Big Blue Tech completed a TDI Advanced Nitrox Course yesterday with the combined afternoon of skills which embodied both TDI Decompression Procedures and TDI Advanced Nitrox.

With the flexible curriculum offered by TDI it was possible for the training team to introduce interesting and valid skills which are appropriate for the diving ahead.

The students on the course were Mark Slinn, Andy Cavell and Ash Dunn who are all working towards a future as a technical diving instructor.

One of the signature skill introduced involves using a 3m marked line on the sea bed and having the divers wearing full technical diving gear start at the 1m mark and start fining, during fining the diver must remove one decompression cylinder without loosing control, upon reaching the end of the line the diver stops and begins backwards kicking, collecting his decompression cylinder while kicking backwards and returning to the start where the diver turns 180 degrees and moves away. The goal is to not use your hands and focus on perfect trim and balance while performing these skills.

Backwards finning can be quite difficult initially, to help this process we provide Jet Fins to our students as part of the equipment they will be using during the course to enhance the ease of learning. Here is a video to help illustrate the skill:

Additional to these skills was task loading with 8 cylinders removing and replacing each one while maintaining buoyancy. The training team felt the students really excelled and didn’t see them disturb the bottom, without being told to, during both 50 minute dives.

This would be the last dive until the after christmas as the students progress on to their Gas Blender and BSAC Instructor course.

Big Blue Tech completed a TDI Intro to Tech course today for Andy Cavell and Mark Slinn who began the first level in water skill development for their technical diver internship.

The TDI Intro to Tech course is the perfect course for divers who have heard about technical diving and want to find out more about this exciting branch of advanced recreational diving. This course walks students through the special techniques, planning procedures and skills that set technical diving apart from traditional sport diving. It will show them how to improve their dive planning methods, in-water skills and streamline their existing gear configuration, in a non-threatening and fun learning environment. The specific skills this course will highlight are: Advanced Buoyancy Control, Gas Management, Situational Awareness, Trim, Gear Configuration and Selection and Many More!

TDI’s Intro to Tech course is a useful stand-alone course for the diver who wants to become a more skilled, more proficient diver regardless of if he intends to move on to technical diving. The course may also be used as an introduction to the TDI Advanced Nitrox course and the TDI Decompression Procedures course. And finally, it is also a good refresher for certified technical divers who may want to refresh their skills or have them re-evaluated by a TDI technical instructor.

Although the students did not need this course to start their official technical diving series it was offered to them to have 4 additional training dives to enhance their overall skills and start with a solid foundation of buoyancy and trim before moving deeper through different challenges in the future.

The course was also completed with the assistance of Ash Dunn who is working towards his technical divemaster certification which requires assisting a variety of technical diving courses.

The students progress on to the TDI Advanced Nitros and TDI Decompression procedures this week along with TDI Gas Blender and TDI Advanced Gas Blender with the use of helium for trimix.