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Tim Olson On Tech Training
## The Disclaimer ##
What I write is my own opinion. Don't be dumb and get yourself
killed by following my opinions. If you decide to get yourself
killed, don't attempt to sue me, because remember, I'm dumber than a
box of rocks, and don't know nothin' about nothin'. <---- Gee, now
maybe I WON"T have to worry about someone following my advice. :-)
Part I. The need for Training
I believe that technical diving, being MUCH more complex than
ANY recreational diving, requires advanced knowledge. If you live
in an area where technical training is available, you should go to
the shop and learn it. In my neck of the woods (Wisconsin), I do
not even KNOW of a diver who regularly dives nitrox, I don't know
ANYONE but my buddy and I who dive MIX, and I SERIOUSLY DOUBT that
ANY dive shop offers Nitrox or Mix Instruction or fills. (We're all
hicks up here in cheeseland, ya know) In fact, I know of only 2
people in our area who are certified in Nitrox, and they did it on
their once a year dive vacation in Florida. (Doctors)
This to me says training is fairly unavailable. When I tried to
find a NITROX instructor course, I got no replies for a while. What
is a tech diver to do.
When I began diving, I began expanding my limits. If it were not
for the information I have learned, I would probably still be doing
deep air, believing 330 feet was O.K. on air, SIMPLY because my
Com____r said so. (I DON"T EVEN WANT TO USE THE WORD OR
MANUFACTURERS WILL DO THE GOD AWFUL THING OF REDUCING DEPTH
LIMITATIONS) Now those who dive deep will understand when I say
that Deep air is more dangerous than a properly executed MIX dive.
Both have complications, but Mix allows a clear head. Now, I dive
mix when over 200.....WHY???? Because I heard that this was the
practical limit for air, and I employed the thinking. It doesn't
take a brain surgeon to see that MIX is FOR DEEP. It sure is a
good thing that books like "Mixed Gas Diving" exist, or this info.
would be much harder to obtain and Mix diving for the
un-mix-certified would be even MORE hazardous.
I dive often...I own a shop...I understand the need for training.
We get FAR too many COMPLETELY uneducated people coming in who
think you should just grab a tank, get air, and go. They get
P.O.'ed at the idea of certification. I argue with them.
What I also understand though, is that KNOWLEDGE combined with
EXPERIENCE **IS** Training. This only works for those who are not
only intelligent, but ambitous. If someone is EXCELLENT in their
skills, and works themself up SLOWLY, and SECURES THE KNOWLEDGE,
then they are for all practical purposes trained....RIGHT?
Proper training from a CERTIFIED instructor is BEST, but what is
considered acceptable? Entry Level certification is a MUST, but
when you take drivers ed, they don't have an extra class in
Night driving, Fast Driving, Big City Driving, Driving behind
semis, Mixed fuel Driving :-), Driving in Rain, etc... ONLY
IF YOU ARE DRIVING FOR WORK do they require a class/test, when
you will have other's lives in your hands.
I would LOVE to take a MIX class....I would Love to take a MIX
Instructor class...I would LOVE to be fully trained to all
levels...but the ability ($$$) and (Time) just aren't there. If
there were a shop here, sure, I'd be there.
It is this lack of personal training that has not allowed me to sell
NITROX through our store. I would LOVE to teach Nitrox, but I DO
NOT want to teach students until I am approved by an agency to
teach it. THAT is liability. What I do to myself I can control
myself, but I don't need the liability.
Part II. What if you get training?
If you have gone and signed up for a, for instance, MIX
class...what do you expect? Do you think that because you took the
course that you will not die? Or that you will be safer? Great,
hopefully it's true. Training, however doesn't end when the class
does. An instructor can only see how you do WHILE you're in the
class. YOU HAVE TO KEEP CURRENT YOURSELF. Event the THEORY needs
to be re-read often. It is only because I do this stuff all the
time that I feel comfortable being untechnically trained. My skills
are pretty good at this point. What about your MIX instructor?
Are they experienced? Did they simply cruise through their courses?
What kind of credentials do they hold BESIDES certification? AND
ANYWAY, WHO TAUGHT THE PEOPLE WHO TAUGHT THEM??? It seems to me
that until this point, MIX and Tech diving was so small, that only a
few did it. I agree, it's great that they decided that they knew
enough to teach people, BUT WHO TOLD THEM THEY KNOW ENOUGH?? Once
upon a time someone figured out how DEEP and MIX worked, and the
information spread. Some people DIED, so limits were formed.
Practices evolved, diving changed, limits were re-re-re-vised.
