Sidemount Diver Specialty dives may count toward Advanced Open Water Diver certification. Ask an instructor.
Television, magazines and stories from friends - no matter what source, the idea of exploring the underwater world is captivating and thrilling. What can we do to keep exploring the underwater world? What is technical diving exactly?
The next day was technical sidemount. This means that we added our deco 50 and 100 percent oxygen tanks on either side. This can increase your profile underwater. It is important that you keep your tanks as small as possible. The clips can be found on each side. As your tanks become buoyant, you will adjust your tank position to fit the second clip. Here, the goal is to be as efficient as possible. Each few minutes, you switch your breathing between the tanks. By doing this, the pressure in each of the tanks will decrease at roughly the exact same rate. In the event that a tank or regulator fails you will still be able to breathe. It is important to gain experience with any new thing. I spent the next few nights doing deco dives with the sidemount rig. I was buddied with Evolution coowner David Joyce who is a very experienced Tec diver as well as a Trimix instructor. One dive saw us visit the Japanese Mogami Japanese Mogami sank at 164 feet. It was here that I was seduced by old gas masks and uniforms as well as a few bones.
Television, magazines, and stories from a friend are all good sources of information about the underwater world. Exploring it and getting away from the surface can be exciting. How do we keep exploring? What exactly is technical dive?
Sidemount cylinder mounting was first used for cave diving. It has since become more popular in technical diving. They take the dual cylinders apart, one for each, and place them on either side. The diver can't breathe from either cylinder if the regulator fails, but this allows for easier access to valves. Sidemount diving gives the diver an increased horizontal profile and a smaller vertical profile.
There are three parts to certification: knowledge development, skill practice and open water dives. You can complete all three parts locally, on holiday, or split between the two.
Sidemount diving has become very popular in open water. It is more comfortable than having a tank on the back and allows you to have more fun.
Take a look at these three options if diving classes and lessons are not what you desire or you need to decide where to go next.
A minimum of fitness is required for scuba diving. A physician may be required to approve you before diving if you have any chronic conditions, are taking certain medications, or have had recent surgery.
All Tec diving (open circuit and closed circuit rebreather), as well technical scuba diving courses, are taught at Scotty’s dive centre headquarters facility. It is located in Mactan in Cebu province. You are welcome to walk in or have us pick you up from your hotel if you are not a Shangrila guest.
Sidemount PCB has the expertise to answer any questions you or your doctor may have about your medical fitness to dive.
Sidemount regulators will also be covered. You will usually have one regulator for a long hose and one for a shorter hose with a necklace. Sidemount regs are marked, so that you can identify which tank you are using. This included a swivel joint to allow me to regulate my short hose. You will also receive 2 SPGs, one for each stage.
The Sidemount dive setup is slightly different from the backmount, as is the equipment.
Consider continuing on to Tec Sidemount Diver course in which you’ll learn additional skills specific to tec diving in sidemount, such as staging and switching deco cylinders.
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.
The depth range of oxygen rebreathers (simple closed circuit) is limited to approximately 6 m, beyond which the risk of acute oxygen toxicity rises to unacceptable levels very quickly.
2-3 hours
Even with small cylinders, you can usually dive for 2-3 hours (rebreathers typically have two 2/3l cylinders or one 3/5l cylinder).