One of the most important changes in equipment cave divers have made since the start of the century was the switch from sidemount to backmounted doubles. Sidemount is a popular choice for cave divers. It's also possible that sidemount cave divers are more common than backmount cave divers.
Sidemount rigs were created originally for cave diving.
One of most significant changes to the equipment cave divers use since the beginning is the shift from using backmounted doubles towards sidemount. While a large number of cave divers are now sidemounting, it is possible that there are many more sidemount cave diver than backmount.
When or why I decided to do my Sidemount course I don’t remember. As with most of my diving decisions, it was probably a case of – oh that looks cool, could be useful, I’m going to try it!I knew that Sidemount was going to be a useful certification and something that I could use in the future and build on. I also knew that I eventually wanted to do some proper cave diving and that a Sidemount certification would come in handy for that.
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.
There are three components to certification: skill practice, knowledge development and open water diving. All three parts can be completed locally or on vacation, or you can split them.
Sidemount Diver was by far the most challenging course I have ever taken. However, my instructor Fiona at Big Blue Tech (a trusted dive center) and Big Blue Tech (my instructor) included a lot of skills and dives in my course. We made sure to keep my task load manageable and practiced many skills including tank removal underwater, mask and tank replacement, out of the air drills, and many others while trying to stay in top trim.
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I'm not sure when or why I chose to take my Sidemount course. It was, as with many of my diving decisions. I think it was a case where I thought, "Oh, that looks cool. Could be useful. I'm going for it!" I knew Sidemount would be useful and something I could continue to use and improve on. Sidemount certification would be useful for me if I ever wanted to cave dive.
Many agencies offer the option to choose between technical Sidemount and recreational Sidemount. For example, SDI and TDI have the same prerequisites but the tec Course will require you to have more skills. They will require more skill to master the course - you must be precise in trimming your hair and staying level while performing your 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.
Sidemount can be a boon for all divers, but it's especially useful for cave diving. (It was actually cave divers that invented sidemount. These are some of the benefits:
Cave passage formed over millions of years of water erosion that stretch thousands of feet from the entrance are reserved for those trained in overhead diving. The unique beauty and tranquility that these sites offer is only surpassed by the incredible timescale with which they formed.
Each PADI Specialty you complete gets you one step closer to earning the elite Master Scuba Diver™ rating.
To begin a technical diving course, you must have completed the following prerequisites: a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver certificate or equivalent, a PADI Enriched Air Diver certificate or equivalent, and a PADI Deep Diver certificate or proof of at least 10 dives to 30 metres/100 feet.
According to experts, approximately 40% of technical divers enroll in additional education and training programs. This yields a reasonable estimate of approximately 160,000 active technical divers worldwide.
- 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.