GREAT!! These people were pioneers!! THEY HAD NO TRAINING!! THEY
DOVE DEEP!!! THEY HAD NO INFORMATION TO BEGIN WITH!! Now we have
YEARS of information that they themselves gathered and
improved....GOOD WORK! Who's to say that a person isn't smart
enough to simply READ this information, SLOWLY work their limits up,
and then PUSH THE ENVELOPE (their limits) further? This is what I
have done. I feel now that I have a substantial (although tiny if
you compare me to Rich Pyle, Brett Gilliam, Tom Mount ...) amount of
diving knowledge and skill. I also can't afford the liability of
teaching mass amounts of divers these skills....but I feel extremely
comfortable doing these dives myself.
Part III. The Information
Gosh, I wrote some of this section in the previous one. Once
upon a time I read here on techdiver something like..."It seems
there is a very limited amount of information and people are
charging big bucks for it" (something like that) And the guy got
FLAMED. Well, I am inclined to agree with both sides. THERE IS A
LIMITED (but increasing) amount of information. People are charging
BIG BUCKS for it. But the fact remains, as long as people can be
trained in a tech class, there will be those who can understand it
without the class. There will also be those who can't....you can
sometimes tell these people by the questions they ask. There is
nothing we can do but ENCOURAGE everyone to get PROPER training. If
a person understands everything, maybe there should be a way for
them to test out of the academics. Maybe they should be required to
do DEEP checkout dives before getting fills at a shop...WHO KNOWS!
As far as the information goes though, the best thing a person can
do is READ EVERYTHING IN SIGHT, and then PLAN EXTENSIVELY, and
PRACTICE. From there, a person can see changes in the information
through a forum such as this. Here is where the information gets
exchanged and challenged, and changed. Without this techdiver forum
being an open forum, diving will not advance.
Part IV. An IMPORTANT Link
If you look at Tech diving in general, lets say someone GET's
the training, or HAS the information they need. Let's even say that
they HAVE the experience and skills necessary to do SAFE deep dives.
There is still one obsticle that will help prevent accidents....The
LOCAL DIVE SHOP. If you are an ACTIVE diver, you are UNDOUBTEDLY
EXTREMELY likely to be closely tied to a dive shop. Not by working
there, but you are probably known on a first name basis. If you are
not, you have a MUCH smaller chance of being able to misuse info.
contained in the Techdiver Forum, as your access to FILLING equipment
is much more limited. You are also at a loss when it comes to
equipment & service. A dive shop is the single best source for:
Fills, Gear, Books, O2 filling supplies, and the like. If you
dive Tech, you will want to get fills...maybe mix, maybe nitrox,
maybe air. Air is basically unregulated (except by certification).
It would be very unlikely that a person would obtain their own
filling equipment to make their own MIX. If they want MIX they have
to go to a shop. If a shop wants you to use mix, they want to see
training. This is regulation. I realize that my buddy and I would
never be able to get mix fills at another shop. That's another
reason why I would like to get properly trained as a MIX INSTRUCTOR.
Then I have no worries. But for now, I think that when it comes to
Mix, there are too many barriers to the diver for them to simply
pick information out of the Techdiver list and go dive mix. As far
as O2 and Nitrox go, there again, more equipment is needed and
a shop is the best source. And I figure, if a guy is smart enough
to find a reliable way to do this at home, they would probably not
have a lot of trouble understanding the ins and outs of Nitrox.
That's another thing....If you're smart enough to get on a computer
and FIND this techdiver forum, you're not absolutely hopless to
be able to understand some of it's topics, because computers take a
brain in and of themselves.
Part V. The END
So, as you can see, I'm a hypocrite. I tell people that PROPER
training is the only way to go, but I have never taken a Tech class.
Kids, Proper training IS the best way to go....don't discount
it...I'd be there too if it were in this area. BUT DON"T DOWN
EVERYBODY if they DON"T have training. Did anyone ever ask SHECK
EXLEY for his C-card? If TOM MOUNT wanted to teach MIX, who told
him he was Qualified? Somebody learned the hard way, and we should
be MUCH happier that it is FAR EASIER for us to learn Technical
diving than it was for them. We can learn a LOT from THEIR
experience.
***** Final Request *****
I would like to find a convenient way to complete INSTRUCTOR level
training in MIX, and NITROX, and DEEP AIR. I would like to not only
GET this proper training, but be able to provide it to others in my
area so I can keep them safer. If there is a reasonable price, and
a reasonable time period in I can do this, please let me know.
Tim Olson
Underwater Ventures, Inc.
Eau Claire, Wisconsin
(715) 834-0002
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