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Technical Scuba Diving

So, you know how to scuba dive. You've been travelling around, enjoying diving adventures for a few years, and you've loved it. But have you ever felt like you want to know more about the equipment that's allowing you these pleasures? Have you ever wanted to push yourself: to swim further into that cave system, dive down to that wreck, or clamber down that coral wall?

If so, then technical diving is for you - it allows you to push yourself further while knowing yourself to be safe because of you enhanced knowledge of your equipment. Technical diving courses include a professional study into breathing equipment, mixed gases and all other technical aspects of the sport. The guiding light of the technical diving world is TDI (Technical Diving International), which was founded in 1994.

Thanks largely to TDI technical diving has evolved into a significant part of the recreational diving business; sometimes even described as the saviour of the scuba industry. Because of the enhanced need for specialist equ ipment manufacturers find "high tech" diving to be a major cash cow.

However, technical diving is more than just equipment; it requires a high level of training, personal discipline and dedication. As technical diving is now ten years old, opportunities for training are more plentiful as other diving associations are catching up with the fashion. But technical diving should not be embarked upon because of trend or caprice - it's a serious sport which can be dangerous, and only when you have mastered the training can you reap the rewards. That said, Technical diving has enjoyed a good safety record, and is statistically 'safer' than non-technical diving. However, technical diving involves more risk on the part of the participants, so any accidents are usually subject to a good deal of scrutiny. There is also a greater potential for accidents during training than in non-technical diving.

Cost is the major drawback in technical diving. As well as the cost of owning a long list of specialized equipment, chartered trips will cost more because of the amount of room a technical diver needs - his kit means that he takes at least twice as much room as a non-technical diver i.e. 2 spaces on a boat. But if the extra costs don't bother you, there is certainly nothing more thrilling than diving with the expertise and skill of a technical diver.