. It might seem like a pain to hover around at 5m depth carrying a twinset and 3-5 stages practicing skills for an hour or more. It might seem boring to spend a couple hours preparing all your equipment, verifying that everything functions correctly. It might hurt your wallet when you’re gear needs to be serviced to retain peak performance. But it’s all a necessary evil. Dedication, if expressed correctly, will reduce the risk of a dive gone wrong. Practicing skills post course is a common step that a lot of starting technical divers forget. This is often realized when a skill needs to be performed when they execute a dive after a long period of time. Luckily most of those times it’s when conditions are in their favor and the situation is not life threatening. Just imagine if it is life threatening… You’d wish you had kept your skills on point. You’d wish that you serviced your gear. You’d wish you had prepared and checked your equipment properly.
I was once told that pretty much all the skills required to complete a technical diving course were implemented because someone died. And that’s something to remember.
But I didn't remember who told me this
The training in scuba diving is often subconsciously misunderstood. People pay a sum of money and after a few days they expect to receive their certification card. And unfortunately, in some parts of the world, this is actually possible. However, in technical diving this is a big no-go. You pay your instructor/ dive shop for a course. You participate in that course to learn theory and in-water skills and based on your performance you receive your certification card, or not… With most technical diving instructors, you’ll notice that you really have to earn your certification card. Prove your worth. It’s not like your Open Water course, where you perform every skill once and boom, you get your card. In these courses there’s more context to the things you’re learning. And usually throughout the dives. The skills will turn into reacting on realistic scenarios. I was once told that pretty much all the skills required to complete a technical diving course were implemented because someone died. And that’s something to remember. These courses will train you how to conduct said dives safely. And if the instructor thinks you do not meet the agency’s standards, you’re going to have to work harder for your card.
Serious technical dives are often performed in teams. Most of these teams are people who trained together, grew together, learned together and experienced together. They did so many things together over a period of years and built such a level of trust in each other that they’re willing to execute these dives together. Because if something goes wrong, you’re trusting that your buddy can help you out if you don’t manage yourself.
So, why do I do technical diving? I love the exploration, dedication and bonding with like-minded people. Achieving goals together and growing together. Isn’t that dangerous? Yes, but that’s why I make sure to maintain my skills and equipment. That’s why I dive with people I trust and whom I know I can rely on. That’s why I made sure I had proper training. Why on earth are you willing to take those risks? Life is full of risks, doing technical diving isn’t necessarily that dangerous when done right. Isn’t it expensive? Yes, it requires a bigger investment than most other sports. However, gear is a long-term investment. I have regulators which are over 10 years old and still perform the same as brand new ones. Technical diving requires investments over time to ensure more safety in-water.
If you read this blog and think technical diving is something you’re interested in. Or do you have questions about technical diving, the options you have and what path to follow? Feel free to send me an email and I will get back to you as soon as possible!