Scuba Certification In Virginia: Discover Tec Diving

The PADI Discover Tec Experience is a Dive conducted in shallow water wearing technical diving gear. The experience is designed for certified divers who want to gain insight into what Tec Diving is about, but are not sure about signing up for a Tec Diving course.  In fact if you do decide to enroll in the next Tec Diving Course, this experience can be counted as Dive 1 of the  Tec 40 diver course by simply completing a few more skills when taking that next course.

Some of the gear you’ll use includes but is not limited to:

1. Two Cylinders that can be either back mounted or side mounted with DIN system connections – an alternative is a single cylinder with an “H” Valve.
2. Primary and secondary regulators where the primary has a 2 meter/ 7 foot long hose.
3. Technical Diving BCD (Wings) and harness or sidemount harness for sidemount.
4. Dive computer, or a timer, depth gauge and tables.

Prerequisites to take the Discover Tec Course:

1. Be a PADI Open Water Diver or equivalent
2. Have a minimum of ten logged dives
3. Be at least 18 years of age

Are you curious about what Tec Diving is all about?  Want to sample it and not have to make a big commitment?  Then the Discover Tec Course might be just what you are looking for.

SCUBA DIVING LESSONS IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA – TECHNICAL DIVING – PADI SELF RELIANT DIVER – SDI SOLO DIVER

Recreational Scuba Diving traditionally calls for all scuba divers to dive in buddy teams.  This practice has historically been used and has its roots in diver safety.  With the popularity of Technical Diving in the past few years the concept of scuba diving in buddy teams has lessened.   While most scuba divers today still scuba dive in buddy teams, there are times when that is just not practical.   As a result Scuba Diving International or SDI came out with a scuba training course called Solo Diver, and the Professional Association of Scuba Instructors or PADI followed with a course called Self Reliant Diver.

At Aquatic Adventures Scuba Academy, a PADI 5 Star Dive Center in Northern Virginia, we teach primarily recreational scuba diving.  However, there are a number of scuba divers who want to Learn to Scuba Dive Northern Virginia who also want to learn Technical Diving.  Consequently, we teach both recreational scuba diving and technical scuba diving.

Recreational Scuba Diving – The Buddy System

As we stated earlier, recreational scuba divers always dive with a buddy or in buddy teams.  This is a safety issue.  In the event of something out of the ordinary happening a second or even a third scuba diver is present to assist with what ever problem may occur.  Another reason for the Buddy System in scuba diving you use a lot of scuba equipment and  it is simply easier to get into or out of your scuba diving equipment when another scuba diver is present to assist you.

Technical Diving – Self Reliant Diver and Solo Diver

While most of us prefer to dive with a buddy there are times when it might be impractical to dive with a buddy.  Training to dive without a buddy actually goes a long way to making you a better dive buddy.  You learn how to deal with problems on your own, which adds to your ability to help other scuba divers.   A good examples of this is if a buddy gets separated from his dive buddy being self reliant will allow him or her to safely find the missing buddy or safely terminate the scuba dive.  Another example is underwater photography often requires the scuba diver to be separated from his or her buddy in order to be able to photography the fish without scaring them off.  Wreck Divers also need to be self reliant since they are often separated from each other when exploring narrow passages of a ship wreck.

Technical Scuba Diving Equipment

In order to scuba dive without a buddy you need to have redundant scuba equipment and be self reliant.  To do this you must scuba dive with some Technical Scuba Diving Equipment.  In addition to the primary scuba cylinder the diver would carry a redundant second air supply like a pony bottle and second scuba regulator.   The list of back up scuba equipment is very extensive and we will cover this in a future segment.

What is Technical Diving or Solo Diving Like – Discover Tec

If you think that you might be interested in trying either technical scuba diving or the SDI Solo Diver or PADI Self Reliant Diver courses but are not sure then you might want to try the Discover Tec Course.   The Discover Tec course is a pool experience under the direction of a Technical Diving Instructor who will show you the appropriate technical diving equipment and even allow you to test it in a swimming pool.

