I have a love-hate relationship with the idea of ‘Specialty courses’. The phrase itself is a misnomer. The above definition suggests that over the 2 - 4 dives required for most ‘Specialty’ courses, you will become ‘highly skilled.’ You won’t. ‘Introduction to…’ would be a better phrase. In this article, I go through the typical range of recreational ‘Specialty’ courses available from the majority of major agencies and sort the good from the bad and the ugly.
3 Comments
The Miami Technical Diving SceneI heard something curious on a dive boat this past week. My student and I were kitting up to dive Key Largo’s Spiegel Grove wreck, when a diver on the boat noticed our logo on a dry box. ‘Miami Technical Diving?! Is there technical diving in Miami?!’
How To Interview Your Technical Diving Instructor
TEKDive USA 2018 Round UpThe best and brightest stars of the Technical Diving community gathered at the Wyndham Resort, Orlando this past weekend for the biennial TEKDiveUSA.2018 conference to share their passions and expertise on topics from medicine and equipment to expeditions and techniques. Miami Technical Diving went along for the ride and we wanted to share some of our biggest take-aways for those who couldn’t be there...
Note: Where possible, I've included links to bios of the speakers. People, the struggle is real.
Here are three quick facts about my chosen industry:
With the notion that the scuba industry is of a healthy size, please enjoy this anecdote... TEC BNB – AN IMMERSIVE APPROACH TO TECHNICAL DIVER TRAININGThis summer, my wife and I are opening our home to Tec Students who want to come and advance their diver training in an immersive learning environment that is as intense as it is fun. Below, we answer a Q&A about how the program came to be and what to expect…
THE ACCIDENTAL TEC DIVERIt was never meant to happen.
I was a happy-go-lucky Open Water Dive Instructor plying my trade around the world. I never planned on owning more dive gear than could fit in an 80-liter backpack – which is basically one set of lightweight recreational gear, with room left over for a toothbrush and change of underwear. Anytime I got to dive alongside Technical Divers, I would think, ‘That seems like a lot of work, a lot of math and a lot of gear to carry for doing basically the same as recreational divers do...’ We were all breathing underwater. We were all lovers of the life oceanic. And we all looked good in rubber. How different could it be? And besides, I was living on a Dive Instructor salary and all that gear looked expensive. Not to mention heavy. No, Tec Diving wasn’t for me. I’m content within recreational limits. Ha! |
AuthorJames Blackman Archives
November 2018
Categories |