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Huh? You are a newbie right? See rule #1. Jeff Shaun P Beevor wrote: > A STATE OF MIND > > Recently I made a comment that technical diving is a state of mind, upon being asked to explain this (by a non technical diver) I found myself at a loss for words. > Like trying to explain love, to someone who's never been in love, this as you will probably understand is harder than it sounds. > It's my honest belief that there are many divers conducting technical dives who should not be considered technical divers. This as you can imagine is not an > opinion that will make me a popular member of the technical diving community. However I strongly believe, it's an issue that needs to be addressed, even if it > means rocking the proverbial boat. > So first let us examine in brief, what are generally considered to be some of the key phrases & beliefs in the technical diving community, followed by a state > of mind comment. > > Redundancy: Technically correct? Redundant systems, often considered at the heart of technical diving are now, & have always been readily available to both the > recreational & technical diver. So does this mean that John Doe, who dives with a pony bottle strapped to his rig is a technical diver? No, not at all, but it > may well indicate he has a healthy respect for his environment. Putting Mr John Doe well ahead of many self proclaimed technical divers & bringing him closer > to that state of mind. > > Oxygen management exposure: With the rapid growth of the recreational nitrox industry, O2 management has become an everyday event, dispelling the myth that > this is purely the realm of the technical diver. > The question is, do you choose to follow or ignore the already hazardous industry guide lines? There are many divers who chose to ignore them, believing > that they are only relevant, if you're not conducting deep air dives. (Charles Darwin, come on down) > > Staged decompression: let's not get confused here, all diving is decompression diving, whether it's 30 feet or 200 feet it's all the same. What makes > the difference is whether you can ascend directly to the surface or not, if you can't it's a staged decompression dive. So does this mean that if you > practice staged decompression you're a technical diver? I hope not, as I know of many non technical divers who regularly perform lengthy staged decompression, > with the nearest stage bottle being at the local dive store. Definitely the wrong state of mind. > > Gas management: A very broad term, which you could say covers everything from getting back to the boat with 100psi, to the rule of thirds. But Let's face > it most divers practice some form of gas management, so what makes a dive technical? Well technically speaking, the rule of thirds is generally considered > the industry standard, but there are many technical divers who chose to ignore this rule. Instead, they prefer the it'll be OK rule. A very questionable > state of mind. > > Overhead environment: Ask any diver what an overhead environment is & you'll probably get the same answer. "Well it's when your in a wreck see, or you > know in one of them there caves." Not a bad answer, & for the most part correct. So if you're in an overhead environment are you conducting a > technical dive? No, not necessarily. Again there are many recreational divers who frequently dive in both real & virtual overhead environments, but are > far from being technical divers. It's a question of respect for your environment, Surely a state of mind. > > Diver responsibility: I think now that were getting down to the real issue of technical diving, responsibility to one's self & to those around you. > A diver, whether they are technical or recreational is often judged by their peers, according to their behaviour. Are they responsible? The answer > may be yes, but does this make them a good technical diver? The answer may be no. > > you're probably asking yourself, so what is this state of mind he keeps referring to? How can it be defined? > Well, I'm not sure it can, all I can say is that technical diving is the use of all of the above procedures, & some. But the real meat of it is, > that no matter how well trained a diver is, if he doesn't feel it in his soul, he's probably not a technical diver. > > ARE YOU? > > Shaun P Beevor. > > 1314 william st > key west > fl, 33040 > > -- > Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. > Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'. -- Jeff Bentley jbentley@cr*.co* http://www.crl.com/~jbentley -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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