Discover Tec, SDI Solo Diver and the PADI Self Reliant Diver courses are interesting and lead you into a whole new realm of underwater adventure.  Whether or not you decide to continue your scuba diving training you will appreciate the things you learn in the courses and they will also make you a better recreational scuba diver.

TECHNICAL SCUBA DIVING INSTRUCTION IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA

Scuba Diving is a fun sport that is enjoyed by countless divers around the world.  That is why there are Dive Centers like Aquatic Adventures Scuba Academy that offer Scuba Dive Training and Scuba Diving Equipment.

Scuba Diving attracts divers who want to see reefs and exotic tropical fish, divers who want to explore sunken shipwrecks, and divers who just like the feeling of weightlessness.   Recreational Scuba Diving has a depth limit of 130 feet and divers will always dive in buddy teams for safety and practicality.  In addition there are strict guidelines for how long a diver can stay down to prevent illness or injury.  If you learn to scuba dive in Northern Virginia or anywhere else for that matter involves learning these rules and obeying them.

In recent years some Scuba Divers have wanted to go deeper and stay longer.  This is a type of Scuba Diving that goes beyond the Recreational Diving Limits – this is what is known as Technical Diving.

DISCOVER TEC

When you participate in the Discover Tec course you will learn about technical diving equipment and procedures to see if they are right for you. In the pool you will actually use some of the equipment and experience some of the skills.  As an added bonus the Discover Tec experiences can also credit towards the Tec 40 Course.

TEC 40 COURSE

As recreational divers all of our dives are what is called no-decompression dives.  That means that we can go directly to the surface without having to stop on the way to off gas excess nitrogen. In the Tec 40 Course you learn how to do decompression dives where you use a dive computer or special tables to calculate how long you can stay and how much time you must spend at various depths to decompress or off gas. In the Tec 40 Course you learn to dive beyond 130 feet and you can complete up to 10 minutes of staged decompression time.  Diving in an overhead environment is also taught during this course.  The skills and dives learned in the Tec 40 Course count toward the requirements of the Tec 45 Course.

TEC 45 COURSE

The Tec 45 Course picks up where the Tec 40 Course ends.  You learn to dive to a maximum depth of 145 feet and how to follow that with repetitive dives.  You also learn how to Enriched Air or Nitrox or oxygen to assist in your decompression.  There is no time limit to the decompression times that you will use in this course.  In addition technical diving emergencies and how to respond to them is taught during this part of the program. Twin Cylinders and stage decompression bottles are used during this course.  These skills count toward the skill requirements for the Tec 50 Course.

TEC 50 COURSE

In the Tec 50 Course the diver will actually make dives to 165 feet and learn how to use decompression computer programs to create dive tables that are needed to complete these dives.  The diver also qualifies to complete technical dives independently without a technical diving Instructor.  Like the Tec 45 Course the diver will use twin cylinders and staged decompression bottles.

DSAT GAS BLENDER COURSE

The Gas Blender Course is a classroom only course to teach the technical diver how to mix the appropriate gases needed for enriched air and decompression diving.  The use of desk top computer programs to assist with calculating the proper mix is also taught.

SDI SOLO DIVER & PADI SELF RELIANT DIVER COURSE

As we mentioned in the beginning of this article, recreational divers always dive in buddy teams or pairs.  Two Scuba Certification Agencies, Scuba Diving International – SDI and the Professional Association of Diving Instructors – PADI have come out with courses teaching the diver to dive without a dive buddy.  The SDI Solo Diver Course and the PADI Self Reliant Diver Course are very similar.  Each of these courses, while recognizing that most divers should dive with a buddy train divers who want or must dive alone about the necessary skills and needed redundant Scuba Diving Equipment needed to dive alone.
LEARN TO SCUBA DIVE: TECHNICAL DIVING vs RECREATIONAL DIVING

Technical diving is not for everyone.  However if you are a recreational scuba diver and want to go beyond the limits of recreational diving, and are willing to invest in the additional Scuba Diving Equipment then Technical diving might be just what you are looking for.