Cave passages formed over millions years of water erosion and extending thousands of feet from their entrance are reserved only for overhead divers. They are stunning in their beauty and peacefulness, but only because they were formed so long ago.
Additionally, sidemount diving has become wildly popular even for open water diving. Why? It is because sidemount diving can be very relaxing and simple to learn.
Specific Skills - These are the skills required to perform specific types of diving. Navigation and line skills are developed until they are effortless for overhead diving. Decompression divers have the ability to execute stops and gas management plans without a blink of an eye. Rebreather divers test, build and then disassemble their equipment meticulously to ensure it works properly. Each course requires skills that are established at the initial level. Then, it is possible to move on to higher levels. Each step further or hones these skills, and adds more challenges to make a diver well-rounded and knowledgeable.
Sidemount BCDs are a harness that has a bladder and an intricate system of sliding D rings, bungee cables, and clips. They are important for the tank position and trimming later in the water. Your instructor will likely spend quite some time making sure they fit perfectly.
To get started on Sidemount diving you don’t need more than an Open Water Diver. Mind you, it obviously helps to have good buoyancy and trim and you should be able to set up and handle your equipment comfortably by yourself. Sidemount diving will add a whole new dimension when it comes to equipment setup and skills.
Some other wreck diving books are ‘The Last Dive’ by Bernie Chowdhury about father and son who are crazy about wrecks and eventually find their destiny on a German U-boat.
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If you're not ready to try diving locally, but want to support your local dive shop, you can complete eLearning and coursework near home, then complete your training dives while traveling. Contact your local PADI Dive Center to ask about a referral.
New gear means new techniques. Even though sidemount diving is simple, you will need to master some new skills.
With GUE as a non-diver, the first levels to be completed before a technical diver training are Recreational Diver 1 to a maximum depth of 21m. After completing the course the Fundamental Rec Pass can be completed which is teaching the basic fundamental skills for a diver and prepares the diver for the Fundamental Tech Pass.
Mentality - Technical dive is still enjoyable. It's all about looking for cool things. Technical divers can see further and deeper than the sport diver, which allows them to see details that may not be visible to other divers. Technical divers are still fun-focused but also remain focused. Although jokes and laughter are still possible, it is essential to have a serious attitude when planning and executing dives. Every dive comes with risks. If you do not plan, practice skills, and execute your dives properly, these risks will increase.
Sidemount Diver Specialty courses may count towards Advanced Open Water Diver certification. Ask your instructor.
‘Shadow Divers’ by Robert Kurson is about the identification of a German submarine that was tried to be identified by John Chatterton and his crew during almost a decade.
Mindfulness - Technical diving can still be fun. Technical diving is all about seeing cool things. However, technical divers can see more than sport divers and are able to see deeper, further, and in places that are not visible to sport divers. Technical divers can still be fun, but they are also very focused. While jokes are still allowed, there is no denying that laughter can be had. However, it is important to be serious about dive planning and execution. There are risks to diving. Those risks increase if you don't plan well, practice your skills and execute properly.
- Increased Bottom Time A Closed Circuit diver is not concerned with running out of gas because they are only limited by decompression. This can also be reduced by selecting an oxygen partial pressure that provides the diver with virtually limitless bottom times in 60 feet or less of water.