Posted by Ben on November 16, 2000 at 17:44:50:
In Reply to: Re: Minimum threshold to begin "technical" training posted by MHK on November 16, 2000 at 17:00:17:
I agree with most of the above but I'd like to make a few comments.
Why isn't overhead environment included? Not to say that it is wise but in deco diving there is still the option of surfacing. The consequences are severe but it is still an option while in overhead environments it is not.
Not to downplay the in water skills, but one of the most important skills is the dive planning. In technical diving making a dive plan and following it much more important than in rec diving. The maturity and seriousness needed to do this effectively should exclude a large portion of the diving population from tech diving.
As far as agency is concerned it truly doesn't matter. If you do your research, good instructors can be found. I think what MHK is getting at is that with GUE you don't have to do the research. These guys are very good at what they do. I have taken GUE instruction and I have taken courses from other instructors. With GUE you always know what you are getting, otherwise it's hard to tell and for those that really need the instruction, they usually don't know enough to tell if the instruction is good.
As far as the minimum requirements goes, XX number of dives will never be good. There are divers with 1000's of dives with pathetic skills and newer divers with excellent skills. It's the dedication that is important. How often do you pratice sharing air, bouyancy, holding a safety stop at exactly 15 ft not 18-13 ft? Its the awareness of the details.
Starting to get the picture?
Ben Martinez