So, you’ve just finished a tech diving course and are looking for the next step. Perhaps you’re eyeing up the next level qualification, and the temptation is certainly high to go from course to course. But take a minute and consider if you’re truly ready. For most technical divers, taking time to consolidate what they learned with a series of technical guided dives is a better option.
Technical Guided Dives or Fun Dives – What’s the Difference?
Even if you’re still thinking about getting started as a technical diver, you’ll know what fun dives are. They’re the dives you do with a buddy, a dive guide or a divemaster to enjoy the underwater world.
Your dive guide may even be a qualified instructor, but on this dive, their job is to assist you with dive planning and preparation and show you around a dive site. Of course, your guide will also ensure that your group is adhering to relevant safety procedures before, during and after your dive.
So, how is that different from post-course technical dives? First of all, (some of) the intention of the dive is the same. Opting for technical guided dives after a course allows you to put into practice what you learned and to enjoy your time underwater.
Where these dives differ is the preparation and the level of precision during the execution of the dive. Plus, it pays to devote a decent amount of time to debriefing the dive and learning from things that worked well while avoiding repeating potential mistakes.
A Day In The Life Of … How a Technical Guided Dive Day Works
To be perfectly honest, your technical guided dive day starts on the previous day, especially if it’s the first of a series of diving days. Say, you’re joining us on Gozo. We may plan a shallower shakedown dive on your first day which allows time for gear adjustments and more detailed preparation in the morning.
Alternatively, you may just choose to do things like check-in paperwork on the previous day and transfer your gear from a suitcase to a box with the goal of hitting the ground running the next morning. If we’ve never dived together, our recommendation is usually to allow for a shakedown day. But let’s get back to the day in the life of ….
The Morning
Mornings in the dive center can be busy, so it’s a great idea to develop a bit of a routine for yourself.
If you’re open circuit diving, it’s a great idea to start by analysing and labeling your twinset or Sidemount tanks as well as your deco gases. Are they fully rigged yet? If not, now would be a good time to do that. If your rigging has been on the cylinders for a few days, check that it hasn’t started to get loose. Check your pressure as part of the process, too.
If you’re rebreather diving, you’ll start by assembling your unit with the help of a checklist. Installing onboard gases and completing function checks are all part of that just like confirming bailout gases.
With that part done, it’s time to plan and brief the dive. Most of the time, we choose a dive site on the previous evening. But if conditions are changeable, we may need to reconsider and make a final decision in the morning. Once the dive site and gases are confirmed it’s time to plan your dive with your team, making sure everyone agrees on plan A and potential contingency plans. Planning and briefing should never be rushed. You may feel like you could save time here, but that sort of false saving only leads to confusion later. Next, it’s time to load the truck. This may also be a good time to grab a snack and make sure you have plenty of water with you.
The Dive
Still no need to rush. Put your tanks next to the water or on the boat and start gearing up. If at all possible, try to ask questions before everyone has donned their drysuits (check out our blog on the drysuit clock for reasons why).
With all equipment in place, it’s time to match gear between the team and make sure everyone understands what everyone is using and how that gear works. Remember, in case of an emergency, you need to know enough to assist another diver. Your guide will lead you through those preparations, but it’s a good idea to carry your own wetnotes or slate to record any information you may need.
Make sure you have a clear understanding of the plan, including team positioning, bottom time and planned decompression stops, gas changes and other procedures before you descend. Technical dives, whether during or outside of a course, require a performance mindset. The TDI Advanced Nitrox course teaches divers more about that. In a nutshell, the goal is to perform as close to the plan as possible.
Descending together allows team members to address potential problems as they occur. It’s a critical part of the dive. Next, you’ll settle at your target depth and often confirm gas and time remaining. Now it’s time to explore a wreck, reef or other topographical structure. And as exciting as that is, with a performance mindset, you and your guide will keep track of time, decompression obligation, gas, oxygen partial pressure and more.
The goal is to ensure you start your ascent on time or earlier and avoid exceeding limits. No matter whether you’re diving open circuit or CCR, ascents are critical. Maintaining buoyancy control to manage mandatory stops, performing accurate gas switches and managing CCR oxygen levels are all essential to a well-managed ascent of a tech diving team.
Toward the end of the dive, you may need to deploy a surface marker or follow any other safety procedures before surfacing and exiting the water. Remember that the last few metres matter the most – the pressure difference here is the most significant.
Don’t underestimate your exit. Moving tanks out of the water can be hard, and every diver knows that they need to avoid overexertion after diving. On a guided technical dive, your guide will advise you of the best possible way to exit the water and assist you.
The Afternoon
Time to relax – well, almost!
If you haven’t already grabbed a snack, now is the perfect time for a (late) lunch before taking care of your gear. Don’t forget to hydrate continuously, either. Next, time to debrief. Do you need a debrief, even though it wasn’t a course dive? Yes!
A lot of learning and understanding really happens after the dive. Perhaps there were moments when you had doubts about certain communications, or maybe the team needed to adjust the plan and wanted to discuss why that happened. This is the perfect time to ask questions before you forget what you want to ask.
That’s why we like to take our time and debrief every dive. What’s more, we also tend to take a GoPro on dives. On courses, it’s an excellent teaching tool. After technical guided dives, it almost always allows us to identify areas for improvement. And it makes for excellent souvenirs of your dives with us, too!
When Are You Joining Us?
Technical guided dives may be a bit more involved than recreational fun dives, but they’re certainly enjoyable, too. Especially if you’re at the beginning of your tech diving career, you’ll learn a lot from every dive and develop as a diver. If that sounds good, get in touch to find out what you could discover underwater in Gozo and Malta!