Intro to Tech Diving Course

The Intro to Tech Course is an introductory course that expands on recreational training by improving dive planning methods, in-water skills, and streamlining existing gear configurations in a controlled and fun learning environment. This course is for certified open water divers who want to expand their diving knowledge, open water divers who are considering technical training, or certified technical divers who are seeking a refresher course.

Course prerequisites:

  • Minimum age 18, 15 with parental consent
  • Minimum certification: Open Water Scuba Diver
  • 25 logged open water dives

What you can expect to learn:

  • In-depth dive planning, advanced buoyancy control, gas management, situational awareness, proper trim, gear configuration and selection

What’s in it for you:

  • Exposure to in-depth dive planning, introduction to technical diving and equipment
  • Opportunity to become a more proficient diver and expand on diver skills and knowledge

Advanced Nitrox Diver Course

Are you looking to expand your dive time? The Advanced Nitrox Course qualifies divers to use enriched air nitrox from EAN 21 through EAN 100 percent within your current certification level to a maximum depth of 130 feet during dives that do not require staged decompression. Often taught in conjunction with the Decompression Procedures course, this can be considered the foundation of your technical diving career. This course is for certified nitrox divers looking to expand their understanding of mixtures containing more than 40% oxygen, divers looking to expand in-water skills, and divers interested in moving forward with technical instruction. Advanced Nitrox is also a must for SCR or CCR divers.

Course prerequisites:

  • Minimum age 18, 15 with parental consent
  • Minimum certification of Nitrox Diver
  • 25 logged open water dives

What you can expect to learn:

Advanced Nitrox picks up where the Nitrox course leaves off and offers a more in-depth look at diving with nitrox including:

  • Physics and physiology relating to diving with gas mixes containing more than 40% oxygen
  • Gas planning, dive tables, dive computers, oxygen limitations, nitrogen limitations
  • Equipment considerations, cylinder labeling, analyzing nitrox mixtures, gas blending procedures, and oxygen service ratings for using gases with more than 40% oxygen

Some of the skills you will complete in this course include:

  • Demonstrate buoyancy control; ability to hover at fixed position in water column without moving hands or feet
  • Show good awareness of buddy and other team members through communication, proximity, and team oriented dive practices
  • Demonstrate the ability to manage free flow from primary regulator in controlled fashion, shut down cycle, and switch to back up regulator
  • Conduct appropriate safety stop while maintaining neutral buoyancy
  • Demonstrate the ability to share air with buddy as both recipient and donor in a controlled manner while maintaining position in the water column
  • Demonstrate correct body position; appropriate trim, such as horizontal/streamlined when moving forward
  • Demonstrate proper stress analysis with self and dive buddy

What’s in it for you?

  • Ability to dive using EAN 21 through 100 percent oxygen provided:
    • The diving activities approximate those of training
    • The areas of activities approximate those of training
    • Environmental conditions approximate those of training
  • Ability to enroll in Decompression Procedures, Semi-closed Rebreather courses, Closed Circuit rebreather courses

Decompression Procedures Course

Are you finding your no- decompression limits (NDLs) a limiting factor to dives? Do you have to ascend sooner than you would like? As sport divers, planned decompression is not something that we do or have been taught.The Decompression Procedures Course prepares you for planned staged decompression diving. With a maximum operating depth of 150 feet, this course is your first step beyond the normal sport diving limits. The Decompression Procedures Course combined with the Advanced Nitrox course form the foundation of all other technical courses. After these two courses and some additional experience, the stage has been set for you to move onto additional technical levels.

Course prerequisites:

  • Minimum age 18
  • Minimum certification of Advanced Open Water Diver
  • 25 logged open water dives

What you can expect to learn:

  • Decompression dive planning including:
    • Decompression gas choices
    • Tables vs. personal dive computers
    • Emergency and contingency planning (equipment failure, omitted decompression, etc.)
  • Decompression diving procedures
    • Equipment selection
    • Pre-dive checks and drills
    • Stress analysis and mitigation
    • Following a decompression schedule
    • Gas switching
    • Team awareness and communication
    • SMB/lift bag deployment
  • Proper trim, buoyancy and finning techniques
  • Emergency procedures (equipment failures, catastrophic gas loss, omitted decompression, navigational errors, etc.)
  • Equipment considerations, cylinder labeling, analyzing nitrox mixtures, and gas blending procedures

What’s in it for you?

  • Ability to conduct decompression diving activities without direct supervision provided:
    • The diving activities approximate those of training
    • The areas of activities approximate those of training
    • Environmental conditions approximate those of training
  • Ability to enroll in Advanced Nitrox, Extended Range, Advanced Wreck, Trimix courses

Helitrox Diver Course

The Helitrox Diver Course examines the theory, methods, and procedures for planning staged decompression dives utilizing helium in the breathing mixture to reduce the effects of inert gas narcosis.

The Helitrox Diver Course trains divers how to plan and conduct staged decompression dives to a maximum depth of 150 feet. The most common equipment requirements, gear set-up, and decompression techniques are also presented during this course. Students are permitted to utilize enriched air nitrox and helium mixes with no greater than 20% helium content, and up to 100% oxygen for decompression diving.

