Blue Grotto is not only a popular recreational diver training site but also popular among tech diving instructors. It is not unusual to see students and instructors in doubles, sidemount or rebreathers on any given day.
You may have a general idea of what tech diving entails, but would you be able to define it if asked? You will after watching this short video.
So as the video explains, a technical dive is any nonmilitary, noncommercial dive in which divers do any of the following:
- Exceed the recommended sport diving depth limit of 40 meters or 130 feet.
- Will be more than 40 meters or 130 feet from the surface (such as in a wreck or cave) — and, thus, unable to make an Emergency Swimming Ascent.
- Engage in mandatory stage decompression.
- Use multiple gas mixtures.
- Use gas mixtures containing helium or with an oxygen concentration greater than 40 percent.
Most technical dives involve at least two or more of these factors. What each of these factors have in common is they require training that goes beyond what is covered in any recreational diving course.
Additional Factors
Technical diving also requires special equipment and procedures that go beyond what is commonly used or followed by recreational divers.
- Technical divers typically use multiple cylinders, regulators, dive lights and computers, as well as backups for other key equipment items.
- Where recreational divers follow procedures that help them avoid mandatory decompression, stage decompression is a normal part of technical diving.
So, now you know.