Course prerequisites:

  • Minimum age 18
  • Minimum certification of Advanced Diver (with Deep specialty), Intro to Tech Diver, or equivalent
  • Certified as Advanced Nitrox Diver (unless being taught concurrently)
  • Proof of 50 logged dives

What you can expect to learn:

  • Decompression dive planning including:
    • Gas requirements
      • Oxygen limitations
      • Nitrogen limitations
      • Helium limitations
    • Decompression gas choices
    • Tables vs. personal dive computers
    • Emergency and contingency planning (equipment failure, omitted decompression, etc.)
  • Helium as a breathing gas
    • Effects on narcosis
    • Effects on respiration
    • Effects as an insulator
    • Counter diffusion
    • HPNS
  • Decompression diving procedures
    • Equipment selection
    • Pre-dive checks and drills
    • Stress analysis and mitigation
    • Following a decompression schedule
    • Gas switching
    • Team awareness and communication
    • SMB/lift bag deployment
  • Proper trim, buoyancy and propulsion techniques
  • Emergency procedures (equipment failures, catastrophic gas loss, omitted decompression, navigational errors, etc.)
  • Equipment considerations, cylinder labeling, analyzing nitrox mixtures, and gas blending procedures

What’s in it for you?

  • Ability to conduct decompression diving activities without direct supervision utilizing helium and/or nitrox mixtures provided:
    • The diving activities approximate those of training
    • The areas of activities approximate those of training
    • Environmental conditions approximate those of training
    • Breathing mixtures do not contain more than 20% helium or less than 21% oxygen
  • Ability to enroll in Extended Range, Advanced Wreck, Trimix courses

Trimix Diver Course

Are you looking to expand your depth range? Do you want to reduce narcosis during deep dives? The Trimix Diver Course could be your next step! As your motivation to explore progresses, you will find that you may want to go deeper to dive that wreck that is part of history or that cave system that you have read so much about. One of the major limiting factors of going deeper is narcosis; Trimix Diver course shows how to minimize the effects of narcosis by adding helium to offset the nitrogen in your breathing gas. While taking the Trimix Diver course your Instructor will teach you how to plan and execute dives utilizing as little as 18 percent oxygen and diving to maximum depth of 200 feet with a blend of helium appropriate for the planned depth.

Course prerequisites:

  • Minimum age 18
  • Minimum certification of Advanced Nitrox AND Decompression Procedures Diver, or equivalent
  • Proof of 100 logged dives

What you can expect to learn:

  • Advanced decompression dive planning including:
    • Gas planning based on equivalent narcotic depths, nitrogen and helium absorption and elimination, CNS and OUT limits, Isobaric Counter diffusion, volume requirements, etc.
    • Decompression gas choices
    • Tables vs. personal dive computers
    • Emergency and contingency planning (equipment failure, omitted decompression, etc)
  • Decompression diving procedures
    • Equipment selection
    • Pre-dive checks and drills
    • Stress analysis and mitigation
    • Following a decompression schedule
    • Gas switching
    • Team awareness and communication
    • SMB/lift bag deployment
  • Proper trim, buoyancy and finning techniques
  • Management of multiple decompression/stage cylinders
  • Emergency procedures (equipment failures, catastrophic gas loss, omitted decompression, navigational errors, injured/unconscious diver, etc)
  • Equipment considerations, cylinder labeling, analyzing trimix nitrox and mixes, and gas blending procedures

What’s in it for you?

  • Ability to conduct technical diving activities using custom trimix mixtures without direct supervision provided:
    • The diving activities approximate those of training
    • The areas of activities approximate those of training
    • Environmental conditions approximate those of training
  • Ability to enroll in Advanced Wreck and Advanced Trimix courses

Advanced Wreck Diver Course

The Advanced Wreck Diver Course is the next step for any diver that has successfully completed the Wreck Diver Course. During this course, your Instructor will teach you the proper techniques for locating and planning an advanced penetration dive. The advanced wreck course is commonly taught with other courses such as Advanced Nitrox, Decompression Procedures, and Trimix.

Course prerequisites:

  • Minimum age 18
  • Minimum certification of Advanced Diver or equivalent
  • Certified Wreck Diver or Cavern Diver or equivalent
  • Proof of 50 logged dives

What you can expect to learn:

  • Use of advanced wreck diving equipment including:
    • Primary cylinder(s)-dual outlet single tank, independent doubles, or doubles with isolation manifold
    • Decompression/stage cylinders
    • Redundant primary regulators
    • Primary and back-up lighting systems
    • Penetration/safety reels
    • Lift bag/SMBs
  • Wreck penetration procedures
    • Equipment selection
    • Pre-dive checks and drills
    • Stress analysis and mitigation
    • Guideline use, deployment, following, retrieval
    • Team awareness and communication
    • Emergency procedures (equipment failures, catastrophic gas loss, omitted decompression, navigational errors, entrapment/entanglement, loss of visibility, injured/unconscious diver, etc)
    • SMB/lift bag deployment
  • Proper trim, buoyancy and propulsion techniques

What’s in it for you?

  • Ability to conduct technical wreck diving activities without direct supervision provided:
    • The diving activities approximate those of training
    • The areas of activities approximate those of training
    • Environmental conditions approximate